Tai chi fan

In July of last year, I completed the beginner tai chi levels and moved up to the advanced class with the Scientist. Our instructor had also started offering a sword class after the advanced one but I really just wanted to focus on improving the basic skills I already had. I felt I had a long way to go. It’s now nearly six terms later and I still feel I have a long way to go. I have gain quite a bit from one term focused on foot work and the current term focused on the sixth level of moves. My form has really improved this year and my confidence is better too. I still have regular blips where I can’t remember what comes next during practice but it doesn’t seem to drag me down most of the time.

A few weeks ago the instructor started offering a tai chi fan class instead of sword. Now this has interested me and the time is probably right for me to take on something new. So I have been learning the fan class for a few weeks now. There are only two of us in the class and I’m learning it left-handed, which is a bit tricky at times. I tried doing it right-handed and practicing both sides but the left hand is so much more easier so I have stuck with that instead.

After finishing the first class, the Scientist and I went to get something to eat and while eating I noticed that I had a couple of tiny cuts on my thumb where the side of the fan had hit it. I never realised it while practicing but they were significant enough that one has healed and seems to have left a slight scar. (It seems I scar after even the most minor of scratches these days so this isn’t too surprising.)  The following week I had no issues and all was well but a couple nights ago I wasn’t even doing actual practice and manage to get essentially a paper cut at the bottom of the pad of my pointer finger. Now that cut really hurt when it happened and was near the joint of my finger so it is prone to lots of friction. I had meant to put a bandage over it before class but forgot. Once we arrived at the park where we do the class I spent some time practicing throwing the fan up and once, it hit the side of my other pointer finger coming down and scratched enough to bleed. Once the instructor arrived, it was decided I needed to have a replacement and I was given a different one to use for the duration of the class.

What I found interesting was how accustomed to the first fan I had already become. The alternate one felt quite different. It was a slightly different design and the weight was a bit different so it took a bit of time to adjust to that. I’m going to keep using the original fan until a replacement is available, probably next week. The plan is to cover the sharp areas with tape for protection, which most likely will also make it feel a bit different but hopefully will provide more protection.

The actual routine is quite interesting so far. The second week of classes we were already working on throwing the fan, a rather hazardous practice due to strong winds that are nearly always present in early evening near the beach. As it’s still early days we are adapting this a bit and working around it. But we are practicing throws outside of the routine. I was practicing throws last week before our classes and it opened up quite well then went flying like a kite and slammed down onto the footpath near the grassy area of practice. This week I managed to bend to bend part of it too, so find I am constantly adjusting the fan to make it open and close properly. I suspect it will be a while to get the hang of it all but I am enjoying it so far. And since there are only two of us taking the class, the instruction is more one-on-one which makes me feel more at ease with making mistakes and asking questions.