Navel gazing and chirping birdies

Just spent a wonderful weekend in Telford doing the 88 step form with the Deyin Taijiquan Institute. As always I've come away feeling I've learned a lot about tai chi and there is still always a lot more to learn.

One thing I came away with was a reminder about how central the waist is. As Master Tary Yip said, "Nothing moves until you see the waist." Of course this doesn't mean bending your head down to stare at your belly button. It's in the mind that you see the waist. The waist moves and everything else follows. We've talked about this a lot in relation to White Crane Spreads Its Wings, but it is true in every move.

I also learned that the bird in lǎnquèwěi, grasping the bird's tail, is què (pronounced "chir"), which I think is a lovely bit of onomatopoeia.