(9/11) Yang Tai Chi Stepping Sets/ Line Drills: Snake Creeps Down 

Andrew, also, comment/caveat about losing center while gazing down very helpful.

I'm glad to hear you liked so much. I wish you all the best in your training.

I am glad to hear that it was helpful for you!

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the video. Thank you for taking the time to write this comment. It's always nice to hear when someone benefits from something I have posted. I wish you all the best in your training.

Hi Gerog, I am glad to hear that you enjoyed this video so much. Thank you for taking the time to let me know.

Siew-Seng Lee I'm glad to hear that you found it helpful. :)

You are very welcome! I am glad to hear that it was so helpful for you.

You're more than welcome! I'm glad to hear that this video has been helpful for you. :)

I'm glad to hear it was helpful for you. :)

I'm very glad to hear that it helped. :)

+see later I'm glad to hear it was helpful for you. :)

Tai Chi does have many healing qualities, but it's always a good idea to work closely with your health care team and to get their stamp of approval on any exercises you're planning to do during rehab. When it comes to your health, it's always best to play it safe. :)

I'm glad to hear you liked it. :)

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed this video. :)

I'm glad to hear it was helpful for you! Thank you for subscribing. :)

Glad to hear you liked it. :)

Thank you. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. :)

Philo Sophia Thank you! I'm glad to hear the video is helping. :)

my pleasure! I'm glad to hear you liked it. :)

You're very welcome. I'm glad to hear that this video was helpful for you. :) I wish you all the best in your training!

My pleasure. :) I'm glad to hear you like it.

I'm glad to hear it! :) Thanks for taking the time to let me know. :)

I hope it makes your training a little easier. :)

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. That is a pretty common belief, but practicality entirely depends on training goals. If the only goal of training is to exactly mimic the way the movements are applied martially, then that perspective is correct. However, moving through dynamic, low stances is excellent training for leg strength and flexibility, provided it is done in a safe manner. A body that is stronger and more flexible is a body that is less likely to be injured, which is certainly practical whether the training goal is martial use or health promotion. It does look cool to do low stances, but that is a bonus, not the primary purpose of low stances in Taiji training. There are multiple applications contained in this movement, but none of them are diminished by having stronger more flexible legs. The masters I trained with in China had no difficulty with low stances due to the fact that their legs were flexible and strong through an impressive range of motion from having trained low stances for so many years, but their low stance training never hindered their ability to practically apply any movement. So, while I agree that a low stance is not the most practical way to apply this movement martially, they have a lot of benefit for the martially oriented Taiji practitioner and are an important part of Taiji training. I like to think of it this way, you will never be at a disadvantage for having increased your body's capabilities. Thank you again for the comment. I wish you all the best in your training.

@@AndrewPlitt I'm not disagreeing with you, but the use of these low stances in the forms imposes an unrealistic goal on many older participants who can often feel that their practice is unsatisfactory because they cannot achieve this depth of stance. When teaching it is good to consider the goals of your students and their limitations. Besides which simple deep squats will achieve the same results while being more stable generally, which is good for the older population.

​@@davyj5216 ​ That is a valid point and I completely agree. It is very important to understand each student's comfort level and physical abilities. That is why the second half of this video is dedicated to a high-stance version of this movement. Those instructions start at about 9:42 in this video. When I was teaching classes the majority of my students were older adults and we always made sure that the movements were modified in a way that was safe for each student and complimented their physical capabilities. Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts and perspective.