Our Taiji club had a holiday party today and we all did demonstrations for various forms. It was great to see various styles and forms that members learned from different sources such as Yang style, Chen style, Bagua, Xingyi, etc. I was also happy to see the progress club members have made over the past year in forms 8, 16, 24, 32, 42 and sword 32 and 42.
When I did the performance, I could not enter into the mind state as in normal practices. As a result, I could not stand still in many poses and some movements were not continuous and smooth. I guess I felt nervous when there were so many eyes watching. I was wondering how people could perform the forms in Taiji competitions.
In my routine practice, I can enter into the state that my mind and body are fully involved in the continuous movements and poses. My mind is alert and my body follows it naturally. I enjoy the practice routines and feel good after completing it.
I can't do the same whenever I do performances/demonstrations. I hope through practice, I can improve my foot strength and balance. However, I think the key is the mind state. If I can put my mind into the mindful state in any circumstance, my body will follow it with ease.
