I've done Chen Tai Chi, Old Frame for quite a few years, maybe 10. It's quite a long form; takes 10 minutes or so to go through the 80 moves. I've found it to be a very beneficial way to bring advances in consciousness out into the world, and to engage the surrounding world in a way that is empowering for myself and others. So, though Chen has some harder kicks and punches, it is an older form; so I learned it in the hopes that the original essence might be there somewhere. I trained with a master of the Chen lineage, actually went to his workshops and a few others. After finding that I was not overly impressed with some of the students' outlooks on life, I drifted away and just practiced on my own and from books.
Chi Kung is a much more efficient way to get in touch with 'Chi', as most people are able to feel it in a few sessions. I did a year of Tai Chi almost daily before I felt anything. So I suggest Chi Kung first personally.
I go into the forest and do Tai Chi, and find it a beautiful way to engage with the world, through movement. I sometimes meditate beforehand, sitting, which by contrast feels so different. I find the moving meditation more natural. After meditating, I find that I can sometimes bring that stillness to the movement. Also, lately I have been going into the forest and smoking tobacco / lobelia, and then practicing Tai Chi, and find that the process lends to a sort of hyper awareness, and the graceful movement has become a metaphor or re-enactment of the 'battle' between light and dark. And this meditation on the essence of the struggle I find useful, and new awarenesseses often arrive during Tai Chi. I'm reminded too of something Ark asked the C's about walking; about whether movement could somehow keep us out of the control system for a time, for clearer thinking. For me Tai Chi becomes this; a way to move and reflect; to weave in and out; to engage the body consciousness at primal levels and to release stagnant fight or flight energy through motion and breath. There's something about moving consciously, very slowly, that somehow puts me outside of time. I've stared in amazement at animals moving or trees wavering, and time was not a real. Also, through the movement when it is smooth, animals seem to show up around me again. Somehow the metaphors of becoming one with nature makes sense. I personally think much of this has been lost on the traditions, and I only stumble on it by 'accident' by being a solo practitioner. But I thought it might be useful for those engaged in this inquiry.
