Learning Chinese characters for Tai Chi: a workbook worth having
As I practice Taijiquan, I am constantly surrounded by Chinese words. They appear in books, on school walls, in form names. And at some point, my curiosity took over.
So I started learning Chinese. Just a little bit: a beginner course, Duolingo. I take it easy. I don’t have plans to go to China anytime soon. For me, it is about connecting with Chinese culture. Chinese characters are beautiful. Writing them feels like a small ritual.
However, most textbooks focus on standard phrases like “how are you” and “I speak English”. I wanted to learn more about Chinese characters for Tai Chi specifically.
I found a Chinese workbook for Tai Chi enthusiasts
Some years ago I interviewed Martin Boedicker. He is a Tai Chi practitioner and author of several Tai Chi and Qi Gong books. Plus he wrote Workbook: Chinese Characters for Beginners*.
A lot of the Chinese characters in this book are related to Taijiquan: Yīn, Yáng, left, right, fist, Àn (push) etc. No small talk, no tourist phrases. Just the vocabulary that actually shows up in my practice and learnings. I enjoy that this workbook was made by a fellow Tai Chi enthusiast.
A free practice sheet to go with it
The workbook explains the characters and gives a list of interesting vocabulary. But I want to practice writing, so I created a separate sheet for that. And I give that list to you! You can download my list of Chinese Characters here.
Personally, I print it four pages per page and add it to my paper planner, which I always carry with me. That way I can practice during waiting time, wherever I am.
If I need more information about how to write something, I just go to YouTube. I especially like the channels trainchinese and Millie Mandarin, but usually I just search for “how to write xxx in Chinese”.
If you are curious about the Chinese characters for your Tai Chi practice, this little workbook* is a lovely place to start. You do not need to become a Chinese student. Just a little curiosity is enough.
