This week marks Dyspraxia Awareness Week in the UK. To mark the occasion, I will share some of my experience as someone with dyspraxia and the ways in which taijiquan has impacted that experience.
Background
I was diagnosed with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), which is the official name for dyspraxia in Canada, when I was around 8 years old. As an adult, autism became the framework diagnosis though I clearly remain dyspraxic.
As a boy growing up in cottage country in the late nineties and early aughts, dyspraxia contributed to extreme social isolation. My flexibility, muscle tone, fine motor skills and gross motor coordination were all compromised to varying degrees. By the time I was 12 years old, it was clear I required more physical activity than I was getting.
I started studying Taoist Tai Chi, which is a Yang style variant for health, when I was 12 and quickly saw results. I switched to a more traditional style, studying Chen style tai chi, when I was 23 which led to even more of a change in my experience. As I write this, at age 34, taijiquan has revolutionized my relationship with my body and mind, and I no longer see dyspraxia as a barrier to my practice or living my life.
The Benefits and Effects
Mental Health
Dyspraxia is often accompanied by social isolation and the effects on mental health can be profound. I certainly struggled with anxiety and depression to a much greater degree as a child. Even worse, however, I became alienated from my body, viewing it as the enemy. Taijiquan changed my relationship with my body entirely. I now feel a unity between my body and mind and have found many things about my body to like, and even love.
Strength
Taijiquan might not be associated with strength in the popular imagination, but there is a lot of strength required in the practice. As I began to practice push-hands (tuishou) my instructor advised that exercises like push-ups were advisable to increase upper-body strength. This marked one of the first times I became motivated to strength train. My core was also strengthened via adherence to the upright requirements of form practice. My legs were similarly strengthened over many repetitions of the form as I adhered to the requirements of balance and weight transfer.
Flexibility
My flexibility continues to be a work in progress as my hamstrings remain chronically tight. However, my hip flexibility has increased drastically as hip flexibility is necessary for the power generation and weight transfers within the Chen style taijiquan system.
Gross Motor Skills
My taijiquan practice has greatly increased my gross motor skills. Learning any tai chi routine is an exercise in improving gross motor skills, as tai chi forms (taolu) are notoriously long, even by the standards of other martial arts with similar forms practices. Chen style has several more barehanded forms than others as there are two standard routines that are practiced in two different “frames” (so 4 full-length barehanded forms altogether), plus the usual range of shortened and specialized routines for modern practitioners. Practicing weapons forms also involves an element of gross motor skills beyond the memorization of the forms, as the weapons become extensions of the body and in some cases remain fairly close to the body. Learning how to integrate the body and move in such a way as to direct the entire force of the body to a very small point is part of what is trained during forms practice and is an exercise eventually measured in degrees of improvement.
Fine Motor Skills
My fine motor skills have also improved tremendously. The broadsword/sabre (dao) requires some dexterity and a lot of hand-strength; the straight sword (jian) is all about dexterity and a loose grip. Over the past year, I have begun learning the New Frame barehanded routines which also have greater requirements for the wrist and fingers that cultivate dexterity for greater grappling and joint lock capabilities. I still prefer not to handwrite when possible, and my hands will tire more quickly than many doing dishes, but I have much greater hand-strength and dexterity than I ever image imagined as a kid.
Conclusion
Taijiquan has changed my experience with dyspraxia tremendously. My taiji practice has healed my relationship with my body, offering greater self-esteem and confidence than I ever thought possible. My taiji practice has also improved my strength, flexibility, gross motor skills and fine motor skills far more than I ever imagined and continues to do so.
This process started with the practice of a Yang style variant for health but Chen style taijiquan had a far greater degree of beneficial change. Style is a complex choice, dictated by a host of factors (not the least of which is availability!), but if I had to recommend a style for the most benefit it would be Chen style. That said, any taijiquan style would provide some benefit and I highly encourage anyone with dyspraxia to try practicing tai chi.
Tai chi requires a considerable commitment up-front, as real change and results only arrive after consistent practice over a long period of time, but the required effort is well-worth the dividends.
The Dreamers' Corner 