i usually perform tai chi facing east. Over the course of my practice, I turn in a large circle and work my way around to all the directions, but I start with facing east. And I end facing east too.
But sometimes, like today, you find yourself working in a room like this one, where the layout of the furniture or the shape of the room just doesn’t work for that. So you start off facing in a different direction. And it’s weird, but you do it.
And then, you think, hey, it’s not weird. In a fight, you’re never know from where the attack will begin. You can’t be stressed out because you’re not starting your defensive posture in the east. Directionality is great for practice, but likely not for combat.
And so you do tai chi facing south on the second iteration, and west on the fourth, and north on the third, and east again on the fifth. As you do so, the form warps and changes anyway, as you bend it around furniture and the limits of the room. This always happens, no matter where you go, or who you interact with as you do tai chi.
