Benefits of short forms over long forms

right arm wind up

left arm wind up

right mid position

 left mid position

left end position

It's useful to compare some of these duplications of movement...throwing an object with the dominant and non dominant hand. The start, mid and end positions of the left side throwing and the right side throwing are almost the same. Some variation exists because of different weighted rocks. The most significant change will be the balance. The torquing force of the throwing arm will wind its way down through the body to the forward stabilized leg. Look at the knee in this picture.

With practice, the non dominant side of the body can almost duplicate in dexterity, smoothness, rhythm and strength...but never quite. It's no wonder that in the pro baseball, hitters who can switch sides are a much valued commodity when thrown against a same-side pitcher. Look at these juggling pics...there is almost an equality between the two sides of the body...but not quite!

Notice the shoulders are relaxed and the posture is stable despite whatever hand is manipulating the balls.

These manoeuvers require a lot of practice to perform effortlessly on both sides of the body.

Now, a movement suggestion to improve your tai chi would be to stand in front of a tall wall and toss and catch the ball overhand and underhand at a designated target. Have fun. Give attention to ease of movement and especially balance. At the end of the movement, does your balance feel stable?

Now how do all these movement/pictures  apply to tai chi short and long form? In the experience of this practitioner, short forms are usually practiced left side and right side of the body. Long forms aren't.

Throw that ball against the wall again with your non-dominant arm. Throwing and catching does wonders for  hand/eye coordination. Hurray! You are growing neural networks that will be used for solving problems in math, in science, in the arts. That's the reason you should be practicing both sides in your form. Challenging the non-dominant side of the body not only improves defensive/offensive strategies, there's a whole lot of sprouting going on in your brain! If you listen carefully, that cellular growth might sound like your popcorn machine on overdrive.