Upper-Intermediate - Saved by the Gong: Tai Chi (D1191)

A同学们好!我们已经学习了一个学期的太极拳了,今天大家自己复习,下节课我们考试。好,现在大家先慢跑一圈,热热身。
tóngxuémen hǎo! wǒmen yǐjīng xuéxí le yī ge xuéqī de tàijíquán le, jīntiān dàjiā zìjǐ fùxí, xià jié kè wǒmen kǎoshì. hǎo, xiànzài dàjiā xiān mànpǎo yī quān, rè re shēn.
Hi, everyone! We've already been studying Tai Chi for a semester. We're going to review today, and there will be a test next class. OK, everyone, jog one lap to warm up!
B太极拳都是老头老太太们打的,我们干吗不学少林功夫啊!还要考试,真没劲!
tàijíquán dōu shì lǎotóu lǎotàitai men dǎ de, wǒmen gànmá bù xué Shàolín gōngfu ā! hái yào kǎoshì, zhēn méijìn!
The only people who do Tai Chi are old men and women. Why on Earth don't we study Shaolin Kung Fu? And we have to take a test, too. What a drag!
C学什么你都要抱怨,太极拳可是我们中国特有的!快练习吧!
xué shénme nǐ dōu yào bàoyuàn, tàijíquán kěshì wǒmen Zhōngguó tèyǒu de! kuài liànxí ba!
You'd complain no matter what you studied. Tai Chi is unique to China! Hurry up and practice.
D我连“起势”的动作要领都没掌握,徐晓婷你快教教我。
wǒ lián "qǐshì" de dòngzuò yàolǐng dōu méi zhǎngwò, Xú Xiǎotíng nǐ kuài jiāo jiao wǒ.
I don't even have a firm grasp of the basic movements of the "starting posture." Xu Xiaoting, teach me a little, quick!
C好。你跟着我做。立正,双脚分开,全身放松,眼睛看前面。集中注意力。把胳膊慢慢地举起来,再慢慢地放下来,举的时候吸气,放的时候呼气。你自己再做一次。
hǎo. nǐ gēn zhe wǒ zuò. lìzhèng, shuāngjiǎo fēnkāi, quánshēn fàngsōng, yǎnjīng kàn qiánmian. jízhōng zhùyìlì. bǎ gēbo mànmàn de jǔ qǐlái, zài mànmàn de fàng xiàlai, jǔ de shíhou xīqì, fàng de shíhou hūqì. nǐzìjǐ zài zuò yī cì.
OK. Follow my example. Stand at attention, with your feet apart, your entire body relaxed, and your eyes looking forward. Focus your attention. Slowly raise your arms, and slowly put them back down. When you raise them, breathe in. When you put them down, breathe out. Do it yourself again.
B陈磊做得不错嘛!体育老师教不会你,徐晓婷一教你就会了,这是为什么呢?
Chén Lěi zuò de bùcuò ma! tǐyù lǎoshī jiāobùhuì nǐ, Xú Xiǎotíng yī jiāo nǐ jiù huì le, zhè shì wèishénme ne?
Chen Lei does it really well! The physical education teacher couldn't teach you, but as soon as Xu Xiaoting taught you, you were able to do it. Why is that?
C林峰,你胡说什么呢!
Lín Fēng, nǐ húshuō shénme ne!
What are you babbling about, Lin Feng?
D再教教我那个“抱球”。
zài jiāo jiao wǒ nàge "bàoqiú" .
Teach me "hugging the ball."
C老师过来了,你让老师指导你吧。
lǎoshī guòlai le , nǐ ràng lǎoshī zhǐdǎo nǐ ba.
The teacher's coming over. Have the teacher teach you.
A陈磊,有什么问题?
Chén Lěi, yǒu shénme wèntí?
Is there a problem here, Chen Lei?
D我不会“抱球”。
wǒ bùhuì "bàoqiú" .
I can't "hug the ball."
A像这样,想象你轻轻抱着一个大球。好。
xiàng zhèyàng, xiǎngxiàng nǐ qīngqīng bào zhe yī ge dà qiú. hǎo.
Like this-- imagine you're lightly holding a big ball. Good.
C老师,你看我的“揽雀尾”做得对不对?
lǎoshī, nǐ kàn wǒ de "lǎnquèwěi" zuò de duìbùduì?
Look, teacher-- am I doing "grasping the sparrow's tail" correctly?
A嗯,不错,动作再连贯再柔和一些就完美了。要运用你的想象,想象你按着一只麻雀的尾巴,一次又一次想松手又怕麻雀跑掉。
ng4, bùcuò, dòngzuò zài liánguàn zài róuhé yīxiē jiù wánměi le. yào yùnyòng nǐ de xiǎngxiàng, xiǎngxiàng nǐ àn zhe yī zhǐ máquè de wěiba, yīcì yòu yīcì xiǎng sōngshǒu yòu pà máquè pǎodiào.
Oh, good. If your movements were a bit more fluid and gentle, it would be perfect. You need to use your imagination. Imagine that you are pressing on a sparrow's tail. You'd like to relax your grip, but you're afraid that the sparrow will run away.
C哎,老师,林峰和陈磊打起来了。不过,又好像不是打架。
āi, lǎoshī, Lín Fēng hé Chén Lěi dǎ qǐlái le. bùguò, yòu hǎoxiàng bù shì dǎjià.
Oh, teacher -- Lin Feng and Chen Lei have started fighting with each other. But it looks like they're not fighting.
A这些男孩子真调皮,老想着练功夫和别人打。
zhèxiē nánháizi zhēn tiáopí, lǎo xiǎng zhe liàn gōngfū hé biérén dǎ.
These boys are really naughty. They're always thinking about practicing kung fu and fighting with people.

Key Vocabulary

学期xuéqīterm, semester
太极拳tàijíquántai chi
慢跑mànpǎoto jog
热身rèshēnto warm up
少林功夫ShàolíngōngfuShaolin-style kung fu
起势qǐshìconditions
要领yàolǐngessentials, fundamentals
立正lìzhèngto stand at attention
放松fàngsōngto relax
集中jízhōngto concentrate
吸气xīqìto inhale
呼气hūqìto exhale
胡说húshuōto talk nonsense
抱球bàoqiúto embrace a ball (a tai chi posture)
指导zhǐdǎoto guide, lead
揽雀尾lǎnquèwěito grasp the sparrow's tail (a tai chi posture)
连贯liánguànconsistent, coherent
柔和róuhégentle
运用yùnyòngto use, apply, wield
打架dǎjiàto fight
调皮tiáopínaughty

Supplementary Vocabulary

来回láihuíto come and go; round trip
领会lǐnghuìto understand, grasp
辅导fǔdǎoto coach, tutor
套路tàolùa set of postures or positions in marital arts
以柔克刚yǐróukègāngto overcome hardness with softness