Pickleball QiGong with Patrick W. Smith
Pickleball calls upon our bodies to perform movements that many of us can make without much preparation.
However, other movements do need gentle rehearsal before we take them to the Pickleball courts.
As more people play Pickleball, more injuries will occur. We are seeing increasing numbers of small and large
injuries because our ageless competitive minds are taking our bodies on journeys that our bodies aren’t quite ready
to take. Our desire to play is writing checks our bodies cannot cash.
In the world of Taichi, Qigong is the root practice that makes TaiChi work. Without Qigong, there is no TaiChi.
Qigong teaches breathing, balance, and relaxation in various movements and postures.
Enter Pickleball Qigong. Pickleball Qigong teaches breathing, balance, and relaxation in various movements and
postures commonly seen in Pickleball. Other related movements augment the benefits of Pickleball Qigong practice
so the participant strengthens muscles and tendons that can soon perform more challenging motions and sustained
activities, like those experienced in a Pickleball match.
Working together with Pickleball Pro Lane Ethridge, Patrick Smith has developed Pickleball Qigong, the seamless
blending of Ancient Chinese Balance, Breathing and Relaxation practices and Pickleball Court movements. Every
movement the body can make, in any arena of play, has a corresponding practice technique in Qigong. Pickleball
Qigong is fun. It wakes the body up. It trains the body in ways that make Pickleball court movement easier and
safer.
The human body moves within a sphere of potential motion. As we grow, our sphere of movement becomes
habitual. We use some motions a lot, and other motions very little. Most of us don’t practice balancing on one foot
or moving backward while facing forward. As we age, our habitual movements often diminish and the ones we did
not do much in our youth simply fade away.
Patrick Smith is an International Master level Black Belt instructor for Dillman Karate International and has studied
Chinese martial arts with two Chinese masters since 2006.
