Slow down

One big focus of tai chi is slower motion movement. Once you are making progress it is necessary to address the pace of your exercises.

Qigong, form and solo drilling should be performed at a notably slower pace in order to attain full strength.

Holistic health?

The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi lists 8 ingredients that promote good health:

1. Awareness (including mindfulness & focussed attention)
2. Intention
3. Structural integration (including dynamic form & function)
4. Active relaxation
5. Strengthening & flexibility
6. Natural, freer breathing
7. Social support (including interaction & community)
8. Embodied spirituality (including wisdom & ritual)

These 8 tai chi components offer a multi-layered approach to the cultivation of fitness, vitality and wellbeing.

Beginners

A tai chi beginner is not adept with tai chi so they need to do a lot of qigong. It provides the necessary fitness benefits by serving as a stopgap pending higher level tai chi skill.

Transcendence

An instructor should aim to train every student up to their level and foster the skills necessary to go further. This approach benefits the teacher as well, because a skilled student offers better partner practice and a greater challenge.

It also reflects their ability to teach. A student is not defined by their teacher. They can exceed the teacher.

Consider people such as Einstein or Mozart. Clearly Einstein exceeded the sum of his teacher's expertise; he is considered to be one of the most powerful thinkers of all time... What was his physics teacher called?

Every good teacher wants the student to exceed their own limitations.

Awareness

Tai chi involves the cultivation of moment-by-moment awareness, paying attention to what is taking place as it is taking place.

Unlike mainstream meditation, this does not involve sitting. It is an active process, involving your body as well as your mind.

The physicality of the art enables you to take the skills immediately and directly into everyday life.

Effortless

Teaching is much more difficult than just standing at the front and talking or demonstrating. To be really competent requires considerable experience, as well as the ability to convey information in an incremental fashion, appropriate to the target audience.

A teacher should have an effortless grasp of the material. They should move with softness, fluidity, grace and whole-body strength. The self defence applications should also seem easy. They should never become angry, stiff or tense.

Awareness

Without awareness you have no tai chi. Awareness can only come about through feeling and sensitivity. Your teacher should create situations that require you to feel.

The greater your awareness, the better your tai chi.

Weaponry

The only real weapon in our approach to tai chi is you. It is essential to regard your own body and mind as the weapon.

You must regard your body as a structure that can be employed creatively against somebody else.

When you pick up a weapon, it must become an extension of your body: part of your body. If the weapon does not move as part of you, set it aside.

The body as the weapon

Do not think of your hands as the main self defence weapon. Your body is the weapon - in particular the weight of the torso. Hands and feet are just a means of gaining contact with somebody else. You must feed movement and energy through your limbs and into the other person.

Rubber knife

The knife is a very popular and dangerous weapon. We learn how to defend against it.

Students are not taught how to use a knife in self defence.

The mind as a weapon

The mind is more powerful than the body.

Without achieving the appropriate state of calm awareness, picking up a stick or throwing a punch is a waste of time.

Intent powers the weapon, so the mind must be trained far harder than the body.

Be realistic

Although we teach weaponry, unarmed self defence comes first. If you cannot defend yourself against a punch, kick, grapple or knife, why bother learning how to use a sword?

Weapons practice in the lower grades is quite limited. The weapons are seen as a means to develop other skills, rather than an end in themselves. They can help to train whole-body usage and improve fa jing.

What is the point of doing weapons?

·  precision
·  better peng
·  increased strength
·  increased striking power
·  better muscle tone in the arms, back and torso
·  agility and footwork (none of the weapons forms are slow forms)

 Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not a wise man's tools.

He uses them only when he has no choice.

Peace and quiet are dear to his heart.

And victory no cause for rejoicing.

If you rejoice in victory, then you delight in killing;

If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfil yourself.

(Lao Tzu)

Daily exercise

Dr Michael Greger (author of How Not To Die) recommends 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day.

The three doctors who wrote The Okinawa Program maintain that tai chi - with its ancient origins and incredible health benefits - is the ideal workout for modern people.

If this sounds like a lot of exercise, why not chop it up into smaller increments spaced throughout the day?

Do not follow

When you are in class and something is being explored, do not be passive. Think it through, understand it. Find the strengths and weaknesses; figure it out for yourself.

Following another is pointless; it will simply lead to ignorance and dependency, neither of which is desirable.

Moral

Within every lesson surrounding the tai chi practice there is a Taoist insight that pertains to how we interact with the world around us. The insight may concern physics, biology, philosophy or human relationship. There is never just a surface meaning.

A skilful student intuits what is really being taught.

Definition

The word 'lesson' has two common definitions:

1. A structured period of time where learning occurs

2. A moral or message

Class

Tai chi lessons should not be comparable to learning Spanish cookery at night school or line dancing. They should combine both meanings of the word 'lesson'.

Students should learn new physiological skills and also gain an increasing perception of the underlying significance involved. Learning movements is not enough; there must be a deeper level to the tuition.

One is taught in accordance to one’s fitness to learn.

(The Silent Flute)

Perspective

Balancing your tai chi with reading Tao helps your mind find harmony in life and you see things quite differently. Literal examples in class encourage you to see things differently.

How we were educated to regard reality is not the only option open to us.

Our classes challenge conventional wisdom and cultivate an inquiring mind that  seeks out alternatives. Problematic situations now seem innocuous, and life becomes easier as your barriers soften within.

Boredom

Form collecting is a modern habit which arises when a student is unwilling to commit the necessary practice to mastering a form. In short, the student gets bored.

It can take 10-20 years to get really good at one system of tai chi. How many modern people have that sort of patience?

Stronger

Everyone becomes stronger in our classes. We condition the body to endure more exercise and develop some serious stamina. Age is not a problem unless you have serious health concerns. Nobody is ever pushed; they proceed at their own pace.

Slowly, patiently, the body re-grow. We test this emerging strength to encourage further development and confidence in the training.

Drowsy

Many students feel drowsy at the end of a tai chi session and feel like going to sleep. Yet they also feel pleasantly alert, but without any anxiety. Their muscles are relaxed and their minds are calm.

Ultimately, you reach a point where this dreamy state of relaxation remains throughout the day.

Acquisitive

Beginners sometimes want to collect a whole series of forms. Why?

Form offers embryonic moves that teach the underlying principles, not set responses.

Form was designed to contain all the applications of the system without need of additional sequences/forms.

As a consequence, you only need to train one style of tai chi.

Memory

If you have trouble remembering the form, then take one movement home with you from class and drill that movement every day until the next lesson. Watch the Form DVD of you own it.

The following week, take home two movements, and so on... Pretty soon, you will have an entire sequence.

Gym & other martial arts

Tai chi is not like gym work or other martial arts.

Once a week training at your local karate class may result in a black belt in a few years, but this approach will not work for tai chi.

We are looking to move instinctively and naturally - without forethought or hesitation - and this entails regular practice of the form sequence.

No time?

People frequently complain that they have no time to practice tai chi at home.

A beginner only learns section 1 of the form and that section takes 2 minutes to perform.

Is there anyone on the planet who cannot set aside 2 minutes of their day for something useful and productive?

It is all a matter of priority.

Form every day

Tai chi form was never intended to be a once-a-week exercise. It was designed for daily practice.

Ideally, 15-20 minutes should be set aside for form because the complete sequence takes that long to perform.

A beginner may only have 2 movements to train or a 2 minute sequence, but they should still consider committing up to 15 minutes practice to what they have learned.

You do not feel wiped out

Qigong offers an interesting way to exercise the body. When performed correctly, qigong feels to be so mild that it is hard to believe that anything is really happening.

There is no sweating, straining or panting for breath. 

What does qigong mean?

 The term 'qigong' refers to a variety of exercises designed to cultivate the flow of blood and oxygen around the body, as well as released trapped energy within muscle tissues.

 Other spellings commonly used - qi gong or chi kung. It is pronounced 'chee gung'.  

Our energy is more precious than all the gold in the world. It is a more powerful anti-aging tool than anything else. 

Energy regenerates our liver and other tissue cells, flushes toxic waste from the body, helps maintain our ideal weight, keeps our skin smooth and our hair healthy. 

The more energy we have, the better we feel and the more beautiful we become.

(Kimberly Snyder)

As easy as it gets...

When you think of exercise, images of sweaty runners, straining weight lifters and exertive yoga postures come to mind. Qigong is not like this.

Few exercises in the world are as easy to perform as 'moving qigong'. No hardship, no suffering, no pain. The main challenge lies simply in doing the movements 'naturally', healthily and comfortably.

Almost anyone is capable of doing qigong; but the real trick is doing it correctly...

Learning new habits/responses

Once your body has begun to lose the old habits, it is ready for something new.

Neigong is concerned with instilling physical patterns that strengthen the body from the inside out.

Partner work examines the relationship between your body and someone else's.
The challenge is to maintain good posture and composure whilst performing 

complex activities. This encourages your body to take the skills into your daily life.

Qigong is a powerful way to exercise the body

• Starts simple but becomes more challenging

• Increases stamina and endurance

• Improves balance

• Stress-relief

• Encourages a calm mind and composed emotions

• Energises

• Does not strain the body

• Strength-building

• Emphasis is placed upon mobile joints, relaxed muscles and natural movement

• Improves skeletal alignment, poise and coordination 

• Low-impact

• Can be practiced by most people

Partial artists

As an instructor, it is disappointing when students start lessons wanting to learn a martial art and never get past the beginners qigong class.

Everyone can learn the basic exercises if they commit time, effort and patience to the task.

Conditioning the body

We can address balance and connection once the muscles soften, the joints relax and the body opens. The psoas muscle needs to lengthen naturally; this will aid in strengthening the body without tension, as well as providing stability.

Qigong and neigong serve to internally work and support the body as you perform tai chi. From this foundation, you learn how to move in a tai chi way.
The form and self defence training exercises explore this unique way of moving.

Each new exercise offers an opportunity for you to increase your physical awareness. It is an inward journey of subtlety and relationship. The conditioning and awareness training encourages your mind to soften and your body to grow in new ways.

Comparison

Sometimes people have studied a similar system before and use this as a benchmark for comparison; rather than The Tai Chi Classics. 

Comparison has some potential flaws: the first is you and your ability to correctly interpret what you are seeing. With tai chi, what you see is not usually what you get - the whole point of the system is to hide the substance.

If you base your comparison on what you were taught; was the tai chi taught correctly and did you understand what you were taught?

As a beginner you will be shown what you need to see and told what you need to hear. This will not be the full measure of the syllabus. You are taught in accordance with your ability to learn.

Arrogance

It is quite common for people to attend a tai chi class and never return. This is alright; tai chi is not for everyone.

New starters also imagine that they can gauge the teacher's ability and understand the syllabus after just one lesson. This is absurdly naive and somewhat arrogant. 

Imagine watching a movie such as Project Hail Mary for the first time... If you switch it off during the title sequence, can you honestly claim to have the remotest grasp of the film? You need to see it through to the very end to do that. Having watched the film, you may understand the plot but can you say how it was made, why it worked and be capable of making it yourself? There is clearly much more to a film than the final product that you see onscreen. 

A tai chi syllabus is a complex journey of physical practice and psychological change, and only the most dedicated student will ever reach a stage where it makes sense to them.

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

(Proverb)

Tai chi classes

Not all classes are the same.

We recognise that ours is a little different from the mainstream. Rather than simply perpetuate an unthinking approach to tai chi, we encourage students to engage with the art, to be creative and to ask questions.

Western people often complain that tai chi stances hurt their knees or that self defence does not work. It is important to address these and other concerns.
Perpetuating potentially harmful traditions is not smart at all. Sifu Waller encourages a forum for discovery.

New starters

Experience a 2-week introduction any Monday night except bank holidays.

Martial skill

Judo, ju jitsu, karate and wing chun will reward the dedicated person with some degree of martial skill in a reasonable amount of time. The internal arts are not quite the same; the time commitment is longer and the expectations differ.

It is not enough to evade, grapple, punch and kick. How you do it matters more than the application itself.

In taijiquan, the skills must be applied without using localised strength, aggression or any loss of composure. This is not easy.

Touch

For our tai chi students, nothing is better than working with the teacher directly. You feel how they move, how softly they make contact and how little effort takes place. This is an invaluable experience.

Your teacher offers you a physical illustration of what is to come. They should embody the very characteristics and qualities you are currently working towards. Without working 'hands on', this understanding is not possible.

Why is the root of wisdom so deep?

Because it must be planted in our lives.

The road to the precious capital is not for the inattentive.

(Loy Ching-Yuen)

Not so easy

The martial art of tai chi is comprised of physically easy movements that do not tax or strain the body. Anyone could perform them in theory. 

In practice, tai chi is quite hard work. The easy-seeming movements are actually very subtle, and require good coordination, timing, rhythm and balance.

Copying the outer appearance of tai chi is not sufficient. What matters in tai chi is the internal, the substance - the things that are not so easily seen.

 The enigmatic nature of the Tao Te Ching is due fundamentally to Lao Tzu's realisation that we make sense of living by entering it directly, not by trying to understand it as detached observers.

We cannot escape ourselves. To use a Zen metaphor, the sword cannot cut itself. Neither can we make sense of living through a haze of intellectual constructs; living is larger and more elusive than the systems we invent to explain it. So we never quite understand ourselves and the universe in which we live. The Tao is the freedom that comes with not-understanding.

(Ray Grigg) 

As you like it

If your personal commitments are such that you cannot (or do not want to) put a lot of time and effort into your tai chi, that is fine. You must do what feels right for you and your lifestyle.

People all get something different from the art.

Take it easy. Do what you can. Do what suits you. And let the art unfold at its own pace.

Old & young

The Tai Chi Classics tell us that an old man defeats a gang of youths. But he cannot be using strength. So how does he do it? A young, fit person can tense their muscles and force a result.

An old man cannot. He must rely upon:

1. The quality and effect of his touch (jing)
2. Whole-body strength (neigong)
3. Alignment (qigong and form)
4. His capacity to respond appropriately (combat)
5. Timing, positioning, rhythm

As you grow old, your external strength will drain away. Whole-body strength does not fade in quite the same way.

With understanding, and the correct application of the tai chi principles, you can hope to maintain a level of fitness and martial competence well into old age.

A tai chi person must behave as though they had the limited strength of an old person, and rely upon the internal rather than the external.

Understand

You must never resort to force or brute strength. The moment you start to tense your muscles, your whole-body strength is gone.

A lower level student has difficulty coming to terms with the nature of whole-body strength.

The reason why you train it for years is so that you do not have to consciously apply strength when you need it. Whole-body strength is inherent; it is there all the time.

If something never comes or goes, why would you need to deliberately summon strength?

Until you understand this for yourself and have the faith that comes from pressure-testing your whole-body strength, you will remain a beginner.

Falling into the well

Letting go of your old habits and trusting that whole-body strength is present requires a leap of faith. You must simply move and then evaluate the consequences later. How do you do it?

There is no doing. It is like the koan: When you can do nothing, what can you do?

Whole-body strength will be there when you stop all the doing, all the preparation, anticipation, the physical and psychological tension.

The doing was all the work that developed your whole-body strength. Like ingredients used to bake a cake.

To apply whole-body strength, you must simply relax and move as softly as you can - using the whole-body.

Being soft and gentle is the key - the less effort you make, the more whole-body strength will emerge.

 Those who use force soon exhaust themselves.

And what can be accomplished with exhaustion and struggle?

But those who follow Tao become one with the Tao.

Because they move with the world, they become one with the force of its moving.

Because they are one with the world, great things easily happen.

Therefore, those who trust the Way of the world are empowered by the world.

(Lao Tzu)

Ghost walking?

In Asia, ghosts are depicted as having no feet. They float. A tai chi student cannot float but their sense of being 'suspended from above' should feel as if they do.

Asian ghosts don't have heavy footfalls. In fact they make no sound on the ground at all.

Many people have very loud steps. Concussive. Vibrational. Loud. This indicates weak, collapsed muscles. They have succumbed to the pull of gravity...

Instead, we must lengthen upwards and be light and silent. Like the old Kung Fu TV show where Kwai Chang Caine must walk on rice paper without tearing it?

Our next induction course is Monday 7th September.

New starters are welcome! 

Resistance is futile

Students train whole-body strength but deny themselves the benefits of their hard work by clinging to old habits of tension. It is not enough to perform qigong, form and neigong.

If you want to use whole-body strength, then you must employ it. This means letting go of your past.

So long as you dither and doubt, and persist with the use of local tension, there will be no internal skill. Resisting force is simply not the way of tai chi.

 In order to escape from danger, one need only take the line of least resistance, just as liquid spills from a vessel over the lowest point of its rim.

Concentrate only on escaping.

(I Ching) 

Weapons range

As they progress through the syllabus, students study weapons and the associated training teaches agile footwork.

The range of a weapon is greater and you need to avoid being hit. In order to utilise the weapon fully, a student needs to move freely and comfortably. Lumbering footwork is not adequate.

Weapons practice teaches fast, responsive footwork and rapid direction changes.

90 minutes a day

Dr Michael Greger (author of How Not To Die) recommends 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day.

The three doctors who wrote The Okinawa Program maintain that tai chi - with its ancient origins and incredible health benefits - is the ideal form of exercise for modern people.

If this sounds like a lot of exercise, why not chop it up into smaller increments spaced throughout the day?

Lazy

Most people start class with very lazy feet and poor physical sensitivity.

They are reluctant to step, and will stretch out their arms instead - effectively disconnecting the upper and lower body immediately.

Alternatively, they bend their knees too much and then find stepping difficult. A martial student must become nimble, agile and fluid.

Beginners

Beginners practice a variety of footwork drills from the very onset of training. In order to avoid being hit or caught-up in a struggle, it is necessary to get out of the way.

The yin/yang symbol is the interlocking, melting together of the flow of movement within a circle.

(Chungliang Al Huang)

Tai chi article

Adjustment

The Long Yang form encourages the student to perceive stepping as being an 'adjustment'. You alter position favourably by stepping. But you only step if and when you need to.

Long Yang form

The Long Yang form does not involve any fancy footwork. There is plenty of stepping throughout the form, but it is far from dynamic. How come?

Many beginners think that they do not need to warm-up. Skipping a warm-up will automatically result in pain later on, and that will restrict your fighting abilities. A good pre-workout warm-up protects against future aches and pains. Furthermore, it is also an immediate factor in improving performance.

(Frederic Delavier)

Our next induction course is Monday 7th September.

New starters are welcome! 

Clarity

Your mind perceives reality and then determines how, when or if to act. The clearer your perception, the more appropriate the course of action you take. 

Clarity does not emerge spontaneously.

Few people think clearly. Cultivating clarity takes time, contemplation, study, meditation and patience.

 When luxury and excess begin in high places,

the effects spread everywhere.

When leaders have more wealth than wisdom,

they prefer fancy clothes and exotic foods,

foolish amusements and self-indulgence.

When they place their own wellbeing

above the care of others,

They are worse than common thieves.

(Lao Tzu)

Quality of life

There is a danger in seeking to be gratified or entertained. Comfort is a sword that cuts both ways. A modicum of hardship keeps us alive and alert.

Rather than indulge in that trip to Cambodia, go and work at the soup kitchen. 

Instead of gorging at the trendy new restaurant, grow your own fresh vegetables and make the meal from scratch.

Wash your own dishes. Iron your own clothes. Clean your own house. Make things from scratch. Become self-sufficient and resilient...

Hobbies

The unfamiliar may cause apprehension and uncertainty but that is the entire point. Undertaking new pursuits and interests breaks you from lifelong bad habits and the risk of indolence.

You will also meet new and unexpected people.

Nutrition

You are what you eat. No matter what you do with your body or your mind, nutrition remains paramount. Take the time to find out what qualifies as high quality nutrition and eat to stay alive.

 Most studies agree that there are a number of key personality characteristics that are important for healthy aging: easygoing, cheerful, self-confident, adaptable, active, independent, creative, happy, relaxed, satisfied, calm, open, agreeable, conscientious, sociable and having a high tolerance for frustration being mentioned most often.

The traits that lead to an unhealthy, shorter life? Being repressed, dogmatic, stubborn, hostile, neurotic, angry, guilty, sad, fearful, anxious, depressed and aggressive.

(Dr Bradley Wilcox, Dr Craig Wilcox and Dr Makoto Suzuki)

A spanner in the works?

Most people exercise with extremely bad posture and poor habits of body use. Qigong and tai chi are trying to remedy these.

If you train another system frequently enough, the benefits of tai chi are nullified. It is OK to train a wide range of exercise methods without ruining your tai chi. The key concern is moderation.

Avoid over-doing it: over-stretching, straining or exerting. Be mindful of posture, poise and tension.

Cross-training?

Students often want to do other forms of exercise in addition to their tai chi. This is fine. The question is: does the other method conflict with the goals of tai chi? Balance? Relaxed muscles? Coordination?

If it does, the tai chi will not work and you will not get the desired fitness benefits or any martial skill.

A balanced body?

Tai chi is not aiming to produce a 'tai chi body'. Rather, it seeks to restore the body to a unified condition of wholeness. Balanced. Mobile. Coordinated. Agile. Supple. Youthful.

Balance is a good thing to think about, but can lead to a false idea of fixity. Our aim is not to be rigid and stable like a wardrobe or a house.

We want to be balancing... 'Balancing' is a process of adjustment; altering what we do in response to what is taking place. Now, that is healthy. Mentally and physically.

Hope

Our information-saturated culture has produced a distracted, lazy, bored, restless, stressed, unhealthy population. People expect instant gratification. They want to show off.

They want results without putting in any work. They want to share their opinions. Speculate. Talk politics.

Not a great starting place for a new starter? However, the very fact that the person wants to try something new is a good start. It offers hope. The possibility of change.

At some level the individual wants to change. This is good. However, to make any real progress in tai chi they have shed these modern, unproductive attitudes...

Thinking habits

The thinking patterns and habits of new students are often far worse than their bodies. Most people have never stuck any new endeavour long enough to understand what learning entails.

They tend to be impatient, overconfident and naive concerning their own abilities. e.g. we once had a man with an artificial hip who neglected to mention it on his 'medical liability disclaimer' because he personally didn't consider it to be a medical matter...

If you want to reconsider 'thinking', why not read Grit, Smarter Faster Better, 5 Elements of Effective Thinking and Peak...? Then put the suggested thinking skills into actual practice.

Body habits

New starters tend to have appalling body habits. These have been accumulated across a lifetime; producing a random, haphazard mess. Sometimes, the habits are the outcome of yoga, the gym or a sport.

The tai chi teacher usually wishes they could dismantle the student's body and start again, but it doesn't work like that because bodies are organic. The body needs to loosen up, relax and then re-grow.

This requires patience, focus and perseverance... like a gardener. Results won't come overnight.

Muscles

If your muscles are working optimally, they should move your body around without there being any sense of work taking place. Everything will feel comfortable, easy and smooth.

When you are chronically over-working your muscles, this is not the case at all. You exert constantly. You apply vast amounts of energy to the performance of simplistic tasks that require almost no energy to accomplish.

A big impediment

The largest impediment faced by a student of tai chi is their own perception of strength. Invariably, the student is convinced that their physical experience of strength is strength.

Quite often they are wrong. What they are feeling is not strength at all. It is tension.

Looking is narrow

Looking is focussed and narrow. Seeing is expansive and open. Meditation is the condition of being present, of seeing without impediment.

You are very much in the immediate moment: feeling, seeing, experiencing. There are no thoughts and no worries.

Spacing out

Modern people are seldom fully present. They try to 'multi-task'. Even when there are no obvious, visible distractions, they somehow manage to be elsewhere.

These same people worry about Alzheimer's disease...

The sage speaks. You hear what you want. I hear what I want.

(Chakravarty)

Our next induction course is Monday 7th September.

New starters are welcome!

What is science?

Science is the attempt to understand the nature of reality.

In martial terms it refers to the techniques and strategies used in real combat, as well as the physical requirements that make the system operate effectively.

In tai chi we must ask: how can natural law be used in combat?

 Tai chi is often described as "meditation in motion," but it might well be called "medication in motion." There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice, which originated in China as a martial art, has value in treating or preventing many health problems. And you can get started even if you aren't in top shape or the best of health.

Tai chi differs from other types of exercise in several respects. The movements are usually circular and never forced, the muscles are relaxed rather than tensed, the joints are not fully extended or bent, and connective tissues are not stretched. Tai chi addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning.

(Harvard Medical School’s Harvard Health Publication, May 2009)

 The Chinese exercise practice of tai chi can significantly boost the body's immune system response to virus infection.

(ABC Science, regarding a University of California study)

Jerky

Making very small movements is difficult initially. In modern society, our bodies are not encouraged to make small, smooth, controlled movement. Everything is jerky and abrupt.

Jerky movement agitates the nervous system and this in turn leads to anxiety and a lack of calm.

e.g. if you simply flick the wrist, the joint is not exercised properly but if you move the wrist extremely slowly, you feel a very notable stretch throughout the entire movement.

Think small...

It is easy for most people to perform large, extended movements that rotate the shoulder joint or bend the elbow. No particular skill is involved.

Whilst large movements may indeed exercise some of the muscles and the joints, they fail to address the full range of potential movement.

The real skill lies in the small, in the subtle. Your hands in particular need to be good with small movements.

Body building and weight lifting are fashionable activities today. The emphasis is upon developing external muscles which creates an armouring effect that can eventually distort the bony structure. It is the over developed musculature that actually torque's the bones and discourages them from bearing additional weight. The body attempts to compensate and problems arise.

Running does not necessarily in and of itself improve posture that is already poor and constricted. It often exaggerates problems due to the substitution of inappropriate muscles. The repetitive inappropriate development of the musculature (as in body building or weight lifting) often leads to diminished sensitivity. Stress occurs in the knees and lower back, encouraging injury.

Swimming is an activity that can either create structural problems or release them depending upon the way it is taught and practiced. Professional swimmers are known to develop shoulder tendonitis and kyphosis. Overriding head/neck righting reflexes (as occurs when the head is repeatedly turned but the body does not follow) eventually result in overdeveloping shoulder muscles, pinching nerves and distorting the rib cage.

Various sport activities emphasize strength, endurance and speed. Development of muscle control rather than skeletal balance takes precedence. Gaining speed at the expense of mounting tension, is too often the goal.

(Liz Koch) 

Curious

A student needs to be intensely curious about human biomechanics: balance, leverage, structure, stability, mobility, coordination, range & reach, natural order...

They should research different methods of using the body: other styles of tai chi, other martial arts, sports, yoga, Pilates, Alexander Technique, ergonomics, rehabilitation therapy.

Open your mind to new possibilities. Watch people use their body. Observe your own usage. Study how animals move and why.

What is biomechanics?

It is the study of the structure and function of biological systems.

Sacroiliac - the lost joint?

Many people have no idea what the sacroiliac is or what it does. Often the joint is frozen and other joints are required to compensate for the lack of movement.

Frequently the knees are tasked to do the work of the lower back.

Our next induction course is Monday 7th September.

New starters are welcome!

Hollow back

An alternative to upper back fat can be a serious lack of muscular development between the shoulder blades. This is the outcome of neglect. The back looks hollow and sunken. 

Fatty deposits

People who don't use their scapula in a healthy manner can develop extensive fatty deposits between the shoulder blades. This is essentially a large slab of fat located on the upper back.

Shoulders & neck

Shoulder and neck tension can occur from stooping, leaning the head forward/craning the neck and from exerting with the arms. (There are no doubt other reasons too).

Computers and TVs have flickering, hypnotic screens. Craning forward forces your shoulders to compensate for the weight of your head.

The risk of heart failure was more than double for men who sat for at least five hours a day outside of work and didn't exercise very much, compared with men who were physically active and sat for less than two hours a day.

(Dr. Deborah Rohm) 

Stop

Resting is not the same as relaxing. To rest is to stop all activity. If you make the time to rest properly your spine will widen and lengthen quite naturally.

Weight

The weight of your head and ribcage should be supported by the spine and by the strong muscles of the lower torso.

If the muscles are weak and the skeleton slumps forward, the weight of the bones/muscles/internal organs are supported by a slouched spine.

Only a spine that is upright and maintaining its natural curves can handle the weight of your upper body.

Slouching

Computers, driving the car, sitting and poor day-to-day standing can lead people to stoop and slouch. Modern technology does not help.

Naivety

Poor alignment, unrealistic ambitions and a failure to warm-up thoroughly enough result in back problems.

Many people go to the gym, lift heavy weights and then suffer from injuries, or run with an unhealthy, unbalanced, tension-filled technique.

Would-be martial artists do no training all week and yet expect to engage in challenging combat uninjured...

Losing the natural curvature

Instead of relaxing the lower back and allowing the pelvis to remain neutral, many people shorten the lower back.

The spine loses its natural curvature and becomes weaker; more vulnerable to injury. They are typically unaware of this habit because it is 'familiar' and seems 'normal' to them.

Releasing the lower back is easy. However, you need to monitor it repeatedly throughout the day until it becomes an established habit.

Seek out the calm

Finding quiet places requires some degree of effort. They may be subject to time, day or season. You might need to get up very early or stay up very late. These places can be found.

In order to find these places, you must slow down. You must want to step off the treadmill, into the shade and find peace.

Outdoors

There are quiet places to be found in every city and every town. You just have to seek them out. Lost places, where people seldom go. Leaves overgrown the streets and wildflowers are abundant.

Nature flourishes. The air is cleaner and there are no cars and few people.

A bubble of stimulation

Most people exist in a bubble. They wake in their own home, get into their car and then go to work/shops/wherever. There is seldom any time spent being calm.

Homes, cars and public places are usually filled with noise and stimulation. Visual images, flickering screens, twittering voices, gossip... Where is the peace in your life? The stillness?

 Adapt, conserving your efforts.

 (I Ching)

 Cord: Who are you?

Blind shepherd: Whoever you think I am or want me to be, I am.

(The Silent Flute)

Does your martial art work?

That is a good question.

The effectiveness of the martial art depends upon the person doing it and appropriateness of their actions when assaulted. It has nothing to do with strength, speed, gender or experience; it is your ability to keep a cool head and apply the art with awareness and skill.

Sifu Waller trains students to respond in a manner that feels right to the individual. Although everyone adheres to the tai chi principles of body usage, movement and relationship, the application of the material differs according to the person.

Edward De Bono:

A carpenter can use all the tools of carpentry but at any one moment uses the tool that seems appropriate for the situation.

Our next induction course is Monday 7th September.

New starters are welcome!

The Old Ways

Yoga has been practiced since the dawn of recorded history. So has qigong. The principles and precepts of tai chi are ancient... These methods have been proved over millennia.

Freedom from chit-chat

Talking is considered to be a form of restlessness, of agitation. Curious? Only when the mind is both silent and still can deeper thought take place, unimpeded by chit-chat.

The mind must settle. Relax. Stop.

Ceaseless activity

People seek to feel vital and alive as they grow older. They engage in vigorous activities and work hard to keep their thoughts continually occupied.

Hurrying around, taking on new commitments, watching the news, playing with technology, gossiping, getting upset about political issues...

This is not rejuvenation. It is a recipe for mental health issues, a heart attack or a stroke.

The 70% rule

If you remain well within your limits at all times there is less risk of injury.

Most people exceed their natural range of safe movement frequently throughout the day without realising it.

The 70% rule encourages them to be aware of their natural range.

In self defence, over-commitment is a serious flaw because you have little room for failure.

Holding 30% in reserve is a useful safety precaution.

100%

If you were to perform every tai chi action to 100% of your physical limit - in terms of stretch and endurance - you would be working at maximum capacity.

The 100% capacity approach is the 'no pain, no gain' attitude to exercise.

It opens you up for strain and injury because you are fully committed at all times.

We recommend following the 70% rule.

Slow movement

Making very small movements is difficult initially.

In modern society, our bodies are not encouraged to make small, smooth, controlled movement.

Everything is jerky and abrupt.

In the first movement of the form, we must place the palms down (as if on a table) then smoothly lift the arms up to shoulder height.

As the arms lift, the wrists must gradually flex so that the hand changes from a flat shape to a bent shape.

The arms then lower and the hand moves from bent back to flat again.

This movement of the wrist must be very slow, smooth and gradual.

If you simply flick the wrist, the joint is not exercised properly but if you move the wrist extremely slowly, you feel a very notable stretch throughout the entire exercise.

Seeing

When you slow down, you begin to notice things. The study of neigong is a refinement of awareness, in which certain qualities are allowed and cultivated. By being slow, you can pay attention to what is happening.

Rushing is not healthy. Fast movement is often at the expense of good body alignment and can indicate a loss of composure. The unhurried pace of tai chi allows you time to experience life in a more complete fashion.

Meditation

Modern life involves a lot of boring activities. People are accustomed to daydreaming or 'spacing out'. The difficulty of tai chi necessitates complete attention. It helps the mind to become calm and centred.

Slow motion practice encourages your mind to remain captivated by the immediacy of the moment, to feel every nuance of every movement. This degree of awareness is very healthy.

Tai chi is about changing our internal environment so that life becomes a joy to live and not a burden to drag into old age and death. It is about helping your body to let go of the past and your mind to slow down and cease churning. Tai chi encourages your internal focus to shift toward cherishing and remembering all that is wonderful in your life. It predisposes you to look forward to ways to make life better, rather than remembering how unsatisfying it has been.

Most importantly, tai chi gives us the ability to realise a greater human potential in ourselves and to have genuine compassion for others. Tai chi, with its gentle strength, moves us closer to feeling more truly alive.

(Bruce Frantzis)

Neigong

Neigong requires a certain kind of body movement that naturally produces fa jing. Nothing is forced.

Neigong naturally encourages the whole-body action necessary for fa jing - the process is continual and ongoing. You become capable of kinetic energy release without having to try.

Aggressive approaches

Some methods involve shouting and aggression, with abrupt jerky actions that may cause tension in the body and problems if you are prone to migraine.

Although the muscles remain soft, there is a definite jarring element to it.

Bruce Frantzis sees this approach as giving-in to your animal nature, instead of sublimating it within the human.

Secrets

Tai chi hides its secrets in the open. Your inability to comprehend them is a reflection of your own occluded nature. To unlock tai chi, you must change yourself.

If you are not discerning and scientific in your study, years may be spent practicing material that conflicts with The Tai Chi Classics, and does not really follow the way of tai chi.

 He taught me to vibrate the breath and body rather fiercely and loudly like a growling lion, stretch the tendons, turn the waist like the motions of a food mixer, hit my own body and then flap my arms in the air. I started accruing some fa jing, although of a more shocking nature, rather than the smooth kind that can come from tai chi.

The drawback is that it made my energy jumpy.

(Bruce Frantzis)

Mastery

Can you actually master tai chi? To do so suggests a degree of self-consciousness incongruent with tai chi practice. Surely you need to be mastered by tai chi?

Your body and mind must flow with what is happening; undisturbed and without resistance. Yielding, surrendering - until the 'you' is no longer present. When you and tai chi are indivisible, there is no master, no perfection.

Returning

Returning is an important theme in tai chi; the movements should not start and stop. Energy must release and return constantly as the body expands and contracts. Similarly, if your mind wanders, you return to what you doing and continue.

If you make a mistake, you identify, accept, correct and then begin again. Every time you practice, you start the form afresh by returning to the beginning. There is no end, no perfection. Just endless returning.

Virtue

Tai chi needs to be considered according to its own nature... Each movement has particular characteristics; both energetically and martially. 

What is the essence of each movement?

The body must adjust to express the appropriate energy, remaining utterly loose, balanced and relaxed at all times. Your muscles must be soft but not flaccid.

Sometimes we adjust so well to the current way of doing things that any other change seems unthinkable.

(Edward De Bono)

 The dynamic nature of their philosophy laid more stress upon the process through which perfection was sought than upon perfection itself.

(Kakuzo Okakura) 

In & out

Inhale when your arms come in, exhale as your arms move out.
Inhale as the arms lift, exhale as they lower.

Inhale as you lift to kick...

This may seem odd until you consider the difference between a hand or leg strike. With the hands or body, you shift from one leg to another as you strike. Yet, with a kick the weight is in one leg only - the supporting one. As you lift the body and kick, you inhale. If you exhaled as the leg rises, your balance would follow your breath.

We only exhale for kicks that are inclined downward, and are using gravity and weight.

Types of breathing

Methods of breathing used in tai chi:

1. Abdominal

2. Reverse

3. Pre-natal

4. Turtle

Natural

Your body knows how to breathe already. It is important to remember this before considering any kind of 'breath work'.

Tai chi should avoid interfering with what is natural.

 First of all, do not be caught by words - you understand?

The word is not the actual thing, the word 'tree' is not the actual tree - that's simple.

The word will not help you to touch the tree; you have to come into contact with it,

to put your hand upon it. We are slaves to words, slaves to ideas, images and symbols.

To come into touch with something directly the word must not interfere.

(Krishnamurti)

 Even more tragic than our separation from the world is our separation from ourselves.

How many times have you stood in the kitchen slicing tomatoes for supper?

Where was your mind? What was your soul feeling?

Were you aware of the feel of the knife against against the palm of your hand?

Did you feel the texture of the tomato as the knife sliced through it?

Were you aware of how your hips, shoulder, abdomen,

and wrist aided the hand in the slicing process?

The answer to all these questions is, probably, no.

(John Lash)

Who taught you how to use your body?

This is a reasonable question, and most people could not give a decent answer.
Did anyone teach you:

1. Timing

2. Balance

3. Rhythm

4. Leverage

5. Footwork

6. Biofeedback

7. Coordination

8. Biomechanics

9. Proprioception

10. Mind/body unity

11. Optimal body use

12. Kinaesthetic awareness

13. How your muscles work

14. Healthy skeletal alignment

15. Ambidextrous use of the limbs

16. How and why to relax your body

Your parents probably did not teach this to you.
School did not teach it either.
PE or physical education in school translates to mean 'sport' and sport is not teaching you how to use the body.