The strategy of operating outside the sphere of emotional influence is part of the general strategy of unfathomability that The Art of War emphasises in characteristic Taoist style.

(Thomas Cleary)

 A person who is considered to be fit in the West may be able to do over 100 push-ups, run a marathon, possess a beautiful, muscular physique – and yet not be internally healthy.

 He or she may have a bad back, damaged joints, liver problems, unbalanced emotions, an inability to handle stress and sexual weakness or dysfunction.

 (Bruce Frantzis)  

 Not all tai chi is equal. Just as there are different models of cars, makes of computers and universities of varying calibres, so too are there different kinds of tai chi.

(Bruce Frantzis)

 If an instructor really feels that a youngster not yet into puberty is worthy of a black belt ranking in an art, what does that say about the sophistication and profundity of the art? What would you think of a college that awarded degrees to kids learning their multiplication tables?

 The only people who were ever impressed by a black belt were the absurdly uninformed general public.

(Dave Lowry)

 I strongly believe that students should limit themselves to learning and fully developing in just one style only. By learning many styles and collecting many forms we simply cannot have sufficient time to practice.

 Few have the resources or talent to be the master of more than one style. The really good teachers focus on one style.

(Adam Hsu)

 Like a lot of people, I thought Tai Chi was just something that old folks did in the park, but the depth of information on the website grabbed my interest, so I gave it a try. So glad I did. This is real Tai Chi taught to an exceptional standard. At the health and fitness level it teaches you to move efficiently, minimise stress on your joints, and restores flexibility, strength and balance. But if you want to take it further it opens up the martial art of tai chi, which teaches you to read your opponents and use their own strength against them. When you see this demonstrated by Sifu Waller you forget any preconceptions. I admire the way that Sifu Waller constantly adapts classes to fill the gaps he sees in our practice.

 I enjoy every class and workshop and really appreciate the skill and thought (not to mention patience) that goes into preparing and adapting them to suit the class.

(Malcolm)

 It was truly a case of "A day with the master is worth 10,000 on your own". It was one of those wordless transmissions that changes everything.

(Scott M Rodell)

Speed

Abrupt, jerky, fast movement alerts the nervous system and tenses your muscles. Seek to be smooth, soft, calm and comfortable. Do not rush or dither. Take decisive action, but work at easy, normal-seeming movement. 

A hurried person has no control, no composure. Use your sensitivity. Be cunning. 4 ounces of pressure, root, yielding and calm are essential. Avoid aggression at all costs.

Caught up?

If 'caught up', distraction is best. It divides the attention and will create an opening for you to exploit.

This is part of 'see the left, see the right' from the 13 methods.

Ultimately, you can strike/seize/press almost anywhere and cause pain.

Different angles offer different targets but the entire body is alarmingly vulnerable to pain. 

Tensing-up the muscles only serves to lock the joints and brings the nerves closer to the surface.

Seeking a result

Many things in life require us to have an intent in mind.

This is a natural requirement since we cannot always simply drift.

One of the dangers of having a target or a result is that we may become fixated on the end.

If we fail to pay adequate attention to the means, this can cause problems.

How we do something, the way in which it is accomplished is really what tai chi is concerned with.

Natural range

In tai chi you must always remain within your natural range of movement.

Any stretching is done subtly and never forced; the body is allowed to open by itself, rather than be forced.

By encouraging the joints to be free, mobility increases radically and the body can move more comfortably.

Tai chi should never strain or hurt the body.

Some movements may feel uncomfortable if you have bad postural habits and this is to be expected - your body is already used to set patterns of movement and poise - and the tai chi is gently changing these.

 Tai chi works in a way that is completely opposite from many forms of dance, specifically ballet. It seems that more and more people interested in dance and movement are turning to Eastern forms of movement as they search for a richer and more supple expression.

 In tai chi the body is placed in a position where the six outward rotators are eccentricity contracting with the abdominals and gluteals relaxed. This eccentric contraction of the the six outward rotators counteracts the short resting length of the iliopsoas as well as gravity. Being in the tai chi posture utilizes gravity to one's advantage. The main difference then is in the use of the abdominals and the gluteals, and that in tai chi the force of gravity is utilized to stretch the iliopsoas and flexors, while in ballet gravity is not used.

 It is possible to use gravity to stretch the flexors and iliopsoas in ballet but this is not understood in the teaching of this art.

(Liz Koch)

 From car seats to constrictive clothing, from chairs to shoes that distort posture, many features of modern life curtail our natural movement patterns.

(Liz Koch)

Look after your feet

Many people don't look after their feet. They have poor sense of balance, dry skin, cracked heels, limited flexibility and exceedingly poor sensitivity.

Invest in your feet. You use them all day long. Slough off the dry skin, massage them, apply cream to keep the skin soft and pliable.

A deliberate, conscious program of foot care will significantly improve foot health.

 We walk, and our religion is shown (even to the dullest and most insensitive person) in how we walk. Or to put it more accurately, living in this world means choosing, choosing to walk, and the way we choose to walk is infallibly and perfectly expressed in the walk itself. Nothing can disguise it. The walk of an ordinary man and of an enlightened man are as different as that of a snake and a giraffe.

(R.H. Blyth)

Walking

When you walk quickly, you do not really notice the walk. Our style of tai chi is process-oriented - so the how, the way is most important - we need to be aware of our walking habits.

If you stroll, amble, wander... you cease to put stress upon your body.

Don't advertise

If your noises advertise your movements, they are way too loud. Noisy footwork and clumsy habits reflect your lack of sensitivity. Slow down. Stop rushing. Let your scattered mind settle.

Feeling feet

Feet are exceptionally sensitive. Your body must interpret a vast quantity of data and respond very rapidly.

Inactivity and neglect can reduce the sensitivity of the feet, as can certain types of shoe that are harmful.

A minor imbalance in how we use the foot can affect the overall fitness of the body, usually in a subtle, indirect fashion.

Time

When your mind is calm and still, you will absorb information without forcing.

You will see rather than look, hear rather than listen.
An alert passivity exists. This condition takes time to cultivate.

Whole-body strength has many qualities and attributes that simply emerge by themselves once the seeds have been planted.
They cannot be forced.
Students suddenly find it easy to do things that were formerly difficult.
The 'doing' fades and the outcome seems to happen by itself.
The doing is still there. You have internalised it and forgotten to try. You no longer stand in your own way.

Equity

People like to be treated with fairness and respect.

Some want more than this:

They want to feel special, important, above other people.

Their insecurity leads them to abuse: they take more than they need, they demand recognition,  prestige.

This behaviour has consequences; it affects everything else, it creates an imbalance that spans the world.

When people only look after their own wellbeing and think nothing of others or the future, they make life difficult for others.

 A wild bird nesting in the deep forest needs no more than a single branch;

a wild animal drinking from a river takes no more than its fill.

(Chuang Tzu)

Pushing

Impatient people push for results.
Yet, who are they really pushing, who is suffering the pressure of their impatience?
They are.

Pushing is a form of exertion.

Relaxing deliberately

Once you realise that conscious thought can affect tension, you can begin to let-go of it and relax.

Feel where your body is holding, and soften the muscles by thinking them longer, looser and heavier.

Sweating

If you are sweating, you are exerting.

Why?

This is tai chi, and tai chi does not involve exertion of any kind.

Tao Te Ching (chapter 55) counsels you to be like a child that can cry all day without getting hoarse.

It also speaks against aggression.

Aggression is a tool of 'pushing', of forcing - and force is not the way of tai chi.

 If one's words are no better than silence, one should keep silent. 

(Kung Fu)

 To rejoice even in a harmless game means that you delight in someone's defeat. 

(John Lash) 

Get help

If you find yourself prowling the web looking for some way to assuage your boredom and vent your wrath, you may have some problems.

Rather than pour your heart out via TikTok, why not talk to a real person?

There are counsellors and therapists in most cities around the world.
Seek them out. Talk to them.
Find a constructive release for your frustrations.
Let a caring professional assist you. Find meaning and balance once again.

Online manners?

One of the problems with the internet is that it encourages all manner of unpleasantness.

Blogs and chatrooms allow malignant people to insult strangers anonymously.
Bad feeling and gossip are rampant.

Troubled people are free to pour out hatred and malice, with no risk of consequence.

This is not healthy.

 Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say: "In this world, Elwood, you must be..." - she always called me Elwood -  "In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you may quote me. 

(Harvey)

Do Nothing Day

Make the time to do nothing at all.

Have a 'do nothing day' in which you ignore:

1. the phone

2. chores

3. responsibilities

4. commitments

Release your burden

Shedding unnecessary belongings, commitments and habits can free up your life. Instead of doing 15 things, you do 3.

As with all things in life, your success in this endeavour is entirely relative to how earnest you are.

 Seeing an old man who wanted to take up philosophy but was embarrassed, Socrates said to him, "Don't be embarrassed to become better at the end of your life than you were to begin with."

(Thomas Cleary)

Tai chi chuan?

Tai chi chuan is a Chinese martial art. It was developed hundreds of years ago and draws upon Taoist observations, Chinese traditional medicine, biomechanics, physics and combat. 13 patterns of movement are used to express power.

To train the art correctly you need a highly-skilled Instructor who can offer a very comprehensive syllabus.

A good health-only class will offer

1. Exercises to improve strength, balance, relaxation (qigong)

2. Optimal body use

3. Learning a complex sequence of movements (form)

4. Meditation training

5. Partnered drills

 Over the centuries many variations of the movements have been taught, but provided the principles are adhered to there is no need for the student to doubt the authenticity of what he is being taught.

 (Paul Crompton) 

Locked knees?

Locked knees or overly-straightened legs prevent the knee from acting as suspension for the body.

Relax the knees but do not bend unless squatting down to lift something.

Hamstrings?

Most people have very tight hamstrings.

Unfortunately, the back compensates for tight hamstring muscles (by slouching); giving the illusion of greater flexibility than is actually present.

We address this in the syllabus by way of psoas exercises and leg stretches. The training is done carefully, gently - in a controlled manner - without exertion or strain.

Buttocks

Most men and women sit too much. This can lead to under-developed gluteus maximus muscles; which is bad for the back in particular. Weakness in these large muscles can affect the whole body.

Buttock muscles are supposed to be akin to a vertical oval for each buttock. There should be notable muscular development; the outcome of healthy everyday squatting.

Shoulder tension?

A lot of people experience pain in their shoulders and reduced movement.

If you ignore the shoulders entirely and focus instead on their legs you will inevitably discover that their legs are tense.

Once the legs are freed up the shoulder problems fade...

Too much sitting?

The main problem with sitting is gravity, loss of circulation and the tightening/shortening of your muscles.

Muscular tension stops your joints and vertebra from moving freely. When the hips, groin and sacroiliac freeze-up, the overall skeletal mobility is reduced.

Bipeds

Monkeys, horses and other mammals have arms and legs of the same length. Humans are different. We are bipeds. Our legs are much longer and stronger than our arms.

 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)

We weren't designed to sit. The body is a perpetual motion machine.

(Dr. Joan Vernikos) 

Foetal position

A lot of people sit at a desk, operate their mobile phone, drive the car or watch TV in what is essentially a standing/sitting version of the foetal position.

We start life in that position. But we do not want to revert back to it as we age.

Fix

Appeasing the symptoms will produce no lasting benefits. It is akin to taking a pill in order to mask/hide the symptoms whilst the underlying pain remains.

Fixing the problem usually entails some sort of lifestyle change.

Stable

For optimal body use we need the pelvis to naturally sit beneath the abdomen.

The physical centre of the body contains a lot of water, our intestines etc and needs to be pretty stable.

Stability is accomplished by encouraging the pelvis to operate naturally and without interference. This may involve stopping existing bad habits in favour of letting the body re-align itself.

Posture

The pelvis is pretty large. If you turn it to the right or to the left, the entire upper body is affected. Turn it too far and the knees bear the brunt of the turn.

If you tilt it forwards or backwards, the entire balance of the body changes. Pretty soon you are leaning.

Although the pelvis itself has limited scope for movement, inclining or rotating the pelvis has a major impact on posture.

Core stability

People talk a lot about core strength but not much about core stability. The two concerns are not the same.

Core strength is about the muscles of the lower body (crotch, groin, hips, buttocks, lower back, legs and abdominals) whereas core stability is about keeping the pelvis favourably aligned.

 Remember, when moving, there is no place that does not move. When still, there is no place that is not still.

(Wu Yu-hsiang)

 

Arthritis?

The body must be exercised carefully, with a clear emphasis upon safety and relaxation. Dr Paul Lam (an expert in using tai chi for arthritis) emphasises the importance of:

1. Higher stances
2. A lot of qigong to improve breathing, relaxation and healing
3. Looking deeper into the art of tai chi in order to improve students awareness and understanding

 Programs for fighters should consist mostly of compound exercises. These allow for intense work on a maximum number of muscles in a minimum time.

(Frederic Delavier)

 When you dwell on the sound of your breathing,
when you can really hear it coming and going, 
peace will not be far behind.

(Paul Wilson)

Remobilise

In order to increase mobility the emphasis needs to be upon working the body both in class and at home between lessons. Adopt a multi-faceted approach:

• Strengthen your muscles

• Align your skeleton better

• Sit less

• Stand less

• Stretch more

• Improve balance

• Gain coordination

• Increase bodily awareness

• Be mindful of how you use your body

Step?

In order to get closer to something, we step. This is a fundamental human skill, yet so many people reach beyond their natural range instead of stepping. Why is this?

Laziness? Poor body awareness? Naivety? If you reach rather than step closer, you sacrifice your balance, and with it your strength.

It is absurd to think you are going to get anywhere by giving only an hour a week to your practice or that you can regularly skip classes. Martial arts is not like a bridge club, where you drop in when you have nothing better to do. Martial arts will always make greater demands on your time than would most hobbies or avocations.

(Dave Lowry) 

Some people in this culture believe that the “consumer” is entitled to good service and if they feel wronged are entitled to take their custom elsewhere. This may or may not be a useful strategy with plumbers, electricians etc but foolish in the extreme in relation to tai chi.

(Peter Hobson)

The Chen form derived from battlefield military movements, where people wore medieval body armour that had to be compensated for. The Chen-style stances were specifically designed to achieve these compensations and obtain a workable position from which to realistically throw an armoured opponent.

By the time Yang had reached Beijing, times had changed. With the advent of firearms, battlefield armour became obsolete; hence, the need for techniques to deal with armoured foes had passed.

Yang and his students had to deal with situations encountered by bodyguards, not armies opposing each other.

(Bruce Frantzis)

An inch

There is a point where something is weak, then it becomes strong, only to become weak again. Like a 'bell curve'... The human lifespan is like this: a baby, to adulthood, to decrepitude and death.

Seek to do only what is necessary to find that optimal point of strength. Sometimes it requires just an inch of movement.

Just enough?

It is so tempting to stretch, to extend, to reach. To force, to push.

Don't do this. Just do what you need to do to accomplish the result and nothing more.

Aim for this ratio: minimal effort achieves maximum results.

A different way?

Tai chi advocates moderation in all things. e.g. over-training is as bad as under-training. If you do not train enough, there will be very little fitness benefit and no martial development.

If you train too much, the body will become tired and there is an increased risk of injury.

 

Tai chi poise is healthy. The body is used naturally and comfortably. The mind is quiet. We listen to what the body is telling us rather than push and punish ourselves.

Hands

Over-use and wrong use of the hands can cause immobility and arthritis. Main culprits:

• Computer mouse

• Mobile phone

• Tapping a touch screen

• Unnecessary application of force

• Gripping too hard

• Knitting

• Sewing

• Repetitive activity

• Using a keyboard

• Playing video games

Sitting

The main culprit for loss of mobility in most adults is sitting on their backsides too much. Sitting causes:

• Strained neck

• Sore shoulders

• Stiffness

• Upper back pain

• Lower back pain

• Loss of circulation

• Joint compression

• Swollen legs

• Heart disease

The solution is easy. Switch off the PC, the TV and walk whenever possible rather than drive.

 Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death. The chair is out to kill us.

(Professor James Levine, The Mayo Clinic)

Aging

As people get older they lose the ability to move freely and easily. This reduces our quality of life. Tai chi was designed to off-set the stiffness commonly associated with aging.

Our aim is to regain the degree of mobility we started life with.

Birth

You started life with a natural condition of suppleness and flexibility. A baby does not have sore knees, a bad back or arthritis.

The limbs can move comfortably within their natural range of motion. There is no stiffness in the muscles.

 Consider this: Most people live lives that are not particularly physically challenging. They sit at a desk, or if they move around, it's not a lot. They aren't performing manoeuvres that require tremendous balance and coordination. Thus they settle into a low level of physical capabilities - enough for day-to-day activities or maybe even hiking or biking or playing golf or tennis on the weekends, but far from the level of physical capabilities that a highly trained athlete possesses.

The reason that most people don't possess extraordinary physical capabilities isn't because they don't have the capacity for them, but rather because they're satisfied to live in the comfortable rut of homeostasis and never do the work that is required to get out of it.

The same thing is true for all the mental activities we engage in. We learn enough to get by but once we reach that point we seldom push to go beyond.

(Anders Ericsson)

Status quo

People are biologically inclined to be lazy, to stay put, to refrain from change. Breaking the status quo requires a deliberate, conscious effort. We like to stay in our comfort zone.

 

Tai chi for healthy aging...

Tai chi re-trains the body to move like it is supposed to move. Like an animal would. No tension, no impediments. Free, spontaneous, comfortable movement.

Sure, not all tai chi classes do this. Everyone has their own agenda. But trained correctly, tai chi was designed to restore the body to its natural, healthy state.

How well you do and how far you can rejuvenate your body is down to you. It is your responsibility. The more you put into the training the more you will get out of it.

Ideal form of exercise?

According to the book The Blue Zones it is important to think of exercise in terms of what you can reasonably do long-term.

The ideal form of exercise is moderate enough that you can do it for the rest of your life. It needs to be joint-friendly, provide a gentle workout and be sustainable.

This sounds rather like tai chi, doesn't it?

Stiffness?

Stiffness and inflexibility are indisputable signs of being old. Work on this. Once your muscles are tense and your body is stiff you cannot remedy this situation overnight.

Hitting the gym or buying an expensive drop handle bicycle will not get rid of stiffness. You need to do something else. Rather that force and hammer your muscles, they need to be softened and relaxed. Patience is needed.

Be smart...

If you're fat, don't try and run it off. See a dietician and/or follow a measured, gradual diet carefully and consistently. If you are out of shape, start with something that isn't going to hurt your body.

Tai chi for health is perfect for this. It is low-impact, easy to do at home between lessons and will not damage you.

Laziness?

Let's be honest here. If you are an adult and unfit - regardless of your age - this is your responsibility. Don't blame somebody else. Nor your job or your family. It's all you. You did this. You made a choice.

Now you get to make a new choice. You get to take responsibility for improving your health, fitness and decreasing your physical age.

Start by doing some research...

Do something real...

If you want your physical age to be impressive, put away your ego and commit to making a more tangible effort. Start by being sensible.

Don't just leap into some naive endeavour ill suited to your current physical condition.

Substantial qualities...

Think about the qualities associated with youth: nimble, balanced, agile, light, mobile, coordinated, squatting easily, flexible, supple, fit, dynamic, spontaneous, changeable, strong, virile, stamina, dextrous, good poise, free, no pain...

These cannot be faked with hair dye and a risqué outfit. Nor will a fancy car, nice clothing or expensive technology hide a decrepit body.

Kidding yourself?

Quite often people respond to aging with vain attempts to disguise their age. Who are they fooling?

Plastic surgery, blonding your hair or dressing like a teenager are superficial, facile efforts to appear to be young. They require no effort and offer only a desultory, aesthetic change.

People at birth are soft and supple:

At death, they are hard and stiff.

When plants are alive, they are green and bending;

When they are dead, they are dry and brittle.

Soft and bending is the way of the living;

Hard and brittle is the way of the dying.

Therefore, a great strength that is inflexible,

Will break in the wind like an old dead tree.

(Lao Tzu)

How does an older person move?

Their steps are often very heavy and their legs are locked and immobile. There is a sense of clumsiness.

People frequently walk in an agitated manner; over-striding and erratic. The lower back is inflexible and the sacroiliac does not move correctly. The back is stooped, the neck stiff and the hands are tight.

How should a young person move?

This is an interesting question. There should be a sense of ease. No struggling, grunting or groaning, no pain in the back or the knees.

The body responds instantly to the dictates of the mind. A young person is spontaneous and free.

How old is your body?

People start tai chi most weeks of the year. We see a lot of new starters. Over the years the physical condition of the intake has changed. It has worsened.

Quite often young people start class with poor physical health; raised, tense shoulders, stooping, poor balance, stiff joints, tense muscles, poor motor skills and limited flexibility.

These are appalling health conditions for a 20 year old. The individual may well be 20 but their body is not. Their body is old.

How old are you?

That is an easy question to answer. But it is just a number. Consider instead your age relative to the people around you or people you see in your everyday life.

Do you look old for your age? Are you flexible? Strong? Supple? Do you get out of breath? Are you happy?

Many people are so uncomfortable in the absence of noise that they will leave the television on even when no one is watching.

I have passed people on lonely mountain paths carrying radios that were blasting out rock music. They like the scenery but fear the silence.

We are overwhelmed by noise pollution which keeps us from being able to relax and which wreaks havoc on our nervous system.

(John Lash)

Oasis...

Week in, week out, people attend tai chi classes. The instructor is always friendly. The lessons are always stimulating. Your fellow students are always courteous, well mannered and nice.

Your personal life may be in turmoil, your work life may be tedious or disappointing, yet tai chi class remains a constant: comfortable, familiar, friendly and fun.

Instead of being met by rivalry, one-upmanship and stress, you encounter friendship and warmth.

Freedom from stress?

A tai chi class is a quiet place, yet somehow neither boring nor lacking in stimulation. There are no mobile phones, no TV screens, no computers, no concerns, worries or deadlines.

Instead, you can relax, let go and get some much needed 'me' time.

When the incessant noise and distraction ends, you will start to feel different. Tai chi will assist you in becoming quiet inside.

A calmer mind?

Most people have minds that are like adverts chattering noisily: worrying, flitting and unsettled. Qigong and tai chi slowly encourage you to become quieter inside.

By moving slowly and calmly, you are aware of what is happening as it happens.

Talking less

It is good to talk, yet talking is also a problem. If your mind is never still and quiet, you cannot possibly feel relaxed and at peace.

For many people talking is a compulsive habit, serving to mask the anxiety within. Without the chatter, people feel alone and isolated.

Immersion...

Tai chi creates a situation where your attention is absorbed with where you are and what you are doing, so the mind becomes quieter automatically.

Unlike concentration, you allow the mind to open and become expansive. You feel, hear and see everything around you. The chattering of your thoughts will begin to fade.

There are calm places to be found in every town. A tai chi class is a good example. Calm voices, settled emotions and an atmosphere of friendship and camaraderie will be immediately apparent.

This may feel most unfamiliar to you, odd even. Don't panic. Give yourself time to adjust to something different. Just stay with it and enjoy. A feeling of serenity and peace may settle upon you.

Chattering monkey

If you do not commit time to calming activities and rest, your mind may never know stillness. Even in the midst of stunning beauty and peace, tranquillity will elude you.

 

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?

 Keep moving along when you are ailing, to the extent you have any activity in you.

(Hadrat Ali)

  

More than just form?

Taijiquan students study all 13 areas of practice:

1. Qigong
2. Fitness
3. Form
4. Pushing hands
5. Principles
6. Brain work (meditation, awareness, metacognition)
7. Neigong (whole-body strength)
8. Jing (whole-body power)
9. Self defence
10. Martial skill
11. Chin na (seizing)
12. Shuai jiao (take downs)
13. Weapons

Exploring these 13 areas of study will offer a balanced comprehension of the art.

A complete approach to health?

People often refer to tai chi as being a complete exercise. The word 'complete' refers to the fact that tai chi training covers a very diverse spectrum of concerns that coalesce to form a powerful tool for fitness and wellbeing.

When practiced daily, the benefits of tai chi are truly amazing.

 

Embodied spirituality

Tai chi is a vehicle for exploring the many insights offered by the elusive and beguiling study of existence known as 'Taoism'. It is a hands-on approach to spirituality.

There is plenty to read (if this is something you enjoy) but the emphasis is mainly upon doing rather than reading, thinking or talking.

Life is lived through action, not words. The art of tai chi is a physical journey that will lead to an inner search for meaning and understanding within the student.

 

Natural, freer breathing?

Improved body use, decreased muscular tension and a more flexible body all result in easier, fuller breathing. The student learns how to slow, lengthen and deepen the breath in everyday life.

This leads to a more calm, emotionally-centred sense of being.

Strengthening & flexibility

The effectiveness of tai chi as a physical exercise can be overlooked. It is easy to dismiss the seemingly mild training as being ineffectual.

However, tai chi provides a very effective workout. It moves the body in a safe, therapeutic, healthy manner and has no known side-effects.

There is a substantial amount of evidence to support tai chi's medical and health claims.

Tai chi seeks moderation. Not too much and not too little. Neither passive nor overly-active. 'Doing less' and 'letting-go' are big themes in the training.

Not forcing

Students are taught how to allow things to gradually unfold, rather than forcing a result. Forcing promotes resistance whilst allowing leads to release.

Gentleness is cultivated. The body is treated with care and respect.

Finding balance

As a person becomes more balanced - physically and mentally - their health naturally improves. Balance is fundamental to tai chi. We must become aware of what is balanced in our lives and what is not...

Without awareness, life can become hurried and stressful. The emphasis in tai chi is upon enjoying yourself and being happy with who you are and how you are living your life.

 Yin and yang are not in competition or conflict with each other but are complements of each other.
Balance is not a state but a process.
The Tao is a process, a dynamic condition of balanced moving.

(Ray Grigg)

 Front and back arise from each other.

Difficult and easy determine each other.

High and low define each other.

Long and short measure each other.

Sound and silence echo each other.

Being and non-being are each other.

(Lao Tzu)

Real life...

In reality, we typically experience a mixture of positive and negative events. Sometimes things go in our favour, sometimes they do not.

Although this is less palatable than continual success, it is simply how things are. Balance involves good and bad, difficult and easy, favourable and unfavourable. This is what balance means...

Seeking to avoid the negative?

Usually, we desire one element (success) whilst seeking to avoid a less desirable alternative (failure). Happiness without sorrow. Health without illness.

Unbalanced is the norm?

Do you sleep well? Are you clumsy? Is your life hurried and rushed? Do you have time for yourself? Is your back aching or stiff, especially around the base of the neck and the shoulders?

Are your moods erratic? Do you get headaches a lot?

Most people experience imbalance: it often involves work, relationships, diet, poor body use and careless exercise. People come to accept the lack of balance in their lives and do not imagine that there can be another way.

 Research shows that people’s ability to stand on one leg is an indicator of health and that getting better at standing on one leg can add to fitness and potentially lifespan. The inability to balance on one leg for 20 seconds or longer is linked in otherwise healthy people to an increased risk of small blood vessel damage in the brain and reduced ability to understand ideas.

The human body, when standing upright, is inherently unstable. We have a very small base of support relative to our height and width. When in good health we rely on our central and peripheral nervous system to integrate all the information coming in from our balance senses (eyes, inner ears and feedback from muscles and joints). We then engage the right muscles (feet, ankle, leg and core muscles, sometimes even the arm muscles) at the right time to make the necessary adjustments to our posture to stay upright.

(Professor Dawn Skelton)

  My aim is only to move forward.

(Afro Samurai)

Don't pull your punches!

A well-practiced student hits comfortably and easily, with their hands finding their own way to the targets. They are also used to being hit and do not flinch from fear.

When a punch is pulled, both the attacker and the defender suffer:

1. Inability to assess range accurately
2. No sense of commitment
3. Unaccustomed to the threat of actually being hit
4. Unfamiliar with impact
5. Inability to counter-attack effectively

An unskilled striker will often hurt their own hand when they hit their opponent because they are not accustomed to impact.

The bite...

Upon impact, your hand/elbow/knee sinks slightly into the opponent before bouncing back off again. This process occurs naturally and need not be contrived.

If you pull off too soon, 4 ounces of pressure has not been established and the power will diminish.

 

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction

Do not push on impact. That way, the kinetic energy will travel out of your body instead of just bouncing back. Your intention goes through the opponent. Your punch does not go through your opponent. The effect goes inside your opponent.

How much of the force you are delivering is actually going into your opponent?

If you are tense, then much of it will bang off your attacker's body and back into you. There is a concussive shockwave that travels along your arm, into your spine and throughout your body.

This is not good for your health. This is why 4 ounces of pressure is fundamental. The moment of contact must be heavy, soft and penetrating. Do not push.

Biofeedback

You need to feel what happens when you physically strike somebody.

Do you feel a jarring, unpleasant jolt upon impact? Adverse feedback up your arm and into your neck? Did the blow have the intended effect? Were you hurt yourself? Hitting another person skilfully may not be as easy as you imagine.

Ideally, you should end by actually hitting something. When you practice explosive technique just by doing taijiquan, your own antagonistic muscles stop your fist or foot.

(Frederic Delavier) 

Effect?

Performing applications in thin air is no good. It proves nothing.

Striking target pads and bags - whilst useful - are also unrepresentative. Nothing compares to striking an actual person.

You may appear to have wonderful form and effective-seeming combat skills but it will all fall to pieces if your strikes are worthless.

The punching game?

You must learn how to deliver authentic strikes during practice. This is necessary for two reasons:

1. You need to be capable of hitting somebody effectively
2. You need to offer your partner the experience of strikes that hurt

If you pull your punches, your partner is being short-changed. Hit them with exuberance and vigour, but not with aggression or anger. Treat it as a game.

Structural integration

Tai chi treats the body as a network of coordinated elements, a dynamic process of being.

Good use of circulation, breathing, the nervous system, skeletal structure/joints combine to make you feel energised and create a
positive therapeutic outcome.

Slower, coordinated movements encourage a whole-body unity to develop.

Play

Instead of practicing in a forced, uncomfortable way, the tai chi student is encouraged to be playful and open-minded. To have fun.

This leads to greater progress and deeper physical relaxation.

Mind-body

Mind-body unity is a major theme in tai chi, particularly for students of the martial art.

The cultivation of jing is entirely contingent upon the ability to visualise and then physically generate very specific types of force using the coordinated actions of the body.

Clarity

Adjusting, attuning yourself to what is actually taking place requires an acute presence of being. A clearer state of mind means better decision-making and more effective action.

Balancing

Heightened physical, emotional and psychological awareness are all hallmarks of long-term tai chi training.

The student possesses the ability to sustain attention, avoid over-thinking, evaluating and judging. They learn to attune to the flow of what is taking place; to find harmony and balance.

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.

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.

Cherry picking

New students often have a wish list of things they want to learn. They will even ask the instructor to teach them specific skills i.e. sword.

Similarly, the student may decline to do certain things because it may not please or gratify them. The problem with this approach is that the student has no idea what the scope of the syllabus is.

They do not know what skills must be acquired, in what order, how and why.

By seeking to focus only upon what they think is important robs the student of the opportunity to learn from the only person who actually knows what they are doing: the instructor.

Preconceptions?

New starters often believe what they see in the movies or on TV. It looks so exciting, so relaxing, so graceful... They want this for themselves.

The student expects to walk away with awesome skills within a few weeks. After all, the man on YouTube can do it... why can't they? Unfortunately, the student is typically unrealistic.

They seldom consider:

1. Their own level of fitness

2. Their capacity to learn

3. The scope of their ambitions

4. How much work lies ahead of them

5. How long it will take to learn the desired skills

Give it a chance?

The first lesson will be hindered by your own personality. Even if you have trained tai chi before, you are unlikely to see past the veil of your own self-consciousness and fears. It is usually worth trying the second class. That way, you can settle-in a little and really observe what is taking place.

People are usually motivated by the quest for gratification. They seek out things that please them and avoid things that fail to measure up to their expectations.

New starters sometimes commence a tai chi class and imagine that they can 'cherry pick' the syllabus. Typically, they are quietly instructed to get on with the training.

A tai chi class is not about gratification. This is a very important thing to recognise. It is not the 'service industry'.

There are many different approaches to tai chi. Some classes are earnest and challenging. Some teachers adhere strictly to the The Tai Chi Classics. Some classes are popular, but sadly misguided.

Look for something suitable for you.

Your own agenda

Everyone has an agenda. The more honest and open you are about your own, the more likely you are to find a suitable class.

Do you have health problems? Have you bad knees? A bad back? Are you concerned about being thrown on the floor? Does the prospect of combat training frighten you?

Is your age an issue? What are your expectations? Are you willing to commit to a weekly class? Do have previous tai chi experience? (Are you hoping that the new class will be the same as the old?)

Are you attending class because you really want to, or because you think you should?

A teacher needs to cultivate an atmosphere of friendship, care and respect. The classes need to be akin to an extended family, with students feeling quite safe and comfortable with one another.

No matter what is happening in your life, the class remains a good place to be.

 

What is strength?

This is an interesting question. In tai chi, the idea of 'strength' encompasses a wide range of physical and mental abilities. Strength is the ability to cope, to endure, to sustain, to see alternatives, to move skilfully, to deliver power, to see harmonious options instead of conflictive ones.

In tai chi, having strength of character is as important as physical prowess.

Quality not quantity...

As you get older, the quality of your life needs to be the focus: flexibility, agility, strength, relaxed muscles, calm mind, settled emotions... You will benefit from the tai chi every single day.

Things take time to grow...

Modern life is impatient; people want instant results and immediate gratification. Yet, things take time: a meal takes time to prepare, time to cook and then time to eat.

All things in life are like this. Your body cannot perform tai chi skilfully when you begin lessons. Progress will be slow and gradual. Patience, perseverance and enthusiasm are required.
Give yourself time: allow time for your body to change, for your muscles to re-grow and your skeleton to re-align.

Moderation

A common theme in tai chi training is 'moderation'. Be cautious of extremes. Pushing your body can lead to injury, strain and physical tension.

In tai chi, the training is gentle and does not tax the body. We remain calm, focussed and patient.

Practice is ongoing...

People typically think of training in terms of a fixed outcome. They pass an exam. They get a certificate. Your aim in tai chi is not to pass a black belt, become an instructor or even a master.

Your goal is long life, youthfulness and ongoing good fitness.

Peak performance?

Tai chi trains the body to respond to the requirements of the mind. We want your body to be capable of spontaneous movement in any direction; comfortably, safely, with the necessary support and stability.

By sitting, standing and moving in a natural, healthy way you will feel energised, relaxed, comfortable and agile.

Gentle exercise...

Dr Michael Greger (author of How Not To Die) recommends 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day. It doesn't have to be in one go. Little and often is better...

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.

A sanctuary

Ideally, a tai chi class should be a good place to be: a pure place. There is no meanness or petty behaviour, no malice or sarcasm. Good humour, camaraderie, polite manners, consideration, respect and fun result in a pleasant training environment.

 

Taking lessons

Students in a tai chi school are encouraged to interact with one another in a healthy, friendly manner, free from the competitive norms found in wider society.

There is a supportive atmosphere of trust and care. The training hall is a safe place to be.

Interaction with the instructor is of particular importance, as this commonly entails the passing-on of knowledge, bespoke physical corrections and the exploration of deeper philosophical issues pertinent to the training.

Tai chi makes people feel happy. This is important in our stressed out society. The philosophical background and attitudes employed in tai chi practice are good for mental health.

They develop resilience, patience, friendliness and fun.

Mind, body, spirit

Tai chi practice possesses a spiritual component. This may be enhanced through Taoism and Zen, along with meditating, qigong, form and application.

An earnest student of tai chi becomes calmer, more harmonious. They have a sense of deep connection with all things. People seek to move in accord with events, rather than against.

Mobile

Being strong is fine, but mobility and coordination are way more important. How often do you really need to use your strength? You coordinate your body from the moment you get out of bed.

Tai chi teaches: healthy skeletal alignment, balance, agility, ambidextrous use of the limbs, gait (manner of walking), leverage and ergonomic body use.

You learn how to move freely, spontaneously and comfortably.

 Metabolism slows down 90 percent after 30 minutes of sitting. The enzymes that move the bad fat from your arteries to your muscles, where it can get burned off, slow down. The muscles in your lower body are turned off. And after two hours, good cholesterol drops 20 percent. Just getting up for five minutes is going to get things going again. These things are so simple they’re almost stupid.

(Gavin Bradley)

Energised

Modern life saps energy. People are often exhausted, unhappy, frustrated... They are frequently emotionally, physically and psychologically unbalanced. Feeling drained is commonplace.

Getting angry is normal. This is not a healthy way to live... Tai chi teaches people how to find balance in their lives and use their mind/body in a manner that is conducive to being energised.

Prevention

Although many modern people seek to use tai chi as a means of curing illness, this is not where its strength lies. Tai chi is best employed whilst healthy, not sick.

When a healthy person does tai chi they are more apt to remain healthy. It takes far less effort to prevent something than to cure it...

Intelligent exercise?

Tai chi is different. It works the body without exertion, physical stress or taxing the joints. There is very little risk of injury. You will not get out of breath.

In tai chi, much of the work will be performed by the mind. Students must improve their memory, perception, awareness, insights, mindfulness, presence, nervous system, acuity and intelligence.

To perform the art correctly, you must engage your whole being. Tai chi is a fun, balanced way to exercise.

If we didn't tense our muscles, we're in good balance, not interfering with our breathing, and if we're free, tall and expansive in stature, and used a minimum of effort, then we could say we had done the job really well.

(Noel Kingsley)

 The Chinese public first became aware of taijiquan in about 1750. Until then it had been practiced in secret for hundreds (if not thousands) of years.

Taijiquan offered many of the same skills as other styles of Chinese martial art, but with a twist. It contained none of the strenuous training methods and proved to be exceptionally good for your health.