• We don't teach other martial arts e.g. karate, MMA, wing chun or judo
• Tailored sessions, such as: tai chi for the elderly, tai chi in a chair, tai chi for children, tai chi for people with mental health issues or tai chi as performance art
• We cannot teach kung fu to children or the elderly
These are not areas that we specialise in. We are not trained or qualified to teach these approaches, nor is our syllabus or insurance geared with these in mind.
Learning kung fu is another matter entirely. This is subject to eligibility criteria.
Fitness is different to health. Being fit entails a wider range of concerns e.g. increased flexibility, suppleness, strength, cardiovascular health/fitness, agility...
These considerations are addressed at length in the fitness syllabus. The fitness exercises are more challenging than qigong & tai chi.
Qigong and tai chi are suitable for most adults who can stand and walk without the aid of a stick.
When you watch somebody perform Sifu Waller's tai chi it looks like nothing special is happening, but the power being produced is incredible. Surprising and very exciting! The biomechanics are remarkable; you learn so much about how to use your body in a healthier, more dynamic way.
(Dr Adriana Chilińska)
How fit and healthy are you? But what condition are you in? Are you fit or fat? Do you have back problems? Knee problems? Do you take any form of medication on a regular basis?
Aging badly is nothing to be proud of. You may want to get out of your big car, switch off your fancy phone, your laptop (and all the other devices) and get off your backside. Before it is too late.
Someone may struggle to begin with and then blossom later. Others may always struggle. This is simply the way things are. We treat all students equally.
Flattering the skilled and patronising the awkward is not the tai chi approach.
Each student must be treated with respect and courtesy. Everyone comes from a different mental and physical background, and brings with them a unique set of quirks and habits. Shedding these takes time.
I would strongly recommend Newcastle Tai Chi to anyone who is keen on trying out, learning & further developing tai chi skills for various health benefits or martial arts purposes. Even if you are a complete novice and don't know much about what tai chi is or how that might be of any benefit - just give it a go, you will find it worthwhile!
I have been working in healthcare for many years and I can assure, I found these skills to be of particular benefit for relaxation, stress-relief, improved movement control, balance and direct self-defence strategies. If you wish to pursue the martial arts route, the school has got a robust training syllabus/grading system which would also interest those who seek a more challenging form of tai chi.
(Dr Laxmikant Ekade)
Even if we wanted to be charitable with students, what could you expect from us?
We cannot carry you through the form movements. We cannot download skills into your brain. We cannot cure laziness or apathy. We cannot make you brave.
We cannot make you tall, small, rich or happy.
In martial arts, if you attend the lesson, the assumption is that you are fit enough to train. If there's anything preventing you from training properly that night, a kung fu lesson is not suitable for you.
Traditional kung fu does not offer concessions or tailored lessons. Nor does it offer age, gender or weight-specific concessions/classes. Everyone trains together. The only differentiation is ability.
You don't need to be fit to start tai chi classes. But you do need to be able to stand up, walk and step without the aid of a stick. The qigong & tai chi classes are designed to cultivate a greater degree of fitness: stamina, balance, endurance, flexibility, mobility and coordination.
In some respects the exercises will be just as challenging as yoga, but not exertive. Please bear in mind that you will be on your feet and moving around for approximately 90 minutes.
Sifu Waller's approach to taijiquan has no interest whatsoever in fighting - there will never be competitions or full-contact bouts.
Fa jing, shuai jiao, striking and chin na are not toys to be treated carelessly. No sensible person would allow you to snap their joint just to prove that it can be done.
You must be far smarter than that if you want to learn taijiquan.
Most of us experience a sense of being 'on edge' or jumpy. This is really a habitual over-reaction to our environment. One way of deepening your understanding of this is to experiment with habitual patterns of reacting to a familiar stimulus, such as a door-bell or a telephone ringing.
(Michael Gelb)
Adults forget the advantage of play. Once you remove the barriers of right and wrong, approval and disapproval - you can totally relax. If you make a mistake, so what? It is only play.
When you can relax and just be yourself, your mind will open to new possibilities. You can see the wonder of things and laugh. You may start to play in other areas of your life...
Our taijiquan cannot be learned by copying somebody else. You need a profound understanding of what you are doing and how it works. The imagination must be engaged.
Without play and exploration, you will have taijiquan classes filled with students who possess absolutely no grasp of what they are practicing.
When a child plays, they seldom behave in the manner described. A child at play is usually engrossed in whatever they are doing; their minds are in the here and now.
It can be quite difficult to distract a child who is playing.
The beauty of play is that you do not have to believe anything. You can find out for yourself. If something works, examine the physics behind the success. Why did it work? Can it be improved upon?
If something fails, figure out why it failed...
When a child discovers their universe, they do so through play. A playful mind is not tense or uptight. In taijiquan we learn in the same way.
Students are encouraged to explore every neigong, application and jing in partnership with other people. This approach is cooperative and experiential.
By practicing with others we can find out what works and what does not. Other students can offer assistance and obstruction - both of which require you to adapt, change and progress.
Can you see the danger here? If you think that play refers to an opportunity to behave an irresponsible, carefree, childish manner... then you have got the wrong idea about taijiquan.
Play is about immersion in the event itself. Beginners who want to talk rather than train (or dance around and act foolishly) are not in earnest. They are not focused at all.
An inexperienced student cannot talk and train competently at the same time. If they are talking, then they are talking. They are not training taijiquan.
A student needs to concentrate in some respects, and be unselfconscious in other regards. Both facets of this requirement are addressed through the act of playfulness.
It is common for students to say that they are "playing" taijiquan... This notion of 'play' must be considered carefully. Most adults perceive play as tooling around - insincere, light-hearted and carefree.
But is this play at all?Our syllabus was developed as the result of our own tai chi practice and teaching experience. The post-graduate professional teaching skills/qualification have proven invaluable in creating a syllabus.
Tai chi is easy in principle, yet difficult in execution. The problem lies with your own body and mind. After all, it is you that make the tai chi exist. Without your body, the system cannot become manifest - the tai chi can only be as good as you personally make it.
Do not look outside yourself for answers. The solution lies in this very moment, in the very process of doing. Your tai chi will improve relative to your ability to produce it.
When stood in tai chi, the feet are beneath the body so the legs are not fatigued. Your everyday stance should emulate this as closely as possible as often as possible.
The trick with tai chi is to keep your training mild. It is not a gym workout. You are not meant to be sweating and straining. Go easy on yourself. Little and often is the key.
If the training is gentle but works your muscles nicely, then it is easy to sustain and your energy levels will stay high.
Conversely, people who do not exercise are also likely to become fatigued. How come? Their muscles are weak and we need muscular strength to move our bodies around.
By avoiding exercise, the problem of fatigue will not go away. It will not get easier. If you are lazy now, expect difficulties ahead of you. Your fitness level will not improve by ignoring it.Many forms of exercise can actively develop bad posture. They often cause serious fatigue and adverse wear and tear on the body. The tension in the body uses energy and tires you out.
Many health problems are caused by the way in which we stand, walk, sit and use our bodies during everyday activities.
Headache, fatigue, stiff neck, bad knees, back problems are usually caused by our own bad habits.
Incorrect muscle use, imbalance, poor physical awareness, work and many forms of exercise only serve to perpetuate poor fitness and muscle tension.
Fatiguing the body can be addressed through careful, safe practice. By contrast, fatiguing the mind is far more insidious and difficult to detect.
Politics, news, gossip, media, TV, opinions, fashions, negative emotions, competitiveness - all put the mind under duress. They create frustration, anxiety and a feeling of helplessness.Instead of hammering and punishing your body, you treat it with respect and care.
Your body must last you a lifetime.
'Stretching' covers a wide range of approaches. A good tai chi class should offer a varied and versatile selection of stretching methods.
Most people are not used to training at home. The key to home training is to work into it gently. Try doing a small amount every day. Nothing ambitious.
A tonic is a medicine taken daily in order to maintain and invigorate the body. It may significantly improve your fitness.
However, you should take note of the small print, the conditions of use:
It must be administered every day
When you stop taking it, the benefits go away
This is something to really think about. Re-read the paragraph if you need to.
Tai chi is not going to fix you up. It was never intended (or designed) to be something employed for repair. At best, it may be seen as a tonic.
It helps to keep you fit, healthy and vital. It is a preventative measure, not a fix.
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)
Fitness is different to health. Being fit entails a wider range of concerns e.g. increased flexibility, suppleness, strength, cardiovascular health/fitness, agility...
These considerations are addressed at length in the tai chi syllabus.
A trend for Western retirees is global travelling. In contrast with this, Taoism advocates seeing what is right in front of you. Rather than do more and more, begin to see.
It will serve to keep the brain healthy. Having genuine wisdom is better than boasting/bragging/self-promotion. Insight is worth more than commodities/experiences.
A Taoist approach adopted by The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking is to look deeper into things. This runs contrary to the attitude of acquisition.
Understanding ensures interest. It encourages curiosity and can be the wellspring for new ideas and unknown directions.
The nervous system is responsible for gauging how much strength needs to be applied.
As you exert pressure upon an object, your body experiences resistance and there is biofeedback which tells you how much strength is necessary.
People fail to release a contracted muscle after it has moved the bone, or they over-use one muscle group at the expense of another.
'Tensing-up' is the habitual over-contraction of a muscle, such that it impedes joint movement and distorts the skeleton. This causes imbalance, weakness and postural tension.
Tai chi is concerned with re-training the body for optimal functioning. To use the body skilfully, you must dynamically balance muscles within the body and use the bone structure in a healthy way.
We teach people to become incredibly aware of their own bodies.
A healthy nervous system is not simply a physical matter. The smoothness and grace of the tai chi movements must be complimented and enhanced by your composure.
A psychologically tense person will be incapable of skilled body movement. Neurologists maintain that the mind affects the physical nervous system, and the nervous system affects the mind.
Calm mind and body are connected.
If you want to move smoothly and easily, and respond well in combat, train your nervous system. Weight-lifting and gym work can often result in large muscles but perhaps poor sensitivity.
These are not recommended supplements for tai chi. If you want larger muscles, do more qigong.
Tai chi requires you to re-tune the nervous system. This is a lengthy process involving a lot of partner work and a serious amount of patience. It will not happen overnight.
Sensitivity work encourages you to feel how much pressure you are applying and how much is pressing against your body.
You learn to re-assess the information and accept when an excess of strength is being used. Typically, muscular exertion is constant and ongoing. It is normal, habitual and you never notice it.
If you were to pick up an egg or a glass and exert too much strength, then the object will break in your hand. The nervous system is responsible for gauging how much strength needs to be applied.
Some students want a few self defence techniques and that is all. They want a smattering of form applications and a cursory taste of combat skill. This is pointless.
Having a few crumbs of knowledge is dangerous. It can lead to a false feeling of competence.
If a student is unwilling to invest in the process of learning bona fide technical skills, they should do qigong & tai chi for health.
Do you talk quickly? Is your body tense; particularly the neck, shoulders or lower back? Are you constantly using your phone, the web or watching TV? Do you feel worried, anxious or rushed?
Do you have difficulty getting out of bed in a morning? Are you argumentative? Do you feel frustrated, angry or irritable? Are you struggling to relax? Do you walk quickly? Do you drink too much?
Do you have difficulty slowing down? Do you comfort eat? Do you feel to have too few hours in the day? Do you know how to stop?
You may be suffering from stress.
A common excuse that taijiquan students make is that they don't have time to train at home between classes. This notion is based on a false understanding of yin/yang.
In order to get something, you have to give something. Our entire society is based on this, isn't it?
If you want a loaf of bread, you give up money. You want to watch a movie, you set aside the time. If you want to get good at taijiquan, you will need time to practice at home.
Therefore, if you want to practice taijiquan at home, you will need to give something up. Make space. This may mean less TV. Less internet. It's your choice...
Dr Michael Greger (author of How Not To Die) recommends 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day.
Dr Bradley Willcox, Dr Craig Willcox and Dr Makoto Suzuki who wrote The Okinawa Program maintain that taijiquan - 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?
I have recently being working through form applications. Surprisingly, they all felt quite easy and straightforward. They also worked very well. No difficulty at all. How come? Daily form practice. Sifu Waller did not have to waste time correcting my form during application practice. We could simply focus on the applications themselves. Correct form meant smooth, powerful, controlled, effective applications.
(Rachel)
How fit and healthy are you? But what condition are you in? Are you fit or fat? Do you have back problems? Knee problems? Do you take any form of medication on a regular basis?
Aging badly is nothing to be proud of. You may want to get out of your big car, switch off your fancy phone, your laptop (and all the other devices) and get off your backside. Before it is too late.
We teach two sets of leg stretches that are great for releasing tension. The second set contains several exercises that are great for long journeys.
They are similar to the circulation exercises recommended when flying.
Massaging the body can really help to release stored tension and improve circulation.
Our routine starts with the head and works down throughout the entire body, paying special attention to problem areas such as the spine.
In time, the massages will feel easy and natural - it is not about remembering a routine - it is about moving down the body looking for tension.
Many of the exercises are passive - the area being worked does not perform the work itself. By manually-releasing the tension you avoid adding extra stiffness.
Most of the movements in tai chi require the body to be open, lengthened and expansive. This reduces the risk of compression and enhances circulation.
Free, mobile and comfortable, the body moves spontaneously and without impediment.
Closed joints and tense muscles inhibit circulation by trapping fluids; so this is assiduously avoided in tai chi practice.
A common misconception is that any martial art offers the opportunity to reach an 'internal' level of practice i.e. a karate man can become internal. This is not true.
Internal forms are quite different to external ones. They were designed to be a vehicle for the exploration of a very unique way of moving and using the body.Some tai chi people claim to be fighting in a 'tai chi way' but it looks suspiciously like kickboxing or MMA... If you watch wing chun applied in combat, it looks distinctly like wing chun.
The same could be said of judo, aikido, ju jitsu, pencat silat etc. By the same reasoning, the martial art of tai chi must look like tai chi.(i) Resistance
