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)
This is a reasonable question, and most people could not give a decent answer.
Did anyone teach you:
Timing
Balance
Rhythm
Leverage
Footwork
Biofeedback
Coordination
Biomechanics
Proprioception
Mind/body unity
Optimal body use
Kinaesthetic awareness
How your muscles work
Healthy skeletal alignment
Ambidextrous use of the limbs
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.
It is not easy to commit to daily training. Your mind will resist. There are many pleasant alternatives.
Yet, over time, the habit of training takes hold and your body begins to experience unexpected strength and mobility. Eventually, you reach a point where you could not imagine ever missing your daily training.High repetitions dull the mind. Aim to train little and often instead. Be thorough, accurate, aware.
Cultivate familiarity and ease. You want your movements to be natural, relaxed, smooth and controlled.Consider this situation:
The Long Yang form is often known as the 'slow form'. The slow, deliberate movements encourage concentration and allow the student time to become familiar with the coordination.
There should be no attempt made to speed up the sequence. Slower movement will also develop muscular strength and body control.
Some of you have talked about learning a short form of tai chi, which has certain transitional motifs eliminated. The reason for these repeating transitions is to help you flow within the form - to ride over it without thinking. When these repetitions are cut out, some of the major movements become awkward and jam together. The sequence loses some of its smoothness.
(Chungliang Al Huang)
The Chinese symbol called 'tai chi' or the 'supreme ultimate' contains yin and yang. Yin is black and yang is white. Tai chi combines yin and yang to produce a process of dynamic balancing.
The art of tai chi employs this Taoist principle at all times.
Taoism is not a religion in the formal sense. It is concerned with the observation of life, of nature and then the literal application of insights gleaned through seeing and contemplating what took place.
There are 3 main books to read:
The Way and Its Power
The Way of Chuang Tzu
The Book of Changes
It is well worth exploring a variety of interpretations and translations in order to discover which one makes the most sense to you.
We aim to address self defence without resorting to undue violence. Violence against violence can lead to further escalation. We simply desire to evade conflict and escape unharmed.
There is no ego involved, no desire to win or claim a trophy. We learn how to incapacitate the attacker smoothly and easily. Then we walk away.
The source of all conflict resides within. We experience reality within our minds. Our minds interpret what our senses encounter, and we filter that information relative to our conditioning. The difference between a peaceful person and an aggressive individual is perception.
If we want to get along with other people we must address our own mind and emotions. This is where the problem lies.
Compassion is not about being soppy or becoming a monk. It is about caring. When you wake up and see that everyone else is pretty much the same as you, you stop being such a jerk. Instead of treading on people, you help them. Instead of causing conflict, you avoid it.
People who see themselves in others start treating strangers quite differently. We all want pretty much the same things: love, food, shelter, piece of mind, security, kindness, financial and emotional comfort. What is so special about you? Aren't you just the same as everyone else?A selfish person is pushy. They like to get their own way. They are quite comfortable pushing others around. Do you like being pushed around? How does it make you feel?
Bullying other people is unpleasant. It is one of the less savoury aspects of human conduct. Are you a bully?
If we can accept that the world does not revolve around you personally, then that is a starting place. Other people have wants, needs and feelings too.
Many people walk this earth as if they personally owned it. Everyone else is a cast member in some monumental production staged for their benefit. Wake up.We must not only listen to what the other person is saying, we must also listen to how we respond to it. Our reactions are very important.
If a friend jokingly insults you, you may just laugh it off. But if a stranger does the same you may be offended. Why? Do you not value your friend's opinion over that of a stranger? Why should you care what a stranger thinks? What difference can it possibly make?
Our responses need to be considered. Pay particular attention to emotions. Anger, aggression and resentment are extremely destructive. People often react on impulse. Their response may be ill-conceived and careless.
Don't take yourself quite so seriously.
Conditioning is about strengthening the body so that it can cope with the demands of rigorous exercise without the risk of injury. It is directly related to stamina and endurance.
Negative emotions are biologically harmful and can make you ill.
When you become angry, your body is flooded with hormones and adrenaline; you enter a 'fight or flight' mode which is only intended for extreme situations in which your life is endangered.
'Fight or flight' puts your body under duress.
Tai chi encourages a person to change the way they think in order to reduce the likelihood of becoming angry.
Coordination is all about combining different body parts in action. A simple example is eye-hand coordination.
The motor abilities of a tai chi person are exceedingly refined; they possess the grace, coordination and poise of a dancer.
Flexibility, mobility and suppleness are important concerns when it comes to avoiding injury. We explore many different ways to increase our range of movement.
Agility is the ability to change your position efficiently and effectively. It requires the student to combine balance, speed, strength and coordination.
Community Hall, St Andrew's Church, Station Road, Benton, NE12 8AW.
Please enter via the car park.
Newcastle Tai Chi classes are an opportunity to focus exclusively on YOU. Everybody needs 'me' time. Time to work on your body, relax your mind, calm your emotions and find balance.
We teach people how to achieve the maximum results using the least amount of effort. The training attitude is: moderation, little & often, do what feels comfortable. Don't exert, push or strain.
Some people want to learn tai chi from YouTube because it seems convenient and easy.
The drawback is very simple: nobody is correcting your mistakes. And you will be making a LOT of them. As a beginner, every single tai chi movement and exercise needs correcting.
A lot of people don't see the point of joining a tai chi school and taking regular classes. Yes, they want the health benefits, but they don't want the commitment.
This is akin to wanting to get paid without actually doing any work.
When people say 'tai chi', they usually think of form. Form involves walking around the hall whilst performing a series of smooth, flowing, dynamic movements.
It involves quite a lot of stepping, mobility, balancing, motor skills and coordination (we teach this).
One of the main areas of concern in tai chi is balance - and in order to work on this, you need to be standing up, walking and mobile.
We receive a lot of e-mails from people who ask if tai chi is suitable for them. This is a rather tricky question...
We have never met the inquirer. We know nothing about them. We don't know what their tastes, expectations, requirements, personality is like...
We don't really know what they are looking for or what kind of exercise they are even capable of doing.
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.
It’s crazy. I never thought I’d be getting more powerful as I got older!
I used to be able to hit pretty hard in karate but it was 100% effort. More than a handful of full power hits and I was getting fatigued. With Tai chi I’m hitting as hard, probably harder but no effort…I could carry on striking all day! It’s nuts! Also, with karate there was wind up or at least fist at waist or head so had space to travel before contact. Now I can almost hit as hard from touching the target!
The fact Sifu Waller has been able to transform my power generation as I age into my 40’s is all the proof I will ever need of both the art and Sifu as the real thing. I almost feel sorry for those that continue with slow old people tai chi or wushu style. They are missing the essence!
(Chris Young)
Rachel specialises in teaching qigong. Qigong involves simple movements, mild stretches and cooperative partner work. The onus is upon relaxation, balance, good poise and coordination.
Students learn how to move their body in a healthy, comfortable way without the risk of injury.
Sifu Waller teaches taijiquan (martial art), tai chi for health and tai chi for fitness.
His martial classes that explore: taijiquan, biomechanics, neigong, jing, chin na, shuai jiao and self defence. He specialises in teaching the old/classical Yang style taijiquan. This is a very old style of kung fu (Chinese boxing). Authenticity is our primary goal; we teach a pragmatic, functional martial art.
Please bear in mind that you will be on your feet and moving around for approximately 90 minutes. Tai chi is a workout.
The training is gentle, but if you're unfit, you may find it tiring at first.
• 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)
