Healing

Tai chi was developed as a martial art. Healing was first promoted by Yang Cheng Fu in the early part of the 20th Century.

The health benefits of tai chi are an off-shoot of good body use, relaxation and healthy attitudes.

Fix me up

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.

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:

1. It must be administered every day 

2. When you stop taking it, the fitness benefits go away

This is something to really think about. Re-read the paragraph if you need to.

Learning from a book or DVD?

Books and DVDs may serve to supplement lessons but they are no substitute for actual tuition. The number of mistakes and misconceptions that will arise are astronomical in number.

Imagine trying to learn how to drive a car by watching a DVD or reading a book... No driving instructor. Just you.

Trying to study a physical art with no guidance is an equivalent folly.

The danger with seeking to learn qigong from a DVD is that you are guaranteed to make many, many mistakes but lack the wherewithal to recognise what those mistakes are and how to remedy them.

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)

Stretching

Mild stretching occurs throughout the training but strong stretching is not advisable.

A stretched muscle can reduce the mobility of the joints, affect range, upset balance and inhibit correct skeletal alignment.

Form requires the student to move freely and easily. The limbs should have already been stretched when you warmed-up. There is no need to stretch further than 70% of your reach.

Over-stretching means needlessly burning energy like crazy; since stretching costs effort. This is not the tai chi way.

Postures

When tai chi is shown in books or photographs, the conclusion of the movement is shown. This is regarded as being a static 'posture' akin to a yoga posture e.g. warrior.

To see tai chi in this way is erroneous and will lead to a great misunderstanding of the art. The only static posture encountered in a tai chi class is standing qigong (and this is not tai chi).

Postures are static. Tai chi is about movement. Chang San-feng said: Tai chi is like a great river rolling on unceasingly.

Slow & boring

Modern people are highly stimulated. They want to be entertained, occupied and pandered to. Like spoiled children.

The highly agitated mind of the modern person - caffeinated, restless and emotive - is not at ease. There is no tranquillity, no calm, no peace. Of course tai chi will seem slow and boring. A settled, quiet, strong mind is still. It is at rest. It finds the world to be filled with wonder and curiosity.

Tai chi and yoga

Tai chi first came to the widespread attention of Western students in the 1960's. A popular Eastern discipline at that time was yoga.

People saw tai chi as being 'moving yoga' - an erroneous and woefully simplistic comparison. This was an error.

Confusing tai chi and qigong

Taijiquan is a martial art. Tai chi for health is a non-martial health exercise adapted from taijiquan. 

Qigong is a series of standing and moving exercises designed to encourage healthy body use.

There are no static postures in tai chi.

 What does qi have to do with fighting? Absolutely nothing. If you want to talk about qi in the martial arts, I'd say that it doesn't have anything to do with the martial arts. They're talking about intention mostly, and they're calling it qi because it sounds more mysterious.

(Tim Cartmell)

Just form?

With the advent of performance art tai chi people have begun to think of tai chi purely in terms of 'form'. This is simplistic. Form is just one facet of the art.

 To bear that which you think you cannot bear is really to bear.

 (Nitobe)

In condition

Being in condition means that your can train for hours and not feel worn out. Your body is filled with energy and you can perform your art with strength and ease.

If you ignore the importance of condition, you will remain mediocre. Your body must be familiar with the Way of moving we associate with tai chi.

In time, the movements feel to almost happen by themselves. It is hard enough learning the sophisticated skills of the art. Do not make it harder by being lazy.

Everyday fitness

Becoming fit is a journey that brings considerable joy. Tai chi training will not stress your joints or damage your body. You will become notably stronger.

In your everyday life you will feel the benefits.

Fitness

In order to use a martial art, you need to be fit. The required degree of fitness will not occur if you simply attend classes once a week. It is not necessary to do the splits, break boards or fight people.

But you do need to train frequently.

Lazy?

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.

Conditioning

Being in condition entails:

• Increasing your strength

• Improving your ability to last (endurance)

• Overcoming fatigue 

• Being fitter

• Being more efficient in your body use

• Being more capable

• Overcoming stress

• Improving circulation

Getting stronger

You can undertake the hardship of the walk without undue difficulty. You need to use just as much energy to complete it.

Yet, your body has grown stronger. More efficient. Compared to somebody who does not undertake daily training you will be far more capable of sustained exercise.

What is condition?

Consider this example:

You decide that you are unfit and you commit to a 3 mile daily walk every morning. On the first day when you complete the walk, you are out of breath and your limbs are shaky.

After two weeks you can finish the walk without losing your breath and you feel pleasantly energised.

Eventually the walk feels too easy and you look to try a more challenging route. What has changed?

 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)

Taking responsibility

School children are required to study 5 days a week in school and then go home and do the homework. Their performance, progress and competence is directly contingent upon these factors.

At college a student is more self-sufficient. There is less classroom time and more self-directed study.

At university the student must attend the required number of lectures and then flesh out the study all by themselves.

Steel isn't strong, boy. Flesh is stronger.

What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?

Look at the strength of your body, the desire in your heart.

(Conan the Barbarian)

 Our next induction course is Monday 6th July.

New starters are welcome!

Ideal workout

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?

Mid-life crisis?

There is more to life than working, buying goods, eating, sleeping, drinking alcohol and watching TV. You are more than this. Tai chi requires the student to expand their horizons.

And to chill out... Contemplation, meditation, settled emotions and calmness of mind are all wonderful additions to your life.

Instead of becoming the violent brute people often associate with the martial arts, you become relaxed and comfortable with yourself, and with those around you.

Care for your body

Qigong and tai chi training is different. It is not strenuous or stressful. You undertake regular training and let the mild exercise build up layers of strength.

Instead of feeling tired, you feel energised and full of vitality.

Strain is bad

Not everybody wants to sweat and strain their way to fitness. Conventional exercise has its drawbacks.  

If you damage your body through goal-oriented exercise, you may have to live with it for the rest of your life.

We get good at what we do

If you want to get good at form, practice form. If you want to become proficient with weapons, then practice with weapons. The more often your body undertakes the practice, the more familiar it will be.

Learning tai chi

Our syllabus was designed in such a way that it creates habit patterns within the body. Many martial arts do this via forms and drills, so it is not without precedent, but our approach is slightly different.

We consider the essence, rather than the outcome, the product. This is a process-oriented approach.

 Throughout the Tao Te Ching Lao Tzu is at a loss for words as he tries to describe that which cannot be described. This is also the problem for the taijiquan teacher. The teacher could talk for hours about taijiquan and never really be able to tell the student what it is. All that Lao Tzu and the taijiquan teacher can do is to try to give you glimpses of what the Tao and taijiquan are.

(John Lash) 

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) 

Finding peace

Unless we stop our activity, we cannot find peace.

Tai chi is about doing less and less - we only do what needs to be done.

Why not try starting the day with a little time to yourself?

Make yourself a drink, sit outside and listen to the day begin...

It is a beautiful way of reclaiming your inner harmony and balance.

Not talking

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 silence within.

Without the chatter, people feel alone and isolated.

Try this: become aware of your own need to talk.

When you feel the urge to speak arise, let it pass again.

Gradually, you become quieter inside and begin to notice more.

You speak when necessary but your sentences shorten, you are more succinct and direct.

You feel calmer.

Calm & ready

In tai chi we look to allow the mind to settle of its own accord.

Thoughts naturally dissipate and fade when you relax and become quiet.

Your emotions subside, you become still within.

Once empty inside, we can begin...

When a person is in a condition of emptiness, they are alert yet completely at ease.

They are capable of doing what needs to be done, of acting without anticipation or hesitation.

Empty & full

Consider a cup...

When empty, it has purpose, it can be used. It has potential.

When filled, it has completed its function and cannot be utilised again without being emptied once more.

A room is an empty space bordered by walls.

It is the space that we use.

When the emptiness is filled, the room becomes confined.

If your mind is already filled with thoughts, memories and chatter - it is full already.

Until you empty it, your mind is not ready for use.

Being empty

In Western culture, emptiness is considered to be something negative.

It has the connotation of absence.

When a person claims to 'feel empty', they are usually expressing displeasure and seek to find what they lack.

People look outside of themselves in a desperate search to fill this inner void.

In Taoism, it is different.

 Enlightenment is not an experience.

It is the state where you are left absolutely alone, nothing to know.

No object, however beautiful, is present.

Only in that moment does your consciousness, unobstructed by any object,

take a turn and move back to the source.

(Osho)

 He did each single thing as if he did nothing else.

(Charles Dickens)

Tai chi

 The body must be exercised carefully, with a clear emphasis upon safety and relaxation.

Sifu Waller's approach to tai chi is ideal for people with arthritis because we keep certain considerations in mind at all times:

1. Natural stances - you should not stretch, stride or over-reach at any time

2. Smoothness - the movements must be gentle, flowing and relaxed

3. Small circle - the postures are natural and the waist turns are gentle

4. Stepping - agile footwork must be used rather than lengthy steps

5. Softness - muscle tension must be avoided at all costs

6. Balance – stability-awareness training and strength-building

These factors combine to produce a very gentle yet subtly demanding workout for people who suffer from arthritis.

What causes arthritis?

People aren't entirely sure.

The condition cannot be cured but it often responds to treatment.

Some possible causes of arthritis: obesity, repeated joint injuries and stress.

Joint problems

Arthritis is a joint-related condition that affects billions of people as they grow older.

It typically involves pain, inflammation and stiffness.

 There is irrefutable evidence that exercise benefits most aspects of health.

Exercise is an essential part of therapeutic approach for arthritis.
Pain and stiffness of the joints tend to discourage patients from exercising.
However without exercise, joints can become even more stiff and painful.
This happens because exercise actually keeps bones, muscles and joints healthy.

It is important to keep muscles as strong as possible because the stronger the muscles and tissues around joints are, the better they will be able to support and protect those joints.
If people do not exercise, their muscles become weaker,
and their bones can become osteoporotic.
Exercise pumps blood and body fluid through to the muscles, tendons and the joints,
which will facilitate healing.

(Dr Paul Lam)

Internal

The substance and focus of the internal martial arts is quite different from external systems. This can be readily illustrated by every bona fide tai chi teacher.

If a tai chi teacher is incapable of demonstrating whole-body strength, whole-body movement and whole-body power, then they are not really a qualified instructor.

Character

A tai chi student needs to have good character. They are held to a higher standard than other people.

Courtesy, manners, politeness and honesty are standard. Moral conduct and restraint are also expected.

It is important to take responsibility for what you are learning and show consideration to others who are less fortunate than you.

These may sound like old fashioned values but the martial arts tradition is an ancient one; and its values have proven their worth over the centuries.

Right conduct, courage, benevolence, respect, honour and self discipline are all a given in our classes.

Self defence

A tai chi class would not be a tai chi class without combat.

Tai chi chuan, however, is not about fighting - it is about self defence - and the two are rather different.

Fighting is about contesting yourself against another, besting them in combat and perhaps obtaining a prize.

Self defence is about escaping harm - using the minimum degree of effort and commitment.

There are no prizes or runners-up in self defence; if you lose in a real life confrontation, you could die.

Class practice must skirt the edge of reality; tasting the danger without running the risk of serious injury.

Internal

There have been some pretty weird definitions of 'internal' from various Instructors across the years. A lot of needless debate has been carried out.

Whole-body soft movement is quite unique and easy to identify. If you have received an internal strike, you are unlikely to confuse it with anything else. 

Anyone who has tried to grapple with a real tai chi person tends to be amazed by their malleability. The fluid, adaptive approach creates a sense of 'fighting with yourself' or with water.

What people find most odd about tai chi is the ease of the art. A small movement produces a disproportionate consequence; and no muscular tension is ever used. Yet it works.

To accomplish this, the Tai Chi Classics must be adhered to strictly, with no deviation. Yielding must be your first and last thought at all times.

Be still,

when attacked by the opponent,

be tranquil and move in stillness;

changes caused by my opponent fill him with wonder.

(Song of the 13 Postures)

 Our next induction course is Monday 6th July.

New starters are welcome!