There is no greater disaster than greed.

(Lao Tzu)

You are not your fat

A defensive person see the excess fat as being part of who they are. An outer manifestation of an inner self. In a way they are correct, however, the fat is not who you are. It is what you have allowed.

Who you are is one thing. Excess body fat is something else entirely.

"Like me for who I am"

People in modern culture are very defensive. They take exception to everything and over-react without realising it. Emotions are attached to the most trivial of things. People are very quick to anger.

Fat or obese?

Heart disease, diabetes and other life threatening conditions can arise when you ignore your body fat.

It is quite scary and sad to think that the Western world is becoming fatter and fatter, whilst many so-called 'developing' countries still struggle to maintain a basic standard of living.
A fat person has eaten more than they need to. They have exceeded their body's requirement. Considering shedding this surplus and changing how you eat.

Fat is unhealthy

It represents stored food and is a redundancy that adversely affects your health. Do not be concerned about media representations of a healthy body. They are an illusion.

A skinny person is not necessarily a healthy one. They may be anorexic or metabolically fast. Use your own judgement, but do not lie. Are you flabby? Do your have pouches of fat?
Be honest with yourself.

Youth passes

Clinging to the illusion that beauty can only be found in youth is one folly of modern society. People pay for plastic surgery and expensive cosmetic products in the hope of looking younger.

Yet, youth is just part of the aging process. Once it has gone, do not chase it. Instead of pining for what has been, enjoy what is happening now.

False body image

Many people who are notably fat genuinely do not realise quite how fat they really are. How come?

• People tend to become fat gradually
• Getting fatter is seen as a natural outcome of aging
• It is impossible to look at your own body objectively
• There are many fat people in society these days, so being fat is not unusual
• If you admit how fat you are, you may feel compelled to address the problem

 There is a time for putting together.

And another time for taking apart.
He who understands this course of events
Takes each new state in its proper time
With neither sorrow nor joy.
The Ancients said: "The hanged man cannot cut himself down."

(Chuang Tzu)

 

Right idea, wrong method?

As people age, they pine for the freedom and fitness of youth. Often, they pursue 'solutions' that are far from ideal:

1. Exercise methods that brutally punish the body

2. Aesthetic changes

These approaches fail to address the underlying issues and seldom result in a long-term positive change. The main concerns need to be: mind, body, attitude and lifestyle.

Shedding bad habits

Change requires us to stop doing what we are used to doing, and do something unfamiliar instead. This sounds easy enough.

In reality, people are reluctant to let-go of habits. There is much comfort to be found in the familiar. In order to respond spontaneously to what is occurring, we must shed certain habits.
The first step is to simply become aware of their existence.

 

Will tai chi help me to lose weight?

Weight loss usually involves balancing out food intake and activity. Undertaking a daily qigong and tai chi regime will most certainly help your body exercise.

This must be paired with a diet that best suits the individual.

 

September 13th induction course

Newcastle Tai Chi August induction course has commenced, and is going very well.

We will be running the September course in just over a month's time.

September may be our last induction course for 2021. It depends on capacity issues and hall space.

Waiting list

Newcastle Tai Chi is a highly-rated school with a limited number of places available. Unfortunately, we have a waiting list.

If you want your name adding to the list, please send us an e-mail and we will contact you when the next induction course is scheduled.

 Adrenalin fueled, high energy activities and some bad habits had been the way I lived my life. This has left me with a damaged knee and hands as well as increasing joint aches with reducing mobility and strength. Fully expecting at least one knee replacement and further reducing mobility could only see myself placing more responsibility for my health onto the NHS.

Until I saw the light and reconsidered my approach to everything. Regarding health and well being Tai Chi always stood out to be the optimal activity. But with so many places offering Tai Chi where do I go? Following some diligent research on-line and in the library I identified the handful of most highly qualified teachers in the country. Then was amazed to find one such teacher was right here in Newcastle. I contacted Newcastle Tai Chi and what a good move that has turned out to be.

Having attended the school for a number of months now what is happening for me is nothing short of incredible. The strength and stability developing around my knees has put thoughts of joint replacements out of mind altogether. I've increased strength and muscle tone similar to when I attended a gym for years. But, without one drop of sweat! My energy level has also dramatically increased and sense of well being. As well as improved flexibility and movement , which I had expected. All this with only the right attitude and regular practice, no fancy equipment required.

What is required however is the right teaching. The quality and standard of the teaching at my school, and their whole approach to health and well being, is done with a level of integrity I would only have expected to find in the best schools in China it's self. Not just teaching the movements but also the understanding behind the movements, which is necessary to properly benefit from Tai Chi. Their relaxed and friendly environment are helping with learning and practicing what can be a challenging skill to master.

I must be driving passed at least a dozen schools teaching Tai Chi on the way to my school every Monday. But would consider myself mad to even contemplate practicing Tai Chi anywhere else. Tai Chi, the open secret. All schools maybe open, the secret is the right school.

(Tony Jackman)

Does tai chi involve physical contact?

Yes it does. Newcastle Tai Chi aims to provide an authentic tai chi experience.

Pushing hands (and other forms of partner work) requires you to touch other students.

 I have been a member of Newcastle Tai Chi for just over four years now. Prior to that I had spent a few years as a dedicated gym bunny with an assortment of personal trainers, but had started to find the whole endeavour a bit mindless and unnecessarily grueling. Having spent several years practising other martial arts in the past, I decided to look around for an alternative and, after some judicious Googling, spent several weeks revisiting Sifu's frankly encyclopaedic website. This sounded ideal.

I came along to my first class and got a warm welcome and a thorough induction from Rachel. None of the customary strutting or posturing from the more senior students either: everyone I met was friendly, approachable and obviously enthused by what they were learning regardless of their level of skill. Given my past experience and my aspiration to start the martial syllabus, I have to admit to feeling a bit bemused at times during those first few weeks. Why was I being asked to hold an apparently untaxing posture for ten minutes? How could such slow, soft movements possibly be of any benefit in defending myself? I persevered. As I gradually learned more of the sequence of movements called the Long Yang form and had more and more opportunities to see Sifu demonstrate the devastating significance behind even the most subtle of these movements, things began to make sense. Though I feel as though I have come a long way in my own journey with taijiquan, I realise I have scarcely taken the first step towards understanding the art and all that Sifu has to teach. The syllabus he has developed is comprehensive and staggering in its scale, but also tangible and achievable for anyone willing to shed their preconceptions and pursue it. Sifu's teaching is predicated entirely on biomechanics and efficiency of movement. It is also refreshingly devoid of the horses**t and hokum that so regrettably accompanies most supposed tai chi classes these days. Countless times I have found myself confounded by a particular application and convinced it couldn't possibly work, only to find myself exerting strength I couldn't have imagined thanks to one tiny adjustment or subtle shift of perspective from Sifu. I have no doubt that even those students who have only been able to attend the class for a relatively short period of time have emerged with a renewed understanding of their body and its potential.

Add to all this the variety of what's on offer (from girls' nights to tea clubs, workshops to weapons) and we are really very privileged to have such an exceptional class based in the North East.

If you are considering coming along for the first time, don't hesitate. We look forward to meeting you. (Paul Reynolds)

 This class is a rare opportunity to learn genuine Tai Chi from an experienced, professional teacher. I find the class to be friendly and enjoyable whilst still being disciplined, structured and safe. I would urge anyone interested in Tai Chi to give this class a try as the martial aspects of the teaching add a real focus to the training. The training itself is very different to anything I have seen before, so come with an open mind! All levels are catered for, from 'health only' to serious martial artist and the teaching is very professional and well organised. (Martin Isherwood)

Waiting list

Newcastle Tai Chi is a highly-rated school with a limited number of places available. Unfortunately, we have a waiting list.

If you want your name adding to the list, please send us an e-mail and we will contact you when the next induction course is scheduled.

Meditation in tai chi

An article from The Journal of Asian Martial Arts was talking about 'Learning how to learn'. This was most interesting.

It spoke of how students come to tai chi classes in the hope of improving balance, health, lowering stress etc, and usually desire to move with grace and power. The student is quickly faced with their own limitations: stiffness, poor attention span, coordination, etc and must come to terms with the actually reality of themselves. And most people don't like this, and so they quit.

Only a few people are prepared to acknowledge that they need to improve their minds, emotions and their bodies, and that tai chi offers a terrific vehicle to accomplish this goal.
 
The author said that tai chi's meditation lies in this process of growing self-awareness, of seeing what is really there, and learning to work with the body - rather than remain locked in the mind, engulfed by unhelpful thoughts.

The sheer physicality of tai chi grounds the individual in the here and now. There is no pretending to be something or someone that you are not, since everything is revealed in how you move and how your body operates.

  Health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity. 

(World Health Organisation)

What is commonly being taught in a tai chi class

According to The Journal of Asian Martial Arts, most tai chi classes in the world offer solo form (a sequence of moves), and a bit of qigong. Not many classes actually do pushing hands.

Some do sword form. Occasionally, teachers speak of self defence applications. Things like 'san sau' are very, very rare, and rarer still are classes that teach anything approaching an actual martial art. 

Does tai chi involve physical contact?

Yes it does. Newcastle Tai Chi aims to provide an authentic tai chi experience.

Pushing hands (and other forms of partner work) requires you to touch other students.

 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)

 One of my first teachers told me something that I didn't really understand until I got a little older - that there's a human need to have contact with with other humans. It's a human bonding type of thing. Guys like to box around with each other, kids like to wrestle around - you don't get that with a lot of other activities. Even if you found something that was mentally challenging and physically challenging, would it involve another person, or contact with another person? Even if you played tennis there's not that physical contact. A lot of people, boys especially, like contact sports. It's a primal urge. Martial arts give you an outlet where you get that kind of contact without actually having to hurt anybody.

I've heard thousands of people say this over the years. They come to work out, they train hard and they spar and even if they've been banged up a little bit, when they leave they always say, "I feel better than I did when I came in." Whereas a person who didn't understand that would go, "You just got your ass kicked, what do mean you feel better?" You've gotten that contact and it's a good outlet. Martial arts always has that.

(Tim Cartmell)

Re-opening meal

 

Nervous system

Taijiquan refines your sense of touch considerably. You become acutely sensitive to pressure, warmth, vibration and texture. This helps to attune your nervous system.

It makes you less clumsy, more graceful and ultimately far more relaxed. Not only do your fingers become more alert and sensing, your feet do too. 

Waiting list

Newcastle Tai Chi is a highly-rated school with a limited number of places available. Unfortunately, we have a waiting list.

If you want your name adding to the list, please send us an e-mail and we will contact you when the next induction course is scheduled.

Uncomfortable

A person cannot very well learn combat if they are uncomfortable touching other people.

Even if you are learning tai chi for health, it is necessary to work with other people through partnered exercise. Working alone offers no feedback.

Only through working with another person can you really begin to feel what is happening. Without a partner you will never know if your connection is complete or your jing apparent.

The yin/yang symbol expresses partnership; the harmonious joining and intermingling of two apparent opposites. This principle lies at the root of all taijiquan practice.

 Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

  (Leo F. Buscaglia)

Fear

There is a modern phobia of physical contact. People quite often do not like to be touched. Yet, touch is one of our senses and if we ignore it, our world becomes far lonelier.

In taijiquan we consider touch to be very important; by working with somebody else we can help them to feel how their own body operates and help ourselves as well.

We encourage people to become accustomed to physical proximity from the start of their training, to relax, soften and be receptive to other people.

Touch

The sense of touch is actually quite complex. Within the sense category of touch we may include: pressure, pain, temperature, shape, softness, texture and vibration.

Taijiquan aims to improve our brain's capacity to interpret and respond to the data it receives.

Sitting

People tend to sit a lot these days. In the car, on the sofa, at a table. Whilst watching TV. When eating. Sitting for short periods of time is fine but lengthy sitting has an adverse effect on circulation.

 

 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) 

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)

 Touch is as important as vision and hearing for learning and retaining information. Lack of touch can lead to emotional disturbances, as well as lessened intellectual ability and physical growth, reduced sexual interest, and even immune system weaknesses.

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

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.

Find the calm

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.

Invest in loss

To find calm places you need to become a little lost yourself. Not lost in drink, drugs, illusion or stimulation. Quite the opposite. You will need your wits about you.

You need to step off the familiar pathways of your life and walk somewhere different.

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.

Seek out the calm

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

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

Outdoors

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

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

 

 I’m aware of how much violence there is at work these days. I met up with friends I used to work with in housing and violence is very common at their work. NHS staff are increasingly under physical attack (I’ve noticed warnings in my local GP surgery). School teachers too, and transport staff.

(Karen)

Weight loss usually involves balancing out food intake and activity. Undertaking a daily qigong and tai chi regime will most certainly help your body exercise.

This must be paired with a diet that best suits the individual.

In working with some of my tai chi teachers I have the sense that at the instant their hands touched my body, they knew a great deal about my physical and emotional state. During these encounters, my teachers also seemed to convey nonverbal information intentionally; it was as if their touch and movements shared information with me. Becoming aware of their physical, energetic qualities provided me with a reference against which I could calibrate my own qualities and abilities.
 

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

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?

 With today's round-the-clock access to news we can now receive a twenty-four-hours-a-day parade of mostly negative information about random shootings, drug wars, environmental disasters, racially motivated hate crimes, rampaging serial killers, and gruesome sex crimes. As they say in the world of television news production, "If it bleeds, it leads." The news, in fact, has become so stressful that health experts recommend 'news fasts' to improve psychological health.

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

Relax

The 'relaxing' aspect of tai chi is a culmination of 3 factors:

1. Emotional awareness

2. Physical ease

3. The calming of thought

Tai chi gently encourages people to slow down, take time over things and be patient. There is no pressure at all. Things are allowed to unfold in their own good time.
Ready to begin de-stressing?

Look after yourself

Our tai chi classes offer an excellent way to:

• Find balance
• Discovery new ways to cope with difficult situations
• Relax
• De-stress
• Calm down and find your own pace
• See alternatives
• Slow down
• Re-frame potential problems
• Avoid confrontation

Take it easy

Sifu Waller adopts a Taoist approach to exploring tai chi; there is no rivalry, competition, anxiety, winning or losing.

Whilst there is a detailed syllabus and a clear method of development, students are free to proceed at their own pace.

There is no consensus on what 'self defence' actually means:

1. Some people think self defence refers to tips & pointers that will enable you to handle any manner of assault

2. Martial artists often regard self defence as a weak, limited aspect of combat

3. The Police see self defence as being a reasonable, considered, appropriate response to an assault

 There was a man

who was so disturbed
by the sight of his own shadow
and so displeased
with his own footsteps,
that he determined to get rid of both.

The method he hit upon was
to run away from them.
So he got up and ran.

But every time he put his foot down
there was another step,
while his shadow kept up with him
without the slightest difficulty.

He attributed his failure
to the fact
that he was not running fast enough.
So he ran faster and faster,
without stopping,
until he finally dropped dead.

He failed to realize
that if he merely stepped into the shade,
his shadow would vanish,
and if he sat down and stayed still,
there would be no more footsteps.

 (Chuang Tzu)

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

 (Dr. Joan Vernikos)

 

What is stress?

Stress is a condition of anxiety caused by the inability to cope with a situation. A person feels to be under pressure and they become upset.

They are often encouraged to see themselves as being a failure when the pressure becomes too much.

Stress is so commonplace that we treat it as normal. Yet, stress is very harmful to your health and can lead to illness, psychological problems and premature aging.

What is self defence?

Self defence is the ability to protect yourself: physically, mentally and emotionally. The aim of self defence is to incapacitate the attacker and walk away; ideally unharmed.

Symptoms of stress

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.

What relevance do taijiquan fighting skills have in modern life?

Simple. Taijiquan teaches you how to defend yourself from harm.

Taijiquan self defence skills lead to less fear, greater confidence and the ability to identify (and avoid) dangerous situations.

 Most people come to our classes because they are seeking to learn tai chi properly and recognise that this is by far the best tai chi in the North East.

(Patricia)

Welcome to our tai chi school

Have fun in a calm, vibrant, training environment; free from bullying, cliques and politics. The atmosphere is friendly and stimulating. Individual progress is important to us.

We have a detailed tai chi syllabus in place in order to optimise the learning experience. Both of our instructors are registered with The Tai Chi Union for Great Britain.
The senior instructor has been practicing since 1975, teaching since 1995.

Preventative healthcare

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...

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

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

Tai chi for health & fitness

Tai chi for health is a popular form of movement-based exercise. The art requires low effort. No sweating. No exertion. No taxing the body.

Tai chi for fitness involves cross-training tai chi for moderate, varied exercise. The training incorporates core strength, psoas work, leg stretches and Taoist Yoga.

 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) 

Sitting is the new smoking...

 https://www.startstanding.org/sitting-new-smoking/#extended

The perfect exercise?

University of California medical research discovered that tai chi can significantly boost the body's immune system response to virus infection.

Dr Bradley Willcox, Dr Craig Willcox and Dr Makoto Suzuki wrote a 25 year medical study (The Okinawa Program). They maintain that tai chi - with its ancient origins and incredible health benefits - is the ideal form of exercise for modern people.

 Tai chi exercise is known as one of the finest low-risk forms of physical fitness. There are millions and millions people around the world who are enjoying the significant health benefits of daily practice, helping to reduce depression and promote the feeling of serenity. The happy result is increased optimism and enhanced mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

(William CC Chen)

Qigong

Students always start by learning qigong first. The simple qigong exercises build strength, improve coordination and exercise the body. After a session you feel at ease, energised and comfortable.

Explore a variety of exercises designed to cultivate the flow of blood and oxygen around the body, as well as release tension within the muscles. Qigong helps people relax and unwind.

 

Self defence

Taijiquan teaches you how to defend yourself from harm. This means less fear, greater confidence, and the ability to identify (and avoid) dangerous situations.

The aim of self defence is to incapacitate the attacker and walk away; ideally unharmed. Discover how to keep a cool head, avoid conflict and cope with hostility.

Taijiquan

Taijiquan (supreme ultimate fist) is an advanced martial art based upon ancient Chinese knowledge, biomechanics and the yin/yang principle. Some of the training methods are slow, but many are not.

Authentic taijiquan practice follows specific guidelines. It is fascinating, fun and mentally stimulating. Taijiquan teaches powerful, functional skills, along with an in-depth philosophical background.

 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)

What is tai chi?

Tai chi is a form of gentle exercise that encourages a calm mind, balanced emotions and a strong body. When people say 'tai chi' they typically mean tai chi for health.

Lazy?

Not changing is fine if your circumstances are constant. But are they ever constant? Our bodies slowly deteriorate day-by-day. We could lose our job. Our partners could leave us. We might get ill.

Change is inevitable. Even if you stand still, life won't.

Yin/yang is about exchange. To get something, you have to give something. You have to do something.

The origin of laziness?

It is believed that laziness is a biological trait. A survival tool. In itself laziness is not necessarily a bad thing. People often see/hear the word 'lazy' as being a stigma and get defensive.

Imagine that you're a primitive human living in a valley 10000 years ago... The valley has all that you need. It is safe. It is free of hostile predators or rival tribes.

There would be no sense in going elsewhere. This is laziness. A desire to maintain the status quo. Not to change.

 

Indoor exercise/fitness/dance classes remain illegal

Sadly, the Government have today announced that Newcastle is "tier #3" and specifically said that indoor exercise/fitness/dance classes remain illegal.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know#very-high-alert

So, unfortunately, Newcastle Tai Chi is still in lockdown, and will not be teaching Monday night induction classes in December after all.

There's tremendous pressure to bring the region back into tier #2, but this won't happen in December. Fingers-crossed for January... I'll keep you updated.

Take care,

Rachel 

 

 This was written 2500 years ago:

Now when strange things begin to happen,
laws and regulations become stricter;
Then stricter laws and regulations
mean more criminals and fugitives.

Soon everyone
is either a criminal or a fugitive,

And no one can untangle the mess.

(Tao Te Ching - verse 57)

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

 

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

 

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

The perfect exercise?

University of California medical research discovered that tai chi can significantly boost the body's immune system response to virus infection.

Dr Bradley Willcox, Dr Craig Willcox and Dr Makoto Suzuki wrote a 25 year medical study (The Okinawa Program). They maintain that tai chi - with its ancient origins and incredible health benefits - is the ideal form of exercise for modern people. 

 Last night I was chatting with a young doctor who has been attending our tai chi school for a few years now. 

He has been working in the intensive care unit throughout the pandemic. 

The doctor was talking about how good PPE works and also about training with our school has improved his own health.

The doctor said that he used to get flu etc, basically whatever was doing the rounds that year. 

However, since attending our classes and training at home, he's not taken 1 day off work sick. 

He felt that the training has significantly affected his immune system.

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

 

 (ABC Science, regarding a University of California study)

Covid-19 & induction course

Whilst social distancing measures remain in place, physical contact will not be permitted unless you bring somebody who is from your own household or in your 'social bubble'.

If you bring a permissible practice partner, you can undertake the standard induction course and (should you join the school) explore our complete syllabus with your partner.

Induction course - Monday 12th October

The next induction course starts Monday 12th October. Places must be booked on-line in advance (Covid-19 guidelines).

There are a limited number of places available. If you want to book a place, please send us an e-mail.

sifuwaller@outlook.com 

Induction course - Monday 12th October

The next induction course starts Monday 12th October. Places must be booked on-line in advance (Covid-19 guidelines).

There are a limited number of places available. If you want to book a place, please send us an e-mail.

sifuwaller@outlook.com 

Induction course Monday 14th September

 The next induction course starts Monday 14th September. Places must be booked on-line in advance (Covid-19 guidelines).

There are a limited number of places available. If you want to book a place, please send us an e-mail.

sifuwaller@outlook.com

TAI CHI - 3-week induction course - Monday 14th September

We have received the go-ahead to resume tai chi classes at St Andrew's Church hall in September.

The induction course will start @ 6:45 PM on 14th September.

Under the new Covid-19 guidelines, registration must take place on-line prior to the induction course.

If you are interested and want to attend, please let me know and I will send you a registration form.

sifuwaller@outlook.com