In memory of a valued teacher

Dear Sifu,

Thank you for putting a message on your board regarding Peter. I have attended his classes since 2005. We were informed yesterday that he had passed away and it was a shock.

Best regards

(Veronique)

RIP Peter Southwood

I received an e-mail today telling me that my tai chi teacher Peter Southwood has died:

Dear Master Waller

I think you may be the guy I did tai chi with 15 years back in Girlington. I am afraid I learnt today that Peter Southwood died suddenly. Thought you might to to know. I don't know what has happened yet but it must have been very sudden. I still do tai chi and will miss Peter a lot, massive in fact . He was for me a great teacher.

(Clive Whittaker)

Peter was a student of Chu King Hung and many other teachers.
I had a Master/disciple relationship with Peter for 20 years, training as a private student, in his evening classes and as an indoor student. I taught self defence/applied tai chi in his evening class for a few years.
Peter was a dedicated tai chi practitioner.

Sifu

Ready for walking

Rushing

Rushing is another sign of fear.
You must come to terms with your fear, and relax. If you get hit, you get hit. Accept this.

When you flinch, anticipate or tense-up, you have lost control completely.
A more skilled opponent will defeat you instantly.

Yield, make space. Take your time.
Rushing is a timing fault. Your awareness is askew. You are not present in the moment.

How much do corporate sessions cost?

£40 for 60 minutes (excluding travel expenses)

- teaching up to 20 people

Mrs Waller

For strength or for combat?

Different schools teach tai chi in different ways, and the purpose of the form changes relative to each school's agenda.
Low stances and long stances are commonplace.
These postures indicate that the form is being used to develop strength, and that combat skills are trained separately (if at all).

The small frame, small circle form is practiced for combat.
The postures are exactly the same as the self defence movements.
Strength and combat are trained simultaneously.

Wabi sabi

Newton's Laws of Motion

Familiarity with Newton's Laws of Motion will aid your understanding of our approach to partner work:

1. An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by a net force
2. Force equals mass multiplied by acceleration
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction

Tynemouth

Meadow

Weight

Sinking and rooting provide an inherent use of gravity.
Dropped shoulders, elbows, sunk hips and relaxed spine, knees and ankles improve root.
Without root, you are 'floaty' and weak.

Additionally, you must weight shift with every striking movement except for kicks.
If your weight is not behind the movement, where is it?

When shifting weight, the alignment of the pelvis, hips and knees must be considered.

Coastal

Detox: end of week 2

Maintaining an improved food intake is challenging but rewarding.
Eating significantly less food each day becomes notably easier.
You actually begin to enjoy feeling genuinely hungry.

The meals are something to look forward to.

Hungry

Sifu

A fundamental structure

When you make any movement in tai chi, the framework must remain integrated.
Standing qigong is a training method that develops the underlying physical structure of tai chi.

It trains the body to relax whilst maintaining certain specific internal tensions.
No matter what you are doing in this system of tai chi there must be the unseen physical connection within the body.
We call this 'inherent peng'.

Common misconceptions

Beginners seldom express wardoff internally.
Most students manifest the physical shape of wardoff without the internal energetic quality that makes it a jing.

Common misconceptions:

stiff block
- fundamental error in perception


immovable
- yielding is paramount. Without it, there is no tai chi
- strength vs strength is not tai chi


tension used rather than connection/groundpath
- beginners-level error


rigid legs, only turning hips
- external attitude
- stance too low


not using bow stance
- posture lacks 5 bows


use of arms and shoulders
- unite upper & lower timing sequence lacking
- wardoff is not being produced by spiralling & rippling
- power must rise up from the ground

Rachel