Eight Pieces of Brocade Qigong
One of the oldest and most famous of all qigong sequences is ‘Ba Duan Jin’, or ‘Eight Pieces of Brocade’, also known as ‘Eight Treasures’. Visit parks across China in the mornings and you’ll see individuals or groups practicing a variation of the form which has been passed down and …
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Qi
Teacher: ‘Well done today everyone, great class! Does anyone have any questions?’ Student: ‘Yes, I was wondering, what is Qi?’ Teacher: ‘Good question. Have you seen Star Wars?’ Student: ‘Yes.’ Teacher: ‘It’s The Force.’ Being a man, and tai chi instructor, of a certain age there are two cultural …
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The 5 Elements
The previous two blog posts in this Taoism series have explained the concepts of Wuji, and Yin-Yang. Respectively the unseen, unfathomable void from which all existence springs (Wuji), and the duality of natural phenomena which gives it its definition (Yin-Yang). Our next step in our journey of understanding Chinese thought …
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China 2019
Mark is in China in the Guangxi province, exploring Chen style tai chi. Follow Mark’s trip to China on our sister website www.whitecraneacademy.com: Day 30 – Final Thoughts Day 29 – Hong Kong Tourist Day 28 – Travel to Hong Kong Day 27 – Modern Day Self Defence Day 26 …
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Thoughts on Training and Travel in China
I have been meaning to write down some thoughts about my travels in China back in December and January but as the year has got off to a light-speed start, and we suddenly find ourselves entering the tail end of February, it feels as though a travelogue is a little …
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