How to Improve Quickly at Tai Chi
When giving advice to my students about how often they should train, I usually recommend a ‘little and often’ approach. If I enjoy something, I want to do it everyday – fortunately this is the best way to improve at tai chi. Let’s say you’ve just started a class or …
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Tai Chi and Bad Backs
I imagine everyone has experienced it to some degree, that aching discomfort and slightly sickening pain of a bad back. Unable to get comfortable in any position, popping medication just to be able to get through the basic functions of the day, to sit pain free at your desk, or …
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Everyone Should Practice Qigong
I believe that everyone should do qigong. Young, old, and everyone in between. It’s the perfect activity and here I offer three all encompassing reasons why: Mind “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realise this and you will find strength” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. Whilst social …
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4 Tips for Better Balance
I have many students who have sought out tai chi training specifically to improve their balance. A decline in the body’s stability can be incredibly unsettling, whether it’s from an injury, a health condition, or the ageing process, it can really knock your confidence. However, with practice and determination, it’s …
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Martial Arts for Stress, Balance, and Happiness
During the 15 years that I had a career in the corporate world, I was often asked how I was able to not display signs of stress when everything seemed to be going wrong – as it very often does when you work in IT! My standard answer was, …
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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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The Best Anti-Anxiety Medication
It’s day three of what seems to be the new – temporary – lifestyle that we are all getting accustomed to. Actually I’m spending my days teaching, training, working on my laptop, walking the dog, eating, chatting with family and friends – pretty much the same as normal. Except …
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Kung Fu Beats Coronavirus
As a martial artist we spend a great proportion of our lives putting our bodies as well as our minds into uncomfortable situations and positions. Take my favourite exercise for example, the low horse stance (those who know me will not be surprised!). It’s the perfect example of physical …
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Jack Kerouac, Toilet Paper, and Finding Your Purpose
I haven’t written a series of blog posts for a while, the last time was whilst I was in China last summer. I was expecting to do something a little similar this summer coming but you know what they say about the best laid plans. So here we are, …
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Benefits of Martial Arts Weapons Training
There comes a point in the training life of every traditional martial artist when the shiny glint of a blade catches their eye and lures them into the temptation of training with traditional weapons. For me, it began with the ‘jian’, more commonly known on these shores as a Chinese …
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