Warming Up for Tai Chi
I remember being at school in the 80’s and for the first minute or so of our PE lesson we’d do the warm up. It was a case of the teacher shouting something along the lines of, “Okay boys, touch your toes… now you’re good to go!” I would hope …
Read More
Tai Chi Fan
When a student reaches a certain level in their open hand tai chi practice (ie. not with a weapon in their hands), it is time to start practicing weapons! Traditionally, attainment of this level may well have taken up to a decade or more. However, these days it is …
Read More
Winter in Chinese Medicine
Winter is the most Yin time of year in Chinese medicine. The darker months are a time of looking inward, slowing down, resting, wrapping up, keeping warm, and eating nourishing foods. It is a time when looking after our kidneys is important. In Chinese medicine each season is associated …
Read More
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, …
Read More
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 …
Read More
Change, Adapt, Grow
We get so used to doing things a certain way and caught up in our routines or comfort zones that testing times such as the one that we are experiencing can be harder to get through collectively than they need to be. Witness those who cannot cope without life’s so …
Read More
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 …
Read More
When things don’t go to plan…
I know of quite a few people going through a hard time at the moment – personally, and/or professionally – and life’s crueler events often seems to happen at this time of year, when in my part of the world at least, it’s grey, damp, and generally a bit miserable …
Read More
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 …
Read More
The Absolutely Not Tongue in Cheek Magic Mathematical Formula for Learning Tai Chi (or anything else)
This week in our Friday blog post, we’re going to take a slight detour from our recent theme of Chinese philosophy, Taoism, culture and explore a simple formula (that I made up) which will help you to improve your Tai Chi, or anything else for that matter. With everything I …
Read More