Whoever you are don’t neglect horse stance training. The horse stance is the most important skill new beginners should focus on. In some traditional schools in China new beginners would do nothing else but the horse stance for months on end until they could stand in a deep stance for half an hour without moving! We don’t need to go that far but never forget your horse stance is the […]
The crane stance is common in tai chi and kung fu so is important to master. It the easiest stance to understand but, perhaps the most demanding to perform. It simply requires you to stand on one leg with your raised foot pointing to the ground. Note: when we talk about a stance we are talking about the position of the entire body from head to feet but not including […]
Cloud hands is a beautiful movement that mimics the soft movement of clouds floating through the sky. It is a lovely movement to practice over and over again. Partly because it feels good to do and partly because there is so much it can teach you when it comes to relaxing down and connecting different parts of your body together. How to do it Start with just the arm movements […]
Relax and extend The unbendable arm is a concept that is talked about a lot in tai chi and aikido. However, it is a part of most traditional Chinese martial arts. It is a way of holding your arm so that it cannot be bent at the elbow no matter how hard somebody tries. Eventually the same principles can be applied to any joint in the body. The point of […]
Develop a more flexible spine. Back problems are one of the major ‘diseases’ of the modern world. They account for a large percentage of visits to the Doctor and almost everybody, as they age, suffers with their back The sheer amount of time we spend sitting down with our backs ill supported leads to the muscles in the front of our body gradually shortening. The back muscles lose tone and […]
Many people turn up to my classes worrying that they won’t be fit enough or flexible enough. Within a very short space of time they realise those things don’t really matter. The biggest problem they have, that everyone has, is with coordination. Coordination means getting your arms and legs to do what you want them to do. Almost every movement I teach is a whole body movement. That means you […]
Now you understand the concept of yin and yang better you’ll realise that in tai chi we aim to create movement and energy by making different parts of the body yin or yang. Yin and yang arms mostly refers to the position of your elbow. A yin elbow is sunk down, It feels heavy and this pulls your shoulder down and helps root you more firmly onto the earth. It […]
In the Jade Dragon tradition arm circles are taken very seriously. They teach us to move our arms fluidly, without tension, without hesitation at any angle and at any speed. There are 8 circles to learn but only 4 of those are used in tai chi. This version of the yin circle is one of the most common arm movements in our tai chi form so it’s important to get […]
In tai chi we learn to walk in a certain way. We never just put a foot forward then drop our weight onto it. We place the foot down first then transfer our weight forward. The best way to practice this kind of walking is through the cat step When cats stalk their prey they move in a silent fluid motion. They have a distinct advantage over is in having […]
In kung fu and tai chi there are only two movements we can do that have any real power. One is transferring your weight from one leg to the other. The other one is twisting your body at the waist and hips. Transferring weight simply involves moving your weight from one leg to the other. But as with everything we teach how you do it can make a massive difference […]
The cat stance is one of the most used stances in both tai chi and kung fu. Yet when you first start to use it you may find it unstable and unbalanced – unlike a cat! Simply put the cat stance involves having all your body weight on one foot while the other foot rests under its own weight on the ground in front of you. The supporting foot is […]
The basic stance is a way of standing that keeps your body aligned with gravity, improves your posture and promotes relaxation. For most people, the way they stand is unbalanced. Tension in the muscles pulls their body in different directions 24 hours a day. Relearning how to stand has so many benefits considering what a simple change it can be. This is the stance we take before we begin any […]