Tai chi chuan (taijiquan) is, despite appearances to the contrary a Chinese martial art. The Chinese have always been very serious about their martial arts training. For centuries your martial skills would be all you had to protect yourself your family and your home from attack. So you would seek out the finest teachers you could afford and train religiously. Also the martial arts training enabled those who could afford […]
The infinity circle is used in tai chi and many kung fu styles. The whole circle itself is rarely done but parts of it make up so many movements that it is worth practicing and becoming very familiar with. It’s like learning the scales when playing music. It makes you arm movements fluid and powerful, connected and coordinated. In this circle both arms are moving in the same direction but […]
In the Jade Dragon tradition we say that every person possesses 3 wild horses. These 3 horses are largely out of control and pull us this way and that. They drain us of energy with their wildness and age us prematurely. What are our 3 horses? As any horseman knows before you can train a horse you have to tame it first. You have to break it to your will. […]
Taoism (Daoism) is an ancient Chinese philosophy – possibly the oldest surviving spiritual philosophy in the world. This article seeks to explain what it is but that is very difficult. So difficult in fact that the very first line of the main Taoist book the Tao Te Ching states that ‘the Tao that can be described is not the true Tao.’ I will do my best to introduce this fascinating […]
Of the 4 main circular arm patterns I teach this is the most fundamental. All the others are variations of this one. This is also the most powerful as both arms are working as a team connected to a strong structure and the power flows through the whole body. Before you learn this circle make sure you are very familiar with transferring weight and raising and lowering your arms. This […]
When was the last time you ever truly savoured anything? Most of us are permanently in too much of a rush to ever really enjoy anything we do, see or eat. It makes us more productive but is that a always a good thing? There is more to life than cramming in as much as possible. The more we do the less we enjoy. Life rushes by in a blur […]
The ultimate aim of all Chinese martial arts and particularly tai chi chuan is to attain the maximum power with the minimum effort. To achieve this end we align our body with gravity so that every part is supported by the legs and then we move by pushing the legs into the ground. If you can’t transfer weight properly you’re either pushing yourself up away from the ground or, worse […]
So you’re interested in learning tai chi. Good decision as there are very few practices in the world that have such a wide range of benefits and will keep you engaged for so long. On this site you will find an increasingly deep and broad range of skills, movements, exercises, principles, philosophies etc all related to tai chi and it’s sister arts of qigong and baguazhang and parent philosophy of […]
Why on earth is long lasting, genuine, deep relaxation so difficult to attain? The answer is the ‘tension paradox’ but before we look at what that is let’s take a quick look at your relaxation options. Here are some of the main things people do to relax and release some of their stress along with a quick word about why they don’t really work. 1. Alcohol. Alcohol is a muscle […]
I think pretty much everybody is aware of the huge benefits of meditation. It can leave you feeling so calm, relaxed and focused and has been shown to be as effective as taking a nap but takes just a fraction of the time. However, it’s also something that although most people have tried most of them have quickly given up on. It’s too hard they say. I just can’t empty […]
The Rising Sun is the first of the true breathing exercises I teach to students. It is the first and most important of the ancient ‘5 Breaths of Tao’ Qigong set. The Rising Sun exercise can be done in many different ways. Each method trains something different inside you. The physical movement of each is almost identical. What changes is the way the breath is performed and most important of […]
The single palm change is the most famous movement in baguazhang. It is the signature move of the system. The way you do the single palm change defines you as a bagua stylist. Over time the way you do it will change as your understanding of it deepens. This is true for all the movements you learn but perhaps none more so than with the single palm change. As a […]