Snake creeps down (also known as descending single whip) is a move that develops leg strength, co-ordination, relaxation and awareness of your body weight. Your leading hand is the snake that retracts then slivers down the leg before turning upside down and extending forward. In the meantime your body moves back into a low stance then comes back forward. Don’t be put off by the low stance. Just keep within […]
This is an ancient qigong breathing exercise and part of the Jade Path Taoist School. It forms part of the 5 breaths of Tao which are a series of internal breathing exercises to develop the mind, body and energy of the practitioner. The main aim of Heaven and Earth breathing is to learn to create a feeling of yin or yang anywhere in the body. Internal power is expressed through […]
Back strength is a crucial component of tai chi and kung fu as it is of life. Most people have weak backs as we don’t use them for most of the day as we are resting them on the back of chairs. Even while standing the back muscles are only weakly engaged and cannot compete with the gradual shortening of the front of the body. The flying crane exercise strengthens […]
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 […]
Below is a video of the 3rd section of the form. This is one of the easiest sections to remember the order of movements. I just create a story – you see some monkeys, guard yourself against them, fight them off then fly away! The moves are:Fist under elbow (guard position)Repulse MonkeyDiagonal flyingCloud hands. Here’s the video Again it starts from single whip position. Sorry but to view this post […]
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 […]
Diagonal flying is a short move that involves a circling, stepping out and opening movement. It ends with probably the only position where your yin arm is higher than your yang arm. How to do it This gives a lovely stretch to the front of your body and the slightly larger step opens the hips and strengthens the legs and balance. Sorry but to view this post you will need […]
This is a my favourite exercise for dropping tension out of your shoulders and neck. It’s simple to do. Just remember to do it slowly and smoothly and let gravity do the work. Side to Sides
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 […]
This move involves both your arms doing a yin circle, one going forward while the other pulls backward, and at the same time you’re stepping backwards in the cat step. It’s best to learn the arm movements and footwork separately then you can combine them later. The footwork The arms Each arm is doing the yin circle. Make sure you know this before you start. You should do as it’s […]