Below is our ever-growing collection of articles on Tai Chi, Qigong and health related subjects.
Many other articles are being prepared and will be available here in due course. These will include the full 37 step tai chi form, qigong practices, meditation skills, health advice and more.
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Standing Practice 2 – Grow Yourself Younger
You are born full of life and energy but it is blocked inside you. So you grow old depleted of your vitality In the early morning and parks and woodland across China you will see people of all ages exercising. Many of them are doing the slow, rhythmic movements of…
Form Second Section Video
As with the first section work on each movement individually first. Then put them together. You’ll notice that the moves after embrace tiger, return to mountain are the same as for the first section – rollback and press, push and single whip. You should already be becoming familiar with these…
Form First Section Video
This video shows you the first section of the form up to the first single whip from two different angles. Once you’ve learned each of the movements separately use this video to see how to join them together. Then work on incorporating the 4 key qualities of movement and breathing…
All Parts Move
In tai chi no part of your body moves on it’s own. Every part is supported by the whole. Most of the movements you do in life only involve a small part of your body. It’s very rare that any movement involves all of your body unless you’re trying to…
The Dragon’s Back
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…
Form 3rd section video
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…
The Horse Stance
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…
The Flying Crane
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…
Heaven and Earth Breathing – The 5 Breaths of Tao
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…
The Dragon Stance
The dragon stance (sometimes called the forward stance or bow and arrow stance) is one of the most fundamental stances in the Chinese arts. It is the main stance used when receiving power from the front or delivering power to the front. If someone tries to push you backwards you…
Heaven Figure 8 Arm Circle
There are two figure of eight arm movements – heaven and earth. They have many uses: They open, relax and exercise your shoulders They teach you to move your body as one connected unit They help develop the twisting, wavelike power that is the hallmark of all good Chinese movement…
The Fourth Section video
The fourth section of the form is possibly the most physically demanding as part of it is done on one leg. The second half can be challenging regarding the footwork. Anyway, here is how it all fits together. Practice Practice Practice… Sorry but to access this course or article you…
Earth Figure of 8
This is the second of the two figure of eight arm movements. In a previous post we covered the heaven figure 8 movement. This one goes the opposite way round. Both movements have the following benefits They open, relax and exercise your shoulders They teach you to move your body…
Wave-like arm movements video
In both tai chi and kung fu our aim is for power to flow through the body and out again. Energy usually travels in waves so by creating wave movements we can prevent ourselves tensing up and let the movement flow. The power this can generate is enormous yet effortless…
Heaven Figure 8 stepping pattern
The heaven figure 8 stepping pattern is very useful for tai chi practitioners to learn and essential for students of Jade Dragon Kung Fu. It forms a part of many of our styles and movements. You will find it in our leaping tiger form and discover many ways to use…