I hope you all have been enjoying the sun aspects of the Summer break (Yang) and making do with the days that it has been rainy (Yin) constructively and leisurely.

I have made a change to our start back date by one week and the classes will recommence on Thursday 12th September and hope this isn’t an issue for anyone, as I’m sure everyone is eager to return? I will also send around a text notification to all in case it isn’t picked up on the website here.

We will continue the classes as we left them in Summer but will embark on the 3rd Da Lu in partner work learning and assessing the movements with a partner and solo to understand the form and applications this term.

We will also, as we have done so before, run through the short form every week and re-examine the applications, hopefully 2 postures a week both for extra partner work and to remind and galvanise posture applications from the martial art point of view too.

There will also be an overarching aspect of deeper internal work in every class whether it is partner work, form or qigong to deepen the practice and gain further insight into the internal dynamic of Tai Chi principles as a whole. This will be with particular emphasis on Yi (Intention) and how the mind is the primary developer/enabler of all Tai Chi movement.

So again, the first class back will be:

Thursday

12th September

7:00pm

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the Summer break and will see you then.

Just as a reminder the last class before we break up will be Thursday 5th April and we will be coming back to classes on Thursday 26th April.

I will remind all students in class this week and contact those who are absent of the dates.

I will also send a message round to all before we come back as a reminder too.

Phil.

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer break and are ready to come back to classes which are commencing tomorrow Thursday 6th September – 7:00pm.

I thought I’d outline what to expect as a reminder of what has been and what will be. We will continue to practice the Long Form as our major form exercise and also continue to embed and refine the Da Lu we have all learnt as a rule for this term.

1. Whilst doing solo and partner practice over the break I thought it would be helpful to re-introduce the concept of weekly applications revision with a chance to review in order, hopefully every week, the applications of the Short Form postures on an ongoing basis. This will seek to both remind us all of the function of postures (which is vital to understanding the Jin level the 3rd level of practice in Dr Chi Chiang-tao’s levels of Taiji). Jin level is important to comprehend because it helps us understand the internal structure of how the body moves in order to perform the function of the application.
2. We will continue with the Da Lu we have learnt to further refine it but between now and Christmas I would like to start teaching the next Da Lu too which is the first one I learnt and is 7 postures long, and again is a 2-person exercise helping us to understand Taiji application concepts with pre-arranged movements.
3. I would like to take Push Hands further so all students feel able and well practiced at Roll-back, Press and Push as a standard practice of Push Hands.
4. Between now and Christmas I would also like to take my lead from the Taoist and Traditional Chinese Medicine line of though of teaching The Crane qigong exercise as with Taoist thought Autumn is the season of the element Metal and relates specially to both the Lower Intestine and the Lungs.

As ever the classes are yours and the direction is aided by myself to help all students develop and advance in Taiji for the benefit of your own personal mastery. Regular practice and repeated practice are the key in Taiji and after the first term back I will also re-visit for one 10 week term Yang Cheng-fu-‘s 10 essentials of Taiji which we will nimbly slip into every lesson.

If you have not practised as much as you have wanted to over the Summer have no fear as Thursday class will also offer up a good opportunity for revision and questions on basics as well as specifics as ever.

I will text you all as well and hope to see you all tomorrow.

Much Love

Phil.

In Chinese medicine the concept of the Chinese Clock is that which splits the 24 hour clock into 12 2 hour segments where qi circulates at its strongest through certain meridians in the body. From the 15th Century onwards, or there abouts onwards, practitioners of internal arts who were generally both local or barefoot doctors analysed the functions and energy of the organs and began to register qi circulation and where it was prominent and deficient and realised the same time everyday their results were the same. From then onwards in medicinal texts and as practised today in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)treatments can be applied to certain times of the day to aid stronger results. These 2 hour segments also cater for emotional and mental health as well as the organ health and functionality too.

This diagram gives the basic idea of organs and their functionality in accordance to their allotted time’s in a 24 hour space.

It can be very informative to consider these times when doing your practice or even to view when best to perform certain daily activities to align with TCM principles of health. Traditionally in internal martial arts this knowledge would be used by fighting martial artists to ascertain what meridians would be at their weakest so to inform a fighter on how they should overcome an assailant or challenger in their pugilistic endeavours.

However today in TCM, Taiji/Qigong and even Taoist meditation this knowledge is often used to produce better results in development and health restorative issues more so.

When you practice Taiji or even consider your general activities of the day it can be useful to remind oneself of the time of day it is and how altering your practice can bring about more efficient results.

Here is some footage showing Dr Chi performing Push Hands with his students, the most notable was Alan Peck’s first teacher Master John Kells.

The Da Lu you see in this footage is the one we are currently learning and therefore it is of good note to study it and absorb the dynamics and quality of application.

Hi all,

The classes have now finished for the Easter break at Linkage and Bedminster as of today 23/03/18.

We will be resuming on Thursday 12/04/18.

We will be continuing the just started Da Lu Classes on Thursday and will be delving more into Push Hands also.

We will also be starting a 10 week review of Yang Cheng-fu’s 10 essential points of Tai Chi in the class to deepen our understanding of what it means to practice correct Tai Chi. The 10 essential points cover all bodily and mental functions required to keep our Tai Chi practice precise at all times. Yang Cheng-fu said by monitoring and maintain the 10 essential points our Tai Chi will never be incorrect in doing so. These 10 points of practice not only keep the body dynamic correct but the mental aspects too and therefore can open up the internal must quicker with relatively short practice. These essential points also come down through the lineage of Cheng Man-ching to Dr Chi Chiang-tao and through to Alan Peck.

Enjoy your breaks and practice well and remember always…….to relax.

Phil.

Here is a list of the last classes under the current structure within the school:

Monday 19th February 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Wednesday 21st February 8:00pm – 9:30pm

Thursday 22nd February 6:30pm – 8:00pm

After this date the new consolidated class will commence on:

Thursday 1st March 7:00pm – 8:30pm.

If you have any other issues you’d like to discuss then contact me direct.

Many thanks

Phil.

Dear all,

Please note that the last class before Christmas will be on Thursday 14th December 2017.

The first class back after the break will be Monday 8th January 2018.

Over the break remember that although a lot of your practice maybe be confined to indoors, due to the weather, try to make it consistent. A small amount of practice everyday is worth more than  a lot just one day a week. Time is a constraint which can seem like it reduces the opportunity for regular practice. However this can be overcome by a change in habits. Both by a) making a commitment to a small amount of daily practice and b) taking the actions and chores you already do on a daily basis and doing them with Tai Chi principles can go a long way.

If we separate our Tai Chi practice from the rest of our life it can become overly exclusive, and then we can find difficulties in relating what we learn in class to how it applies to the rest of life. Tai Chi is a method for attaining that which is natural and sincere. We therefore must become curious about how Tai Chi can positively invade every aspect of our lives and how it can improve it for the better. In this way we see how what we already have in life elevates towards greater sincerity.

So whilst feeling like cabin-fever sets in over the colder months, we can research and analyse the spaces in our lives where Tai Chi has not yet been allowed to enter. With all physical movements and actions distinguish between full and empty; try to create continuous movement where the joints don’t close and muscles don’t work independently; try to use sensitivity in touch and perform actions with central alignment in the spine. With thoughts and emotions try to act as if you were sticking in partner practice and be calm and receptive allowing your partner to make the first move so you can interpret and read their actions to yield to, if necessary. If the mind gets tense in a situation imagine just like if you have been pushed in Push Hands in that you try to relax as quickly as possible after the moment occurs. Try to regain your root mentally in difficult situations and allow the emotions to subside naturally so as not obscure what the external is really presenting to us.

These methods are all in the form, weapons and partner work of the form, and can also and quickly blend in with the rest of our lives with commitment and a little practice.

Most of all over the break if you spend time with family and friends take good care to let them know you support them and are of service to them for their needs if you are in a stronger or more stable position than them so as to recognise the Yin and Yang of relationships.

The heart, mind, body and spirit is nourished by Tai Chi practice, and life requires that the heart, mind, body and spirit are at their best to attain that which is natural and sincere. So enjoy your break and find ways in which to can practice and create happiness for anyone you come into contact with, always.

Much Love to all students

Phil and Chris

As a reminder classes start back on Monday 11th September @ 6:30pm.

With the most of Summer had we enter into a phase where Yang energy is still high but no long at it’s zenith and is starting to conclude it’s elevated state to join into Autumn after where it declines and levels out with Yin qualities with a balancing effect.

Whilst we still have Yang our practice can continue with large open postures and expansive intention with each joining movement in the form. Connecting to our environment far and wide with our practice can be beneficial to the mind as well as the body, greatly, at this time in the year. So even though the term starts back let’s all still try to practice outdoors whilst we can and connect far and wide into our environments to exercise Shen (Spirit) in our forms.

Enjoy the sun (in between the windy and wet bits of weather) and i’ll see you on Monday to start the term back.

Phil.

In the  Tai Chi classics there is great mention of the hips or waist and the importance it plays in our Tai Chi practice. Yang Cheng-fu draws two of his 10 Golden rules of Tai Chi together to highlight this when he speaks of Loosening the Waist and uniting both upper and lower parts of the body. These 2 particular points have a special relationship in helping the body work as one unit.

This is not just for form practice but actually for all Tai Chi whether it’s open hand forms (Short and Long), Weapons forms and Push Hands too. Why are the hips and waist so important?

The hips/waist are at the bottom of the spine and therefore are the foundation for everything that happens in the upper body. However the hips/waist also sit on top of the legs and also act as the gateway to allow our root from the feet that then channels all movement up the legs to pass onto the spine. It’s like a lock-gate that you would see on a canal system on the river ways in that it controls what passes through it. Again the classics speak very clearly on how we transmit the force for all Tai Chi movement in our body when it says Qi is rooted in the feet; channelled  through the legs; directed by the waist onto the spine and then is expressed in the hands and fingers by way of the arms.

A common feeling in practitioners who cannot feel the whole body as one unit is that the legs move and the upper half of the body including the arms move separately. This is because the waist is closed and does allow the unification of upper and lower.

If we forcibly turn our waists with strength then we usually close it and we still keep the upper and lower separated. However if we sink our waist and hips, and like Tai Chi teachings make it feel like a ball on water i.e. frictionless, then we open it and can allow all the work we do with our feet connected to the ground to transmit naturally up through to the spine.

Push Hands is an excellent opportunity to learn how to loosen the waist and make it feel like a ball on water. In Push Hands we need to unite the sensitivity of the upper half of the body with the work done by the lower half of the body for yielding and attack to be successful. Yes, you’ve guessed it, the key to this is the loosening of the waist. In this way the hips/waist have 2 functions:

1. As mentioned their looseness allows us to make 2 separated movements of upper and lower into one whole body movement through connecting them together.
2. The loose turning of the waist is how we yield and neutralise an opponents attack.

When the lower lumbar of the spine is closed the backside protrudes a little and this is a physiological sign that the Tailbone/Coccyx known as the Wei-Lu in Tai Chi and Chinese Medicine has not sunk downwards to help lower alignment of the spine. Some Tai Chi schools of thought say we must tuck the Wei-lu down and in, which is not entirely correct. If we do this physically and with force tension can still be held and the waist actually can still remain closed. So we sink our mind intention or Yi down through the whole pelvis, and the effect can be felt very subtly at first of the Wei-lu dropping and an opening or greater connection from the legs up onto the spine. This opens up and connects upper and lower as Yang Cheng-fu instructs us. When we walk around in our normal lives it is a significantly valuable practice to sink the mind down through the pelvic region and let go of the waist all the time to open up the hips/waist.  This allows us to develop it as a good habit, and when we practice any form solo or with a partner we must try to do the same.

The other benefit of doing this, in and outside of our Tai Chi practice, is that it keeps the mind quite low in the body and thus naturally allows us to sink the Qi and reduce upper body tension, which is good for Tai Chi in general as well as our health. So in summary, the hips/waist help us to advance in our practice in all areas in Tai Chi and also help provide a better quality of health too. So make it your habit to loosen the waist, unite the upper and lower body into one and for Qi and internal force to take over tension and dissolve it so nothing obstructs your internal practice and experience.