Tai chi chuan/taijiquan (2)
Kung fu
     

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Use your head

A clear, sharp mind is cultivated in tai chi. The faster your mind can move, the faster your hand/body can move. Tai chi requires both concentration and expansive awareness.
These skills are vital for both combat and everyday life.


Ancient knowledge


At the dawn of ancient Chinese culture people learned by observing nature. This was called Taoism. Tai chi combined Taoism, biomechanics and martial insights to create a unique art.
Tai chi students explore technical skills, martial application, weaponry and unarmed combat. Health, fitness, strength, wellbeing, character development and philosophical study are essential. 


Meaning & purpose

Every tai chi movement, exercise and drill has a purpose. The student must understand what they are doing, otherwise the training is meaningless and most likely incorrect.
What is the exercise for? How does it operate? We ensure that our students gain a comprehensive grasp of the art.


Concrete skills

A common feature in tai chi classes is the look of surprise on students' faces the first time they get a taste of how effortless tai chi can be.
The skills are taught on the basis of body mechanics, alignment, spatial awareness, strategy and timing, not some mysterious channelling of qi...
Tai chi is a physical art, so the skills must also be physical, tangible, real.


What does qi have to do with
fighting? Absolutely nothing. If you want to talk about qi in the martial arts, I'd say that it doesn't have anything to do with the martial arts. They're talking about intention mostly, and they're calling it qi because it sounds more mysterious.

(Tim Cartmell)


The benefits of learning tai chi


Tai chi is not just about combat. Daily practice offers a wide range of benefits that will affect your everyday life:

• Get fit
Youthfulness
• Stay calm
• Feel balanced
Increased stamina and endurance
Stress-relief
• Gain functional combat skills that rely upon intelligence rather than brutality
Off-set the effects of aging (e.g. sarcopenia)
• The release of deeply-held muscular tension   
• Boost energy
• A way to use millennia old Chinese wisdom in everyday life  
Meditation
• Cultivate an unusual form of strength
 Emotional composure in the face of confrontation and crisis
• Philosophical study involving some of the most influential books ever written 
• More confidence and resourcefulness
 

You must get fit

All martial arts require the student to be fit for combat and tai chi is no exception. There are many lazy tai chi people in the world. This is naive in the extreme.
You don't need to go nuts but you do need to be fit enough to do the training.


A balanced approach

For many people, their fitness regime does not take into account agility, mobility, relaxed spontaneous movement, balance, ambidextrous body use, joint health, coordination, emotional wellbeing or psychological flexibility. Often, injuries arise and bodies are pushed too hard. Tai chi is not like this. There is very little risk of injury.
Tai chi advocates moderation in all things. If you do not train enough, there will be very little fitness benefit. If you train too much, the body will become tired and there is an increased risk of injury.
The ideal is regular practice using low effort. No sweating. No exertion. No taxing the body. Tai chi exercises both the body and the brain.

 

Cross-training tai chi

Our
tai chi students train: massage, leg stretches, qigong, neigong, form, partnered work, martial sets & drills, combat and weapons.
The training is done carefully, gently - in a controlled manner - without exertion or strain. It is intended to improve health and wellbeing through frequent, regular practice using low effort.


Motor learning
 

Motor learning is about the process of using the body, rather than simply exercising the body. Tai chi combines exercise with motor learning.


Looking for a challenge?

In tai chi, the main challenge lies with understanding ancient Chinese principles of combat and body use, and putting these into practice.
Sustained, on-going training and commitment make this art both physically and mentally engaging.


Newcastle Tai Chi classes

Sifu Waller is an experienced kung fu instructor. He has a background in ju jitsu, karate and wing chun, and offers a very pragmatic syllabus. His sessions are stimulating, fun and non-macho.
Rachel has a background in taekwondo.
We explore an advanced version of the old/classical Yang style tai chi, along with chin na and shuai jiao.


Seeker?

You get out of the art what you put into it. For the earnest student, tai chi is a lifelong journey: a fascinating adventure of discovery, insight, fitness, longevity and martial power.
 

There is no concept of an enemy or opponent in tai chi.
Likewise, the emotions associated with either - anger, hatred, friendship - also have no use and therefore play no role in this art.


(Scott Rodell)



In many martial arts schools the practice was carried out in secrecy and the school's very existence was frequently concealed from the authorities. For example, tai chi is based on body of principles known to be around 2000 years old yet it was not revealed until 1750.

When a master of tai chi faces an opponent he brings to the confrontation thousands of years of philosophical, martial and practical thought. He has lived most of his life according to the principles established centuries ago and in the process, he has strengthened his body and probably earned a long and healthy life.

(Howard Reid)

 


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Page created 11 January 1993
Last updated 19 December 2023