What is Tai Chi?
A centuries old Chinese system of exercises used for health and relaxation; Tai Chi is the gentle flowing movements provide a relaxed focus for the mind, encourage letting go of unnecessary tensions and improve the posture.
The slow movements of this ancient traditional Chinese martial art are done to improve balance, relaxation, fitness, energy and health. Its graceful yet powerful serpentine movements look very beautiful and embody the traditional Taoist philosophy of yin & yang. Tai Chi is an ‘Art’, an ongoing process of refinement that should never be thought of as being mastered. These classes offer an opportunity to explore the harmony within all movement, leading to deepened sensitivity, the development of internal energy and the ability to deal with external forces. Tai Chi can also been known as “Meditation in Motion”, “Daoist Principles in Practice”, a “Moving Yoga”, or as a “Chinese Soft Style Martial Art”; however no one description represents the whole Art.
There are many different styles of Tai Chi, the oldest being the Chen family style, which originates from the Ming Dynasty and is the parent form of the five main tai chi chuan styles. Our instructor practices and teaches the Yang style of Taiji Quan as taught by Mr Wee Kee Jin, a student of the notable Master Huang Sheng Shyan (1910-1992). Master Huang was a senior student of Cheng Man Ching. Whether being practiced as a healthy exercise or in a self defense situation, relaxation is the fundamental basis. Regardless of style, lineage or teacher, adhering to the ‘Principles’ as presented in the ‘Classics’ ensures that the Art will continue to remain true to the original and still evolve further. This is the approach Wee Kee Jin encouraged all his students to keep in mind when training and practicing.
Wee Kee Jin is the principal instructor at the Taijiquan School of Central Equilibrium based in Auckland New Zealand, and he is internationally recognized as a senior instructor of the Huang Sheng-Shyan system and is in ongoing demand by schools and associations in Europe, New Zealand and Brisbane, Australia. Although only in his early fifties he has dedicated himself to Taiji for well over twenty years, with most of that professionally teaching in Singapore, where he was born, and in New Zealand where he immigrated in 1991. Twice a year Jin gives workshops in England, Holland, Germany, Austria, Norway and Denmark, plus every few months he crosses the Tasman to Brisbane, Australia. Over the southern hemisphere summer months Jin hosts visiting students from Europe, America and Australia, providing them with residential training including personalized tuition, and access to his schools’ classes. The traveling distance hasn’t deterred many from returning regularly. This is probably not just a reflection of Jin’s depth in understanding Taijiquan, but also his open and accessible teaching style. Considering himself a lifetime student of Taiji, Wee Kee-Jin places no importance on his gold medal in the 1989 World Cup Martial Arts Championship in Los Angeles. But he does appreciate that personally living and training with Grandmaster Huang full time for four years, was an opportunity denied to thousands of his co-students. Only four other people ever had the privilege.
Wee Kee-Jin fondly reminds us that dedicated practice will get you so far, but if you don’t find enjoyment in your training you will mentally resist your internal progress.
Tai chi training first and foremost involves learning solo routines, known as forms (套路 taolu). While the image of tai chi chuan in popular culture is typified by exceedingly slow movement, many tai chi styles (including the three most popular, Yang, Wu and Chen) have secondary forms of a faster pace. The other half of traditional tai chi training (though many modern schools disregard it entirely) consists of partner exercises known as pushing hands, and martial applications of the postures of the form.
How does it work?
The gentle flowing movements provide a relaxed focus for the mind, encouraging letting go of unnecessary tensions and improving the posture. All movements are made by relaxation following a set process which is learned gradually.
What is it good for?
Tai Chi is essentially a martial art although regular practice brings both mind and body into harmony and leads to countless benefits. These include stress relief, improved posture and coordination, strengthened immune levels and white blood cell activity. Breathing becomes more controlled and relaxed as the person becomes more aware of it, and there is a generalised balancing of emotions and ability to deal with life situations.
The study of tai chi chuan primarily involves three subjects. Traditional schools cover these aspects of tai chi practice simultaneously, while many modern schools focus on a single aspect, depending on their goal in practicing the art. These subjects are:
· Health. An unhealthy or otherwise uncomfortable person may find it difficult to meditate to a state of calmness or to use tai chi as a martial art. Tai chi’s health training therefore concentrates on relieving the physical effects of stress on the body and mind. For those focused on tai chi’s martial application, good physical fitness is an important step towards effective self-defence.
· Meditation. The focus and calmness cultivated by the meditative aspect of tai chi is seen as necessary in maintaining optimum health (in the sense of relieving stress and maintaining homeostasis) and in application of the form as a soft style martial art.
· Martial art. The ability to use tai chi as a form of self-defence in combat is said to be the most effective proof of a student’s understanding of the principles of good Tai Chi. The study of tai chi chuan martially is the study of appropriate change in response to outside forces; the study of yielding and blending with outside force rather than attempting to meet it with opposing force.
What happens during a class?
Weekly classes start with warming up exercises which are designed to relax and invigorate whilst loosening the musculature and opening the joints. The Five Relaxing Exercises are then performed, and these are intended to investigate and develop relaxation and grounding or rooting, spiral energy and the release of Relaxed Forces. The Cheng Man Ching Short Form (a significantly abbreviated Yang Style Short Form) is a strategically planned progression (choreograph) of movements and postures.
Any other applicable or important information
Classes
Tuesdays 7pm – 8pm, beginners welcome. £35 per calendar month – free taster sessions available.
Small & friendly sessions, concentrating on the individual.
- Maximum of 8.
- Please wear loose comfortable clothing.
Contact reception on 01603 665173 or phone 07775 691273 to register your interest.
Some of Master Huang’s main points of this art are:
1 Every muscle in the body has to be relaxed and loosened.
2 The body has to maintain an upright position without leaning or tilting.
3 Empty the chest, relax the shoulders and drop the elbows.
4 Tuck in the back and keep a light consciousness on the crown of the head.
5 Contract the anus, but ensure the buttocks are relaxed and hanging.
6 Bring the Spirit (mind awareness) within to cultivate the Qi. Avoid unnecessary movements in the three parts of the body: head, arms and torso.
7 Maintain an awareness of the three centres (centre of palms, tantien and bubbling well).
8 Use the mind, not brute force, to stay in your centre.
9 Calm the mind, relax the body and maintain an awareness of the body.
10 Initiate all the turning from the hips and waist.
11 When stepping forward or backward, the substantial and insubstantial feet must beclearly differentiated and firmly grounded.
12 The legs initiate the forward and backward movement.
13 In calmness there is movement and in movement there is sinking.
14 Upper and lower body must synchronise harmoniously, without dispersed movements.
15 Relax the neck, sink the shoulders and drop the elbows.
16 Three things that should never be locked straight in the form; the body; the arms; the legs.
17 Maintain continuity without any breaks, internal and external in harmony.
18 The hands move like reeling silk from a cocoon and the feet move like a cat in motion.
19 Have faith, modesty and perseverance and success will prevail.
20 Fully understand the Taiji Form and the applications will be natural.
How may it affect you after a class?
After a class you should feel calm, relaxed and centred with a general feeling of well-being. You will probably feel energized and focussed. You may find that your sleep that night is less disturbed and more refreshing.
The 10 most common conditions Tai Chi can help
- Posture; most of us suffer from poor posture to varying degrees. This can lead to general or specific ill health. Tai chi will improve your posture correcting years of bad habits.
- Immune system; a weakened immune system will lead to many illnesses. Tai chi has been shown to strengthen the immune system.
- Emotional imbalance; we all experience mood swings, some to extreme degrees. Tai chi will help to stabilize the moods and emotions without the side effects of anti-depressants etc.
- Insomnia; sleepless nights cause all sorts of problems. Practicing tai chi on a regular basis will make you more relaxed leading to a better nights sleep.
- Short attention span; sometimes the mind can wander. How many times have you been reading and had to read a whole paragraph two or more times? Focusing on the processes of tai chi will train the mind to stick to one thing.
- Impaired memory; without regular use the memory becomes lazy. Learning the movements and processes of tai chi will exercise the memory, hopefully bringing improvements.
Tai chi has become very popular in the last twenty years or so, as the baby boomers age and the art’s reputation for ameliorating the effects of aging becomes more well-known. The physical techniques of tai chi chuan are described in the tai chi classics (a set of writings by traditional masters) as being characterized by the use of leverage through the joints based on coordination in relaxation, rather than muscular tension, in order to neutralize or initiate attacks. The slow, repetitive work involved in the process of learning how that leverage is generated gently and measurably increases and opens the internal circulation (breath, body heat, blood, lymph, peristalsis, etc.).
Before tai chi’s introduction to Western students, the health benefits of tai chi chuan were largely explained through the lens of traditional Chinese medicine; which is based on a view of the body and healing mechanisms not always studied or supported by modern science. Today, some prominent tai chi teachers have advocated subjecting tai chi to rigorous scientific studies to gain acceptance in the West. Researchers have found that long-term tai chi practice shows some favorable effects on the promotion of balance control, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness and reduced the risk of falls in elderly patients. The studies also show some reduced pain, stress and anxiety in healthy subjects. Other studies have indicated improved cardiovascular and respiratory function in healthy subjects as well as those who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. Patients that suffer from heart failure, high blood pressure, heart attacks, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s may also benefit from tai chi. Tai chi, along with yoga, has reduced levels of LDLs 20-26 milligrams when practiced for 12-14 weeks. There have also been indications that tai chi might have some effect on noradrenaline and cortisol production with an effect on mood and heart rate – therefore decreasing stress and enabling the individual to feel calmer and more in control of their day to day life.
In one study, tai chi has also been shown to reduce the symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in 13 adolescents. The improvement in symptoms seemed to persist after the tai chi sessions were terminated. T’ai Chi’s gentle, low impact movements burn more calories than surfing and nearly as many as downhill skiing! In addition, a pilot study, which has now been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, has found preliminary evidence that tai chi and related qigong may reduce the severity of diabetes. Interestingly, another recent study evaluated the effects of two types of behavioral intervention, tai chi and health education, on healthy adults, who after 16 weeks of the intervention, were vaccinated with VARIVAX, a live attenuated Oka/Merck Varicella zoster virus vaccine. The tai chi group showed higher and more significant levels of cell-mediated immunity to varicella zoster virus than the control group which received only health education. It appears that tai chi augments resting levels of varicella zoster virus-specific cell-mediated immunity and boosts the efficacy of the varicella vaccine. Tai chi alone does not lessen the effects or probability of a shingles attack, but it does improve the effects of the vaccine.
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Testimonials
I have been a student of Martyn’s for about four years. This was initially through the Adult Education course he ran as an introduction to Tai Chi. Since then I have participated in the classes he has run privately.
As a teacher, I find him very thorough in his approach with a good balance of revision of items previously learned and new material so that his classes retain a freshness which is always encouraging.
I find him, as a teacher, very thorough in his links to the basics of Tai Chi to ensure that all developments are firmly linked with the underlying principles.
RJMy first few taiji classes were a birthday present. 2 years later and with excellent teaching from Martyn, I’ve almost learnt the moves for the simple form and must now perfect my technique!
RD
