Category: Technique

We have a YouTube channel which features a number of playlists with assorted teaching aids.

One of the videos featured in the Techniques playlist is this great little video of Master Zhang Dong Wu demonstrating the movement six sealing, four closing.

It offers a detailed look at the movement and is worth a look whether you've just been introduced to the movement, or have been practicing it for years...

 

I hope everyone's been finding the time to keep in touch with their Tai Chi practice during lockdown.

It can be helpful to understand the martial applications behind the slow and graceful movements that constitute our forms and this video from Bei Shaolin master Adam Hsu beautifully demonstrates the applications behind the first 5 movements of our Chen Old Frame forms...

 

 

I hope everyone's safe and well. Although lockdown is being relaxed a little, there's no prospect of a return to real world classes for the foreseeable future.

Space constraints can make Tai Chi practice at home frustratingly difficult, but that doesn't mean you can't practice at all!

Silk Reeling is fundamental to Chen style Tai Chi and plays an important role in the development of basic skills. The following tutorial from Chen Zhenglei walks you through a range of Silk Reeling exercises and can be practiced in all but the very smallest of spaces. If you spend the lockdown doing nothing but Silk Reeling, you'll feel the benefit in your Tai Chi when we eventually gather together to train again, so take a look and train along with the Grand Master!

 

 

Week 4 of lockdown and 5 weeks since our last real world training session.

While many of us will have time on our hands, having sufficient space to practice our forms properly can be an issue, so why not focus on Master Liming Yue's 8 form which can be comfortably performed within a single square metre.

It's a simple routine that's quick and easy to learn, but requires just as much focus on technique to perform well as any of our more advanced forms. You can repeat the routine a number of times, pausing each time in Zhàn Zhuāng (standing post) to check your stance, sink your weight, focus on your breath and still your mind. You can extend the pause and use the opportunity for a standing meditation before commencing the sequence again.

Allow your mind to lead your movements, initiating them from the Dantian. Try and feel your connection with the ground extending all the way through to your finger tips. Are you relaxed? Is your breathing comfortable? Does it feel natural as you move? The more you repeat the form while focusing on the subtlest of details, the better it will feel.

Of course, if you want a little real-time interaction, there's always our FREE online Saturday morning Qigong and meditation class. It's proving popular, but you can still reserve yourself a place by dropping a line to info@taichipreston.co.uk

Online examples of the 8 form are rarer than the proverbial rocking horse dung, but here's a version that we feature on our Youtube channel Tai Chi Forms playlist to serve as a reminder...

 

 

Get fighting fit for Valentine's Day with a spot of self care in the form of Chen Style Tai Chi and Traditional Qigong tonight at St. Leonard's Church Hall from 7pm.

No Valentine this year? Come down to Valley Church Main Auditorium on Saturday morning and love yourself with gentle movement and meditation from 10am.

Once you're over it completely, pop into Our Lady's Church Hall in Tarleton at 2pm on Tuesday afternoon - it's not as though you need an excuse really!

We talk about whole body movement and moving from the Dantian a lot during classes, but what does it really mean? It's a completely different way of moving which takes time and practice to learn and understand. This blog post from the excellent Tai Chi Notebook Blog goes some way to explaining what all the mumbo jumbo means in practical terms...