Due to the size limits imposed by social distancing requirements, our regular Thursday evening session is fully subscribed at present. As a result, we've decided to run a Wednesday evening session at St. Leonard's in Penwortham aimed at Beginners. The session will run between 7:45 - 8:45pm until such time as we are able to open up the Thursday session to greater numbers.
If you'd like to secure one of the remaining places at the session, or would like further information, drop us an email at: info@taichipreston.co.uk
It's usual for a Chinese Chen Tai Chi studio to have a small altar area dedicated to the ancestors such as Chen Fa-ke and Chen Zhaokui and Chen Xin.
Because we train at various rented locations, we don't have an area dedicated to the ancestors, but if we did there would be a photo of Phil Robinson who founded the Daolin Tai Chi club from which Ling Shui sprang when Phil retired.
After a few years of silence, Phil has relaunched the old Daolin Facebook Page and website as The Daolin Historical Kung Fu Society with the intention of exploring and explaining the origins and development of Chinese martial arts. It promises to debunk the superhuman claims and hyperbole that surround the Chinese arts and replace them with a more accurate historical perspective.
Last Thursday saw us return to St. Leonard's Church Hall in Penwortham for our regular weekly Chen Style Tai Chi classes and it was brilliant to see everyone again and practice Tai Chi without having to periodically turn to face the camera!
The sessions are Covid safe, limited in size and attendance is by appointment only. If you'd like to join us at a session please email:
Sadly, we're still unable to offer a pot of steaming Chinese tea to everyone, but hope that June/July will see us able to return to a full schedule of de-restricted tea filled practices!
This week's link of interest is to video footage of Chen Xiaowang explaining how to cultivate and use internal energy when striking. Whether Tai Chi is being practiced for health or for martial purposes, how we move and the way we store and release energy is the same. This is a great little lesson about punching, but it also highlights how the whole body needs to work as one when we move:
With the vaccine roll-out progressing well and the Government's road map for a return to a more normal life, we may just be able to return to some real world classes in a few months!
In the meantime, advanced club members may be interested in next weekend's Chen Zhenglei seminar.
Looking at Lao Jia posture corrections and answering questions from attendees, the seminar takes place next Sunday 7th March and is sure to be a worthwhile way to spend a couple of hours!
For more details, or to book a place click the image below...
Tai Chi and Qigong both have many health benefits attributed to them. While some of these claims stretch the limits of credulity, those of us who practice the arts are familiar with the benefits that come with regular practice.
Anecdotal evidence is not data though, so it's always good to back up what we practitioners know with a bit of good old fashioned scientific research.
The following article from the Harvard Medical School touches upon the benefits of Tai Chi practice for sufferers of COPD.
If you know someone who suffers from this unpleasant disease you might want to introduce them to this article and tell them about us (while reassuring them that UK classes are markedly cheaper than their US counterparts!)
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is built around an entirely different paradigm to that of Western medicine. As a result, TCM can seem a little crazy when first encountered by Westerners who have only been exposed to the clinical approach to medicine . The void left by the lack of understanding is frequently filled with vague and confused language, often centred on the idea of energy. In fact, there's no need for mystical explanations. By understanding that the two medical traditions simply approach the human condition from different directions and that neither tradition is definitive, it's possible to find truth and value in both.
In recent years, Western science has increasingly investigated the claims of TCM with regard to treatments such as acupuncture and pursuits such as meditation, Tai Chi, Qigong and Yoga (which of course originates in India but is analogous to Tai Chi in many ways. That's the subject for a post all of it's own though!). The resulting studies are slowly building a picture of the real and tangible benefits to be gained from the Chinese model. The discovery of the Interstitium and investigation into facial layers within the body provide Western models with a medium through which the effects of treatments like acupuncture can be transmitted throughout the body.
Of course, those of us who practice Tai Chi and Qigong already know how beneficial it can be in helping to maintain physical and mental wellbeing, but it's always nice to have a little bit of Western science confirming what your body's telling you!
As Covid-19 continues to spread around the world, the following article discusses the benefits offered by Qigong and Tai Chi for people recovering from not only Covid, but other equally awful illnesses such as cancer...
Online sessions resume from tomorrow (Saturday 9th) with Qigong for Health at 11am, while Tuesday and Thursday will see the return of our regular Tai Chi sessions.
In other news, at the end of last year the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listed Tai Chi as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
If you'd like to find out more about Tai Chi, or to get involved in our online classes, drop us a line at info@taichipreston.co.uk for details.
When discussing our Tai Chi practice, there can be a tendency to rely on words such as Qi, Shen, Meridians and Dantian. Whilst these concepts are all important parts of Tai Chi, they can take time to understand and are open to widespread misinterpretation.
During our practice, we periodically practice the Zhan Zhuang standing meditation. This is a fundamental exercise in the practice of Tai Chi because it helps to cultivate Qi and Shen. But what does that actually mean?
Whatever else may or may not be happening when we practice Tai Chi, from a Western scientific point of view there are some very real, quantifiable physiological effects.
Click below to read a brief article published on the Yield Turn Push Tai Chi Blog which discusses what happens in the body during Zhan Zhuang practice and relates it to the concept of Qi...
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...
The tightening of lockdown restrictions doesn't at present affect our Thursday evening classes provided we continue to wear masks, socially distance and wash/disinfect our hands. As a result, we will be gathering for Chen Style Tai Chi at St. Leonard's Church Hall tomorrow evening (Thursday 24th September 2020).
Thursday Evening Classes
7-8pm Open class for all levels
8-9pm Advanced class
Due to Covid restrictions, we are forced to limit class numbers. All places at our 7-8pm class are currently spoken for, but we do have space available at the advanced class where we practice Laojia Yilu, so get in touch to reserve a place if you'd like to join us.
Sadly there will be no tea, but to make up for it here's an absolutely mesmerising rendition of Grand Master Chen Zhenglei's 18 Form performed by Sifu Wu Ming, who teaches at her Chen Style Tai Chi school in Shanghai. A gold star to anyone who spot how it differs from our version...
