Tai Chi for health & wellbeing
Well, it’s that time of the year where I’m contacting secondary schools here in Melbourne about our Top Tens (Year 10) and VCE Success and Resilience workshops.
It’s high energy stuff mixed in with Tai Chi meditation so it certainly makes me work. I sometimes feel like a duck paddling across a lake. On the surface everything looks calm but below the surface the duck is furiously paddling its little feet along to propel itself forward.
I’m sure most teachers can relate to the ‘duck’ analogy.
Lately it has been too wet to practice my Tai Chi weapons’ forms so I’ve had to practice in my living room.
I use my wooden sabre and sword for safety reasons but my eight foot spear can be a problem. Especially near a television set or over hanging lights not to mention the walls. So far I haven’t destroyed anything yet.
I’ve just started to relearn another Wu style spear form and have found the count method makes it easier to remember the moves.
It’s a technique I teach beginners during my Tai Chi classes, private lessons and presentations.
All it involves is counting out aloud each movement of a posture. The number of counts depends on how many individual movements there are in the posture you are practicing.
For example one of the spear postures I’m learning has four separate movements. Here’s what I do: [Read more…]
By Chris 5 Comments
Tai Chi Chuan translates to ‘grand ultimate fist’. And today the most popular way of describing this ancient Chinese health and self defence system is ‘Tai Chi’.
While researching Tai Chi recently I read Bruce Frantzis (a renowned Tai Chi teacher) book, ‘Tai Chi for Health’ in which he describes Tai Chi Chuan as ‘encompasses its martial arts or warrior aspects’ ‘ and ‘Tai Chi ‘encompasses philosophical and spiritual concepts’. [Read more…]