Flowing with life,
do not oppose the changes.
Maintain firm roots in the Earth
and a spirit turned to Heaven…
Tàijí/QìGōng Classes in Ledbury, Malvern and Worcester. New Students always welcome.
Tàijí
Tàijí is not about fighting,
it's just all about fighting.
Very few people expect to test Tàijí in a real fight, but we all face interpersonal conflict from time to time. The tàijí practitioner builds the physical habit of letting go of resistance, releasing opposition and softening attachment to expectations. If most people's conditioned response to pressure is to tense, brace, resist or retaliate, then tàijí training (even for actual fighting) is to practice unlearning those long rehearsed habits. This translates, through a sort of inner alchemy, into a genuine calm in the spirit - even under physical or emotional pressure there can be equanimity.
Resolution of internal conflict is arguably the harder discipline. The practitioner overcomes fear, the ego's desire to dominate, and the habitual impulse to meet force with force, cultivating instead a nervous system that stays loose and responsive under duress. Combat here becomes a mirror: the opponent without exposes the resistance within, and mastery of one is inseparable from mastery of the other.
"Each moment and every movement flows, with no ending & no begging"
Syllabus
Three Treasures
Six Harmonies,
Eight Energies,
Yáng 10
formA condensed sequence to distinguish the essential habits of movement for Yang-style Tàijí. The entry point for building correct structure, connection and coordination.
Dìngshì
fixed postureForm practice where postures are held long enough to reveal where the body grips, collapses or closes. Stillness as active practice.
Sōng Gōng
loosening skillSystematic exercises to release held tension from the joints and connective tissue. The body learns to move as one harmonious unit.
Zhàn Zhuāng
standing postStanding meditation that develops internal awareness, opens the body, aligns the structure and trains the nervous system.
Tàijí Bùfǎ
stepping drillsFootwork patterns that train rooting, balance, weight transfer and the coordination of step with intent. The legs are the foundation for everything above.
Bā Mén
eight gatesA drill containing the eight fundamental energies of Tàijí — Péng, Lǚ, Jǐ, Àn, Cǎi, Liè, Zhǒu, Kào.
Tuī Shǒu
push handsPartner practice. Two people, listening before speaking — yield before redirect.
Dà Lǚ
big rollbackFour-direction partner forms, practising the corner energies. Larger in scale than push hands, close in nature to forms but that slot in with a partner.
Nick
Tàijí is always simple,
simple isn't always easy.
- BioHere is an outline of my training history, but it is no more than a gesture to the past. There were years when I studied diligently and long stretches where I watched myself not practice. The principle benefit of classes, both for you as a student and particularly for me as a teacher, is that there are others who are interested in the skill that comes from practice.
- Karate - for a year or so while at school
- Wing Chun - for 2 years at Sixth-form college
- Tai Chi - very briefly at University
- 1996 - 2020Tai Chi - With Alan Smith and Richard Farmer at Rising Dragon Tai Chi and then Hartlands.
- 2014-NowSerious Study of Internal Tàijí with Paul Mitchel, Neil Lodge, Wee Kee Jin and many other teachers. (Some of whom are also my students - thankyou!)
Fluidity & fullness within.
Balance & harmony without.
Such is the nature of tàijí.
Martial
The Tàijí I teach seldom dwells on fighting application, but if you do fall into conflict, it won't give you bad advice. The first step before on the martial path (or any other) is to cultivate *Ting Jin* 'listening energy'. Ting is the internal sensitivity which matures into to the fighting skills of listening to an opponent even while yielding, redirecting & absorbing their attack.
Medical
Human physiology has evolved to restricts circulation and range of motion as an adaptation to natural stress. The stress of modernity however, is anything but natural. What distinguishes well practised Taiji from feeble low-impact wafting exercises is that is is more than skin deep. The profound principle of non-resistance and calm cultivation comes to govern the internal body system as much as it governs ones response to an external opponent.
Mystical
Taiji is often described as meditation in motion. A practitioner who internalises Taiji — rather than merely performing choreography and technique — aligns with their circumstances rather than denying or opposing them. Such a one meets each moment without anxiety, deliberation or strategy; their responses to life are simply harmonious with what arrives. The body-mind being governed by the principle of Wúwéi, effortless action without imposition.
Classes
Jīběn Tàijí
Foundations of Tàijí
Classes starting September — book in advance or just drop in and see if there's space.
Tuesday
10:00 - 12:00
Burgage Hall, Ledbury
Tuesday
19:00 - 21:00
Rodway Hall, Malvern
Saturday
10:00 - 12:00
Priory Park, Malvern