Club website and Tim's Blog
I was looking forward to continuing the outdoor sessions in the park this evening but have decided it is just too grim out there, even with a hat!
Looking forward to next week!
By the way I am also trying to change the date of the next Advanced Workshop in Hove. The first Saturday of May is the 6th which I’m told clashes with a certain national event so I am negotiating with the School to move to the following Saturday, 13th May. I will confirm here and on WhatsApp in due course.
I know Richard posted this on the WhatsApp group but anyone who practices or is thinking of practising Tai Chi should have a listen to this episode of Just One Thing by Dr. Michael Mosely. It looks briefly at the growing evidence for the health benefits of the martial art of Tai Chi admittedly without any actual reference to the martial side!
There is a “taster” video on the BBC Make Your Move webpages. It is simplified but gives an indication of one element of Tai Chi, the hand form, though it is not a style I recognise and shows no martial intent. Michael also mentions a video on the NHS website but I cannot find it. Please let me know if you can.
If you want to see what our hand form looks like I suggest you visit Peter Ballam’s website or come to the King Alfred Leisure Centre any Thursday evening from 8-9pm and see it for real.
The health benefits are also real and it is a practical and effective martial art but you don’t have to do any actual fighting unless you really want to. ; )
Club training has finished for this year. Hopefully your personal training has not – keep up the great work! I have seen improvements in everyone and look forward to helping you progress along your Taijiquan pathway next year.
King Alfred classes re-start on Twelfth Night, Thursday 5th January 2023 AND there will be a Workshop for the more advanced students at Hove Park School from 2-5pm two days later on Saturday 7th. Usual format: 1st hour – Hand Forms, 2nd hour – Pushing Hands & Applications, 3rd hour – Weapons Forms & Applications. Cost now £10 per hour but still just £20 for the whole workshop.
I have advertised a Beginners Course starting on the 5th January and have had some interest so hopefully we shall have a few new members joining our ranks. If you are new to Taichi and have just found that this course is on please contact me to secure a place. Cost will be £10 per week.
Happy Christmas one and all and thanks for your support,
Tim
Delighted to announce that next month’s Sussex Wudang Tai Chi Workshop will take place at Collyer’s College, Horsham on Saturday, 9th July, 2-5pm with Nei-gong, for those who have been through Bai-shi, from 1pm.
Usual format, details on poster below:
2022-07-09 COLLYERS MONTHLY_WORKSHOP
Look forward to seeing you there.
I’m pleased to announce we will be hosting a workshop for Wudang Practical Tai Chi Chuan practitioners at Portslade Sports Centre (BN41 2WS) on Saturday 11th June 2022, 2-5pm. Open to all who recognise the Yang Lu-chan, Wu family, Cheng Tin-hung, Dan Docherty lineage.
I have been nagging Peter to restart the monthly workshops in Horsham for a while and he and Barbara suggested we alternate venues between Horsham and Hove. Peter was going to host the first in May but found Forest School was no longer available on a Saturday afternoon. He will hopefully be able to find an alternative venue for July.
Format and cost will be much the same as usual – £5 per hour. 1st hour Warm up & Hand Forms, 2nd hour Pushing Hands and Applications, 3rd hour Weapons Forms & Applications.
If coming by train I may be able to arrange a lift from Portslade Station though there are frequent buses.
Hope to see old friends and make new ones on the 11th but please let me know if you are coming so I have an idea of numbers.
Firstly I would like to say ‘Thank You and Well done!’ to all the students who have stuck with me through Zoom and outdoor classes since the first lock-down in March 2020.
After much discussion we have decided to re-start classes at the King Alfred Leisure Centre on Thursday 23rd September 2021 so the last class on the promenade will be on the 16th. This, of course, assumes restrictions remain relaxed. Numbers will be strictly limited to ensure safe distancing can be maintained as much as possible. Pair work may only be done in training bubbles.
As before the epidemic the first hour, 8-9pm, will be for Hand Forms and Pushing Hands which players may choose to do solo or paired. The second hour, 9-10pm, will concentrate on applications and the three weapons forms and techniques. There is to be no sharing of equipment.
Beginners are welcome to the first hour but please phone, text or email to be sure there is space.
Tuesday evening Qi-gong classes will revert to Zoom as the weather deteriorates. Date to be confirmed.
I’ve been listening to Just One Thing on Radio 4 over the past few weeks. Each episode suggests one thing you can do to improve your mental and physical health each week and the evidence to back it up.
This week it was on the importance of balance which tends to deteriorate from age 35-40. Not just for preventing falls (2nd most common cause of accidental death according to the WHO) but also for benefits to mental health. I’m thinking ‘Great, Tai Chi is known to be good for balance and falls prevention’ but he was talking about standing on one leg while brushing your teeth… Then he spoke to Professor Dawn Skelton at Glasgow Caledonian University who said “Tai Chi is one of the best activities to improve your balance!”.
Prof. Skelton also mentioned that, starting at any age, regular practice was key. This reminded me of a comment by my taiji sifu Dan Docherty that regular practice in China meant daily whereas in the west it meant once a week! In my experience of teaching over the last 20 years you can sure tell the difference between those students who practice daily and those who only do a weekly class!”
This doesn’t mean you have to practice for an hour every day though – most people just don’t have the time. No, just 5 minutes, once or twice a day will bring so much more benefit than only attending a weekly class. Who knows, you may even get to enjoy it and see it as something to look forward to in the daily grind!
At last we can get back to practising outside! Expecting to see the “Faithful Few” who have been training with me on Zoom for the last 12 months and hoping to see some new faces who want to learn about this fascinating form of exercise. Non-contact, Socially Distanced of course! Beginners very welcome.
We will warm up with an easy to learn Qi-gong set before moving on to some actual Tai Chi. This is more difficult to learn but more rewarding in the long run.
When: Tuesday Evenings, 6.45-7.45pm May to September.
Where: Wish Park – south, centre
Cost: £5.00
We should be starting Tai Chi in Wish Park for the summer on Tuesday 14th April 2020. That obviously isn’t going to happen so I have proposed to my students an “Introduction to Qi-gong” on Zoom. It is free and you only need enough space to stand and swing your arms so ideal for the present Lockdown situation. No previous experience is necessary so why not join us to learn a new skill ? One which I have found very useful recovering from illness when the demands of Taiji Nei-gong were just too much.
I shall base it on the (Immortal Family) Eight Pieces of Brocade or (Xian-jia) Ba-duan-jin. It comprises 8 exercises, simply because that’s a lucky number in China. Four of them have two parts so there are in fact 12 different movements but Shi-er-duan-jin would not be nearly as propitious!
Note that Qi-gong is not Tai-ji-quan though both are based on Daoist philosopy. Tai-ji-quan is a martial art which includes exercises to improve health, strength, fitness and well-being. Qi-gong is purely intended to improve health and well-being by regulating the breath and stimulating the three treasures or san-bao.
If you would like to learn more, and how to practice the Ba-duan-jin safely then join me on Tuesday evenings at 6.45.
To sign up just send me your name and mobile number. I will send you the link to the Zoom Client via WhatsApp or email. On Tuesday evening run the Zoom Client, enter the Meeting ID and Password I send out at 6.40pm and enjoy! You will be muted and you don’t even have to switch on your video at this stage but at about 7.15 I will un-mute you all for questions and chat.