Chinese Arts

“Was that ‘waving hands like clouds’ or ‘waving hands like clowns’?” We were working on the ‘Yang Chen Fu 108’ tai chi form, the most commonly practised form in the world, passed down through the Yang family for 4 generations.  It takes around 20 minutes to complete and is a complete workout in its own right. We were about half way into the second of three sections and doing the first of 3 sets of the technique ‘waving hands like clouds’, the first set contains 9 repetitions, the second seven and the third five.  The technique involves a weight shift,…

The kwoon was unusually quiet. When I entered Sifu was standing with his hands on Jane's head, she was seated with her eyes closed. Everyone else was getting on with the business of training, warming up or in a conversation of hushed whispers. The aura of the healing that was taking place gave the usually lively character of the room the feeling of a church. Its strange how Sifu was just standing and Jane sitting, to a casual observer nothing was happening and yet the energy transfer that was taking place was obvious enough to change the atmosphere in the…

“To be honest Sifu I’m not really interested in teaching ‘Health Tai Chi’!  I’d really like to have an authentic Kwoon for Tai Chi ‘fighters’.” I commented over a cup of tea with Sifu before my lesson discussing a new class that I was planning to opening and how best to promote it. “There really isn’t any difference if Tai Chi is practiced properly.  In fact, if you are studying ‘real’ Tai Chi you can’t possibly begin to use it as a martial art until you understand the importance of its ‘health’ aspects.  Without your ‘health’ you’ll never stand a…

There is an inherent beauty that can be seen within all things in the universe. The trouble I have is that I seem to have missed my allotted dose of ‘beauty’ being blessed instead with a busted nose, generously proportioned ears and natural gift for ‘gangliness’, “You look like a disco dancer having an epileptic fit!” Sifu laughed confirming that my lack of beauty had followed me into taiji.

There are many contagious things in life, some are nasty things like Chicken pox and measles and some are slightly more pleasant, like laughter, harmony, happiness and even yawning if you particularly enjoy it. If you’d indulge me, I’d like add Tai Chi to the list, once you’ve contracted it, and I mean really contracted it, it’ll bury its way to the deepest recesses of your existence. Recently I’ve had a few of conversations where people have asked for video clips showing what makes Tai Chi so special in my eyes and there have been more than a few frustrated…

There really is a lot of seemingly nonsensical sayings in taiji that sifu’s seem to delight in repeating over, and over, and over.... “The head should be erect, ‘as if suspended from Heaven’...” Sifu said as he tipped my chin whilst kind of pulling the back of my head up which straightened out the back of my neck. If you picture someone with a ponytail having it yanked upwards and the effect that would have on their posture, you’d be pretty close to how I looked. With my head ‘suspended’ I moved through a sequence called ‘repulse monkey’. This part…

With Chinese New Year coming fast upon us, it brings back  memories of one of the more well known traditions of  the Chinese new year celebrations, one that will bring out people all over the world in their droves to view  it.  This tradition is the colourful Lion Dance, with their menacing looks, the crashing of cymbals and gong accompanied with the roar of the beating drum.  The Lion Dance with a loud yet pleasing show switched the onlookers from being frightened to awed, all adding to the spectacle of the dance.  Some Lion Dances and restaurants still use and…

The Pudau (assault sabre) or ‘Horse Chopper’ as it is commonly known today, is a medium to long range weapon that was originally a long single edged military weapon, used not only by the Cavalry on horse back but also by foot solders on the battlefield. The ‘Horse Chopper’ is a member of the Halberd family of weapons with others in the family ranging from the Quan Dao and Fong Tin lance, known as the father and mother of the Pudau. The Pudau got its nickname the ‘Horse Chopper’ due to its effectiveness on the battlefield.  One of its most…

It is said a Shaolin priest can walk through walls. Looked for, he cannot be seen. Listened for, he cannot be heard. Touched, he cannot be felt….At three o’clock every Sunday afternoon in the 1970’s we would huddle around the television set to watch David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine right the wrongs in 19th Century America as a Shaolin Priest wrongly expelled from the Shaolin Temple, dispensing arcane Mahayana Buddhist wisdom along with his Kung Fu skills to the unsuspecting American public.  Periodically the programme would flash back to his time at the Temple as a boy, a teenager…

"Tonight, I'm going to teach you how to stand, walk and then run," sifu waited for the statement to sink in. "Well excuse me sifu, I've only been practising that for the last 24 years," said Jamie with an air of mock sarcasm. "And you're not very good at it, are you...." Sifu answered with a statement more than a question. "This is the problem, standing, walking and running are everyday uses of the human body, when we can do this skilfully, we are practicing our martial arts all of the time - and importantly, improving our health and vigour.…

Ruth Dathorne runs a Tai Chi club in Sheffield and is a Karate black belt.  Her other major interest is in dance, from nightclub dancing to tribal, she’s a girl that just loves to move.  I thought the comparison between the Martial Arts and dance was worth a discussion….

According to the book  Soft Weapons: Nine-Section Whip is regarded as a 'powerful hidden weapon,' that was first used on the battlefield during the Jìn Dynasty 265-420 period.The chain whip  can vary in length from 3  to 9 sections of heavy, flexible steel that are joined end to end by rings to form a flexible chain. Usually, the whip has a handle at one end and a metal dart at the other, allowing it to be used as a whip to hit, hook and bind an opponent, restrict his/her movement, and to deflect blows from a variety of other weapons.…

The traditional Chinese weaponry used in ancient times by the Emperors Solders, Shaolin Monks and Kung Fu Masters are still being trained with in the twenty first century. People today practice these weapons for the sake of tradition, entertainment or to compete to try and win trophies or medals. However, the master sword smiths who forged these weapons in the past and the warriors who used them did not do so for the sake of sport or entertainment, they had to use them out of necessity. That necessity was not only for the trained solder but also the everyday common…

“With all this work we do to improve, do you think there’s a time that we’ll start getting worse?” We welcomed the break in between Tai Chi classes, apart from the physical break, it gave us the chance to discuss anything from the latest kung fu movies to the deepest Buddhist philosophy with Sifu. Teresa had a stressful job in accounting, worked long hours and would come into class looking tired, sigh with effort at the beginning and end of the class but the years would slip away as she appeared get younger and always seemed to lose her ‘cloud’…

A good Jeet Kune Do Instructor is not unlike a good coach, instructor or teacher in any field of study.  Many of the same pre-requisites are necessary to clearly and efficiently relay information from instructor to student.  A teacher must assume many roles to deal with the infinite variations in students he or she will encounter.   Identifying all of the requirements of a “teacher/coach/instructor” is beyond the scope of this document, so specific emphasis will be placed on some of the examples provided: