As with any instruction in the Chinese Martial Arts, a student should have a good basic knowledge of their arts’ Chin Na locking techniques. This training should show him how he can deal with an opponent that is grabbing, punching and kicking at him along with being taken to the floor.Every Chinese Martial Arts system has at least some, if not many techniques placed within their forms of the particular style they are training in. However, more often than not the techniques are cleverly hidden within the forms and need an experienced instructor to point them out and teach them…

“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,…

Eagle Claw Kung Fu is one of those styles that you could easily build a martial arts movie about.  It has the lineage and history that any martial artist will enjoy reading.  The words Kung Fu mean ‘time and effort’ and Julian Dale has certainly put in the time and effort required to attain a level of mastery in the art.  He has sought out the top instructors in the Eagle Claw lineage and travelled to get the required instruction from them.His story along with that of Eagle Claw makes fascinating reading…

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…

“Good, good… now you’re eating ‘bitter’!” Sifu goaded as my legs started shaking and my spine felt like it was going to snap during Yang style ‘dynamic pushing’. It seems pain and suffering are the only contexts in which my darling Sifu will ever use the word ‘good’.

“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…

“I feel like I’m going backwards Sifu!” I confessed, “Every lesson I feel like we spend more time correcting the bad habits I’ve practised myself into rather than covering new material.” “That’s because we are.”  Sifu said softly but directly. “But I am practising.  I’m up at the crack of dawn everyday working on the principles we cover in my lessons.” I replied dejectedly. “That much is obvious, but you’re overtraining every single principle to the point where it becomes out of balance with the rest of your body.  In truth you’re having too much time between lessons to ‘train’…

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.

“At this point in the technique use the opening of the back to knock your opponent out of his feet.  Then powered by the waist, you turn to hit with your head, then shoulder, the elbow and then the fist…” I explained demonstrating a sequence from the Yang Chen Fu long form called ‘yin yang fist’ for the first time to a group of students. They tried faithfully to replicate the movement but ended waving their arms around in a vague, disconnected manner…  “No, no, no… watch… first the back, then follow through with the head, shoulder, elbow and finally…

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…