Happy New Year!

I hope you have all been enjoying the Christmas holidays.

As we are having such a long break from tai chi, I had hoped that we would get a chance to do some outdoors over the break. Unfortunately, the weather is not looking promising. Rain is forecast for the 2nd and even if it doesn't rain that day the ground will be very boggy so I think I will have to give up on the idea. It was always a long shot.

Have a great New Year and I will see you at the beginning of term.

End of term

Well, December is here and it is the end of the Autumn term for my adult education classes. There will be new courses in January at Broadgreen and Newsham in Liverpool, but unfortunately the Lowton class is coming to an end today. For those of you at Lowton who would like to continue, there is my private class in the same place on Mondays at 8pm. You can also look for local classes on Tai Chi Finder or the Tai Chi Union website, or check your local gym or sports centre.

Because even the private class will have to close for two weeks over the Christmas period I am going to try and organise a get-together to do some outdoor tai chi (weather permitting of course!) so keep an eye on the blog.

Have a good Christmas everyone! I look forward to seeing some of you in the New Year. Keep up the tai chi.

Posts about stances

This is for my Lowton class - it will help with your homework. Those of you in my Liverpool classes may find it helpful too, especially if you want to go on to do the course after half-term.

Earlier in the year, I made several blog posts on stances. Rather than repost them, here are some links to them.

• Closed stance.
• Parallel stance.
• Horse stance.
• Bow stance.
• Empty stance.

This should be all you need for your homework, but if you look back through the blog there are other posts about stances that you may find interesting.

Welcome!

A big hello and a warm welcome to all of my new students for the Autumn term. And for those of you who have stuck around and keep coming back - thank you, you're the reason I keep coming back too.

For my new students at Lowton, here is the video of Master Tary Yip doing the 16-step form:

And for all my Liverpool students at Broadgreen, Rotunda and Newsham, here is Tary again, doing the 8-step form, slowly and calling out the moves in Chinese:

And for my advanced Lowton class, here is Master Faye Li Yip and students doing the taiji kungfu fan form:

Enjoy!

Enrolment week for beginners' classes

This week is enrolment week for beginners' classes in both Lowton and Liverpool. If you or anyone you know would like to sign up, then go to one of the enrolment sessions listed. Times are as follows:

• Monday 12th September, 6pm-8pm, 10 week course, 16-step form, Lowton High School, Warrington, Cheshire.
• Tuesday 13th September, 7pm-9pm, 5 week course, 8-step form, Broadgreen Adult Learning Centre, Liverpool.
• Thursday 15th September, 10am-midday, 5 week course, 8-step form, The Rotunda Adult Learning Centre, Liverpool.
• Thursday 15th September, 1pm-3pm, 5 week course, 8-step form, Newsham Adult Learning Centre, Liverpool.

Class times are same day same time but following week for the Liverpool classes. The Lowton class will start Monday 26th September and will be from 6.30pm to 8pm each week.

The 5 week courses in Liverpool will all be followed by another 5 week course for those who wish to continue. There are also other tai chi beginners' classes starting in Liverpool, so do call Newsham ALC and ask if you can't make one of those times.

The Lowton class will also be followed by another 10 week course after Christmas if there is enough interest.

And for those who prefer the flexibility and lack of paperwork in a private class beginners are also welcome to my private class at Lowton High School Mondays 8pm to 9.30pm starting any time.

10,000 people doing tai chi in Tiananmen Square

I've mentioned this demonstration a couple of times and I thought it was time I looked it up. I knew something like this would have to be on YouTube somewhere! It was apparently to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the China Wushu Association.

Bold Street Festival

In just under three weeks is the annual Bold Street Festival in Liverpool, with a samba band, Chinese dragons, a vintage fair and the world's smallest nightclub. What does this have to do with tai chi, you may ask? Well, there will also be a tai chi demonstration on the Sunday (25th September), organised by my friend and colleague, Angela Howarth. Now that you can all do the 24-step form, it would be great if we could get together as a class and go along and demonstrate it. What do you think?

A quick reminder

The new class starts tonight. See you at 8!

Stance of the week: dīngbù (T stance)

I've been trying to find a copyright free picture of this stance and haven't been able to, so here is a video instead. The video is of the 24-step form and if you stop it at 17 seconds, you will see the T stance just before going into Part the Wild Horse's Mane.

T stance is a lot like empty stance - your weight is on one leg and the other leg is empty. The leg with the weight in it (in this case the right leg) has the foot flat on the ground. The left foot is drawn in with the ball of the foot on the ground near the inside of the right foot. It is different from empty stance in that the feet are closer together. Also, in empty stance the toes on the foot of the empty leg are pointing forwards - in T stance they are not.

It is called T stance because the feet are at right angles to each other, forming a T shape. However, the angle of the empty foot is not so important as its position relative to the substantial foot, and the stance is often done with the feet at a smaller angle, especially when the body is turned away from the empty foot.

T stance is an in-between position, used when you are turning from one direction to another, as when you go from Begin the Form to Part the Wild Horse's Mane in the 24-step form.

Some beautiful tai chi

Just saw this on YouTube. It's rather more athletic than the style we do, but there are some moves which are identical. See if you can recognise the moves you know.

More on the new class

I know the stance of the week hasn't been weekly of late. I still have a few that I want to blog about in time, but at the moment I'm more excited about the new class starting on 1 August and wanted to post about that.

I've been thinking about the fee structure - boring I know, but someone has to. I want to give discounts to students who attend regularly but maybe the simple 5-week discount isn't flexible enough, so how about this: you can book the next 3 weeks for £13.50, the next 5 weeks for £20 or the next 10 weeks for £35. That means if you pay for 10 weeks you are still getting a bargain even if you miss two of them. I will do something soon about putting Paypal buttons on my website, but you can pay me in class if you prefer. And of course if that all sounds too complicated you can still just pay me £5 on the night.

I don't know yet if we can have the room on the August bank holiday. If I can get it, I will. I'll let you know once I find out.

I've been wanting to do a private class for a while. It's going to be great - so come along and bring your friends!

New class starting

As the current beginners's course at Lowton High School is coming to an end along with the school term, I will be starting a private class in the same place on the same night. Because it will no longer be subsidised, it does mean the price will go up. It will be £5 per session or £20 for five weeks. Because it is a private class, there will be no need to fill in forms or do coursework or assessments, but I will still make you practise on your own, because it helps you to learn!

The new private class will start on 1 August and will be from 8pm to 9.30pm. We will probably continue with the 24 step to start off with.

To join the class, send me an email or put your name on the form that I will bring to tonight's class.

Stance of the week: dúlìbù (one-legged stance stance)

Here is a picture of Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg as it is done in the fan form. The stance is dúlìbù, or one-legged stance. The leg you are standing on should be straight but not locked, with the toes turned out 30-45 degrees. On the leg that is lifted, the knee should be pointing forwards and the foot and calf angled in slightly towards your standing leg. The foot that is off the ground should be relaxed and hang naturally with the toe pointing down. To maintain your balance in this stance, keep good tai chi posture. Above all, stay relaxed! Back and neck should be straight, with bottom tucked under so the spine is as straight as possible. Head is upright. Shoulders are relaxed. Don't lean. Sink your energy into your dantian centre.

Stance of the week: pūbù (crouch stance)

This week's stance is pūbù or crouch stance. It appears in both the 16-step and 24-step forms in snake creeps down. Crouch down as low as you comfortably can on one leg and stretch the other out straight to the side (and slightly behind), with the toes turned inward. Both feet should be flat on the floor.

Stance of the week: xūbù (empty stance)

Oops! I know I said that I would try to post this early so you would have it in plenty of time to do your homework, and I forgot. :( Sorry! However, you should all know this one already, as we again do this one a lot in the form, though it is sometimes called "empty step" rather than "empty stance". Also, you only need to get four stances correct to achieve the learning outcome.

I couldn't find a copyright-free picture online of anyone doing this stance, so here is a picture of me doing white crane spreads its wings in the fan form. The stance is correct but I should have been looking straight ahead - difficult when someone is pointing a camera at you!

In empty stance, all your weight - or at least 90%, and of course if you have any injuries which make it difficult for you to put all your weight on one leg, you are allowed to cheat - should be on the back leg with the foot flat on the floor and turned out about 45 degrees. Both legs are bent. The front leg is held at a comfortable distance in front with the toes pointed forward. This foot is not flat on the floor and can be either toe down / heel up or heel down / toe up. Here in white crane spreads its wings it is toe down / heel up. Although the heel (or toe) must be off of the floor it does not need to be very much off the floor and the foot should be in a comfortable, relaxed position with no tension in the calf. In this picture my heel is slightly higher than necessary.

Stance of the week: gōngbù (bow stance)

This week's stance is one you should know the name of already. It appears many times in the 16- and 24-step forms and we practise it in the warm-ups as well. Gōngbù is usually called bow stance, short for bow and arrow stance, because your front leg is bent like a bow and your back leg is straight like an arrow (but still with the knee soft). Most of your weight (about 70%) will be on the front leg. Your front foot should be pointing forward, in the direction you are going. Your back foot will be angled outwards at about 45 degrees. Both feet are flat on the floor. You should take care that your stance is not too narrow - if you look forward into a mirror you should see a small gap between your feet. A wider stance will give you better balance. Ideally if you brought your back foot straight forward in line with your front foot they should be shoulder-width apart.

Stance of the week: mǎbù (horse stance)

This week's stance is mǎbù, or horse stance. Also called horseriding stance because you squat down as if you are sitting on a horse. Feet are parallel and weight is centred, just as in the last two stances. Knees are bent and back is straight and vertical. Body is usually facing forwards. We use this stance a lot in the ba duan jin qigong exercises. It also appears several times in the tai chi kungfu fan form.

Image by MikeOliveri via Flickr

Stance of the week: kailìbù (parallel stance)

This week's stance is kailìbù, or parallel stance. As the name implies, you stand with feet parallel, toes pointing forward. Your weight is centered, as for feet-together stance. Legs are straight (but not locked). Kailìbù appears near the beginning of all the standard hand forms at the beginning of Qǐshì (Start the Form), before you bend your knees. It also appears in cross hands at the end of all the standard hand forms.

Stance of the week: bìngbù (feet-together stance)

With the next tai chi course at Lowton High School, I will be including a bit more theory as homework. To help with this I will be posting a stance of the week here. When I say stance, I am talking about the position of the lower body, the legs and feet. There are a number of standard tai chi stances which appear in different postures when combined with different hand positions.

This week's stance is bìngbù or feet together stance. This can be with either straight legs or bent legs. The feet together stance with straight legs is used in Yùbèishì, the ready position we stand in at the beginning and end of every form. In this stance, the feet should be together, both pointing forwards.Your weight should be centred, on both feet equally. It should also be centred between front and back so it is balanced equally between the heel and the ball of the foot. In the straight-leg version of the stance as used in the ready position, the legs should (obviously) be straight. They should, however, be relaxed and comfortable with the knees soft, not locked.

An example of  bìngbù with legs bent is in Dragonfly Skims over the Water in the 32-step sword form, but unfortunately I don't have a picture of this that I can use. If you have Li Deyin's "Tàijíquán" book, it is on page 344.

Reminder

Just a reminder that the follow-on tai chi class at Lowton High School starts this Monday 9 May at 7pm. See you there!

A good time for tai chi

May and June are always a good time for tai chi and qigong in the Northwest - there is lots going on.

I already mentioned in a previous post that my teacher, Master Faye Li Yip, will be doing a one-day seminar on 24-step tai chi and ba duan jin near Oldham on 8 May. She will also be taking part in a joint UK tour of the British Health Qigong Association and the Chinese Health Qigong Association. On the northern part of the tour there will be seminars on 21 May in Derby, 22 May in Oldham again and 1/2 June in Manchester. You can get the details of the tour and who to contact for booking here.

On the weekend of 25/26 June there is my school's annual summer camp in Wolverhampton. (Yes, I know it's not the Northwest, but it's just an hour and a half's drive down the M6 and I'm quite excited about it this year.) There is a choice of 24 step tai chi or tai chi kungfu fan on the Saturday, followed by yi jin jing health qiqong or san shou two-person tai chi form on the Sunday. Booking details here.

Closer to home, Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang will be giving a set of seminars in Liverpool from 11-14 June (details and booking here). Although this is a different style of tai chi (Chen style) I would recommend the qigong seminars to anyone interested in tai chi.

I will be giving a free two-week taster course in Liverpool on Friday 13th and Friday 20th May at Newsham Adult Learning Centre. There will also be at least one other free tai chi taster course by Angela Howarth at Granby Adult Learning Centre. I will give you details about booking later, when I know myself.

And of course there is my introduction to the 24-step for learners who have already done some tai chi, at Lowton High School Warrington from Monday 9 May. This is almost booked up now, but there are a couple of places left.

...and for my Rotunda students...

Here is Tary doing the 8-step, very slowly to make clear the different parts of each move. He also calls out the names of the moves so you can hear what the Chinese sounds like when said by a Chinese person!

Tary Yip doing 16-step

I did promise that when my teacher got round to putting his video of the 16-step on YouTube that I would post it here. So here it is - this is what it is supposed to look like.

Tai chi and ba duan jin seminars in May

Image via Wikipedia

There is a seminar coming up on Sunday 8 May in Denshaw near Oldham by my teacher Faye Li Yip. It will be half on the 24-step form and half on ba duan jin. This will be followed by another seminar on 22 May on ba duan jin, where Faye will be touring the country with qigong masters from China.

Ba duan jin is the set of eight qigong exercises we do in class, although we do a slightly different version to the one in these seminars.


If you are interested in attending either of these, the cost is £35 per person per seminar and lunch is provided. The contact is Phil Garside on 07790 826841.

Welcome and 16-step video

Hello and welcome to the blog!

Here is the video that we talked about in my Lowton class which Paul Baker made of me doing the 16-step form. I'm still hoping my teacher Tary Yip will upload his to YouTube as he does it a lot better than I do and can do a nice low Snake Creeps Through the Grass. If he does, I will post a link here.