I hope you have all enjoyed the beginning of Chinese New Year - I certainly have! I have been down in Wolverhampton celebrating with my school, the Deyin Taijiquan Institute. We took part in some great workshops and went out for a meal - here is a picture of the lion dancing in the restaurant.

Gōng xǐ fā cái!

Kung hei fat choy!

Happy Chinese New Year!

We're now entering the year of the hardworking horse.

Yang style 24 step form

This is a repost of an old blog for Phil and Bernie. I was going to link directly to the YouTube video but I've been having trouble finding it. The video is of my teacher, Master Tary Yip, doing the 24 step form as it should be done.

I have two teachers, Master Faye Li Yip and Master Tary Yip, who are a married couple. Tai chi is traditionally taught by families in China, and all the major styles of tai chi are named after tai chi families. The head of my school is Faye's father, Professor Li Deyin, and I have often trained with both him and his wife, Master Fang Mishou. One day, if Faye and Tary's children decide to follow in the family footsteps, I may train with them too.

Tai chi more effective than yoga?

A colleague pointed out this interesting article in the Times of India comparing yoga and tai chi. I have always found the problem with overstretching when I have done yoga. With tai chi I think it is partly that the focus of teaching is more on stretching exactly the right amount rather than encouraging the belief that the more you stretch the better you are doing. However, I think the moves themselves are more geared towards things that the body normally does, which is why people often feel that they are not doing exercise when doing tai chi, until they feel the benefits afterwards.

Autumn

Autumn is a time for going back to school. Summer is over and with it playing at tai chi in the park. We don't have the climate for regular outdoor sessions all year round.

The nights are getting longer and it gets darker earlier every day, which makes many of us feel sad as we miss the daylight.

Although the darker, wetter evenings can make us feel like staying at home with a cup of cocoa, a better way of dealing with seasonal blues is getting out and being active. So if you haven't been to tai chi classes for a while or are new to tai chi and thinking about starting, now is a good time to do it.

Tai chi in the park postponed

Sitting here listening to the rain, I've decided to postpone this afternoon's tai chi in the park for another week. It's not so much fun in the wet. Even if you have one of those umbrella hats the grass is going to be wet and slippery.

This seemed like such a good idea when we having that long, hot, dry spell!

Tai chi in the park

All this nice weather we've been having has inspired me to organise a free regular outdoor tai chi session in Lilford Park, Leigh on Wednesdays at 2pm, starting next Wednesday 31 July and continuing while the good weather lasts.

Anyone is welcome to join in, so if you are free on Wednesday afternoons, come along and bring your friends!