Below are my motes for the Workshop given in Tain on the 5th Feb 2012:
1 Objective – To give a basic understanding of the energetic principles underlying the practices of taijiquan and qigong. To do this in 2 hours will require a certain level of generalisation and inevitable inaccuracy.
2 Neigong/Neijia – Exercises involving Meditation, breathing and spiritual practice. Generally considered to include Baguazhang, Xingyiquan and Taijiquan, as well as Daoyin.
Neigong can be considered a function of physical, energetic and mental exercises (Mind, Body and Soul?) Good practice could be taken to mean all 3 being co-ordinated (mindfulness being that you are doing an action with everything focussed together)
 How various traditions link, and how Neigong/Neijia can be described 3 Daoism – Can view humanity as link between Earth and Heaven, The Way is how we deal with that tension between opposing forces: the Human Condition.
Daoism = live forever, as opposed to Buddhism and Confucianism (The 3 of them link together as Daoism for the body, Buddhism for the mind and Confucianism for our relationship with others.
4 Energy – JIng, Qi, Shen:
Shen – spiritual, mental energy – refined Qi
Qi – everyday energy, sourced primarily from food and air
Jing – essential energy, raw, sexual, universal. Sourced from parents, universe, concentrated Qi.
Normal progression is Jing to Qi to Shen (ageing)
Aim of Daoist practice is to go Shen to Qi to Jing.
5 Qigong traditions Qi = energy/breath, Gong = Exercise
Broad view v modern view: All exercises, repetitive, aerobic. Modern could be considered to be: Balancing, Relaxing or Medical
Daoyin – Guiding and conducting; mind used to influence movement of energy throughout the body (practice/partnerwork?)
Deals with the Mind
Practice: Ning Shen Lian Yi Tiao Xin Gong (Handout)
6 Taijiquan – physical and energetic structure, linked by mental focus – partnerwork with structure. Discuss martial art v self defence.
Structure
Practice : Pole standing, using the mind to maintain structure.
7 Theoretical basis for Energy – Daoist principles
Yin Yang theory – pendulum, comparison, relational nature (props)
5 elements – Comparison and differentiation – example (props)
Earth (Central, neutral element), Metal (Change to falling), Water (falling), Wood (change to rising) Fire (rising).
Practice: 5 Element Qigong (Handout) Takes the body through a wide range of movements based on 5 element theory (flat action – Earth, Flat to Rising action – Wood, Flat to falling action – Metal, Rising action – Fire, falling action – Water)
8 Energy and human body
 How the 5 Elements can be applied to the energetic system in humans Role of the organs – functions include physical, emotional and energetic.
Ordinary meridians (Charts?) Primarily concerned with Qi, with the function of the organs
Issue of balance.
Practical: How to the organs relate in terms of generating energy and controlling energy?
5 element theory as relating to human body.
Implications in terms of joints, points, meridians – who do movements affect the flow of energy. Wrists, ankles, shoulders, hips, arms. Bends, stretches and twists.
8 Extraordinary Meridians – Ditches and reservoirs, dealing with qi and jing.
9 Daoyin Yangsheng Gong Exercises:
Adjusting the Breath
Rhinoceros Looks At The Moon
Old Man Strokes His Beard
Why Tai Chi classes can be so effective.
For the elderly, the risk and consequences of falling can seriously reduce quality of life, their physical and mental health as well as independence. There is a huge cost to the NHS in both treating the resultant injuries, which can make up for more than half the admissions to A&E.
Such falls can be prevented, or at least the risk of falling can be significantly reduced (ref). Improvements to living conditions and regular exercise are both important in significantly reducing both a first and subsequent falls. Of the exercises available, research has shown that Tai Chi is one of the most effective exercises available, and is also the most cost effective (ref).
Falls Prevention (when considering non-external factors) can be considered to be a function of leg strength and balance. Leg strength specifically means the weight bearing muscles and the muscles around the knees. Balance is considered to be a function of the inner ear, eyesight and body awareness (or proprioception). Balance can be improved and maintained if at least 2 of these three things are functioning. It is in developing leg strength and improving proprioception that Tai Chi Classes are considered to be so effective.
Tai Chi Classes for Falls Prevention
Tai Chi classes, run with Falls Prevention as a specific objective, are becoming an increasingly popular activity amongst the 50+ age group. The feedback from these classes in the Highlands area has been very positive, with not just a reduction in falls, but also a marked improvement in mobility, balance and flexibility.
In this instance, the description of Tai Chi will include both exercises based on and drawn from the standard and traditional Tai Chi syllabus and from the Qigong tradition, in particular from the Daoyin school of thought.
The benefits of such classes can be looked at as being at 3 different levels, according to commitment and time-scale. While such levels are obviously hard to quantify and will vary from individual to individual, for the purposes of this paper we can assume that the Benefits will appear as follows:
Level 1 – Immediate
Level 2 – After 3 – 6 months
Level 3 – After 1 – 2 years
Level 1 Exercise and social benefits
The most important thing about the classes are that they are fun. There is a strong social element to the classes, and a relaxed and informal approach to the teaching. The classes are a good mix of practice, theory and partner-work. The teaching is fun and challenging. They are structured so that there is no penalty for missing classes, as few people can attend 100% of the time.
The is some evidence that attending tai chi classes has a beneficial impact on depression(ref)(ref)
. This may be due to the social nature of the classes, but also the structure of the learning process and the relaxing nature of the exercises.
As a simple cardiovascular exercise, Tai Chi is an excellent way to maintain and develop a good level of fitness. The slow motion movements and clearly defined shifting of weight allow for certain muscles to be stressed in a controlled way, in the presence of abundant oxygen. Students should never be out of breath, nor risking any injury. The exercises require little space, nor special equipment and no up-front fees.
Level 2 Body Awareness
Attending the classes over a period of time will result in an improvement in the relationship between individuals and their own bodies. As a result of the structured exercises there will be a greater knowledge of the way their bodies work under different conditions, and where there are structural and physical limitations. There will also be improvements in the following:
- Balance – Through repeated controlled movements of the body weight
- Leg Strength – Through repeated cardiovascular exercise
- Flexibility – Through increased use beyond default or historical use
- Breathing – Through deliberate controlled expansion of lung capacity and slowing of the breath.
Level 3 Internalisation
Over time the awareness of an individuals own body will become more internalised and more instinctive. It will begin to feel “wrong” when the body is in an unstructured position. Individuals will become sensitive to the way their joints and muscles are responding to movements and stresses. The process of improving proprioception will increase as a result of movement becoming more controlled and structured.
The process of learning a new physical skill requires the mind to operate in a way that generally speaking hasn’t happened since early childhood. Much of the structure of classes is taken up with differing ways to help the learning process, which will be different for each individual. Over time the process becomes easier as people find the leanring process that suits them, and as they become more used to the process. This clearly has benefits for mental agility (ref).
Falls Prevention Classes (Tai Chi and Qigong for Balance and Control)
Monday 10 – 11am, British Legion, Dingwall
Monday 2 -3pm Merkinch Community Centre, Inverness
Friday 2 – 3pm James Cameron Centre, Dalneigh, Inverness
Also as part of:
Golden Times – Mondays, 12 -1pm, Merkinch Inverness
Glints of Gold, Fridays, 11 – 12pm Spectrum Centre Inverness.
Torridon Residential 14th – 17th 2011
HOW DO WE WORK WITH OTHERS?
Training in taijiquan is mostly about working with The Form, whichever classes you do, and this is important, as it teaches you many of the basic concepts that underly the art.
The Form teaches you about your own body, your relationship with it, and how you use it.
When the teacher says “partner up” however, many of us feel uncomfortable, we cannot replicate the smoothness of our form, or can feel challenged by our partners.
Partner-work not just about applications or push hands but about developing our awareness so that it extends beyond our bodies and includes those we are in contact with. It’s about contact with others, about how we interact with each other in a day to day setting. Much of the stress we have in day to day life comes from our responses to other people. If our aim in our study of Taijiquan is to learn to relax under stress and to maintain a healthy internal balance, then we must understand how to respond to external forces.
The form teaches us self awareness, but partner-work teaches us to extend our awareness to include those around us, whether they be at work, strangers, or our friends.
“But I don’t like Push Hands”
The weekend will be spent investigating the sensitivity and awareness training that leads to productive and enjoyable partner-work.
This is not about application work. Inevitably this will mean working with a range of partners, but will take place in a non-competitive environment where the objectives of each exercise will be about recognising tension, interpreting movement and predicting responses.
The intention of the weekend is to learn how to enjoy and get the maximum benefit out of working with others in the class environment and in our daily lives.
Accommodation is in Torridon Youth Hostel, and training will take place in the newly extended and revamped Village Hall.The weekend will commence with an introductory session at 9pm on Friday. There will be the usual revision and feedback session at 10am Monday. BOOKING
The residential weekend will cost £150, which includes accommodation, tuition and all meals. Places are limited this time, but a deposit of £50 paid before the 31st August will guarantee a place. The deposit is non-refundable.
The balance of £100 will be due by September 30th. Monies paid after this date will incur a £20 surcharge.
Places may be available at a discount in exceptional cases. Please contact Douglas.Cheques are payable to Douglas Hardie:
Crocnaboull, Muir Of Ord, Ross and Cromarty. IV6 7TW. Payments can also be made via Paypal. Contact Douglas for details.
Another great weekend.
For me, the weekend started on Wednesday picking up Luigi and Suzi in Inverness, followed by a relaxing afternoon to let them recover from their travels and Bob and Ronnie’s hospitality. Dinner in the Clach, then late night chat at John’s.
Thursday brought snow and sleet to the Highlands, and a few nervous glances to the sky. Still, we made it to Torridon, and then a beautiful and slightly too dramatic drive to Applecross for dinner. Some lovely seafood at the Applecross Inn, then back along dark and interesting roads to the hostel.
Friday morning meant playing with sabres then a cold but sunny walk down to the beach.For some others, the weekend started on Friday afternoon with an informal workshop on breathing and an evening meditation session on compassion. Given the events that were unfolding across on the other side of the globe, this had a special significance.
The weekend proper began on Saturday. 2 days of walking, holding postures and discussions on the meaning, history and implications of the Baguazhang tradition. Mostly walking. The constant turning, the co-ordination and the twisting were a surprise for many people, and there was a lot of struggiling with these things on day one. By day two, everyone seemed to have got it. Shoulders relaxed, knees bent, and people started to relax into postures. By the time the circles became conga lines, people were laughing as they slid from posture to posture, weaving in and out of the way of others, leaning into the circles like they were on bikes.
Even the chaos of a dozen people weaving through the 9 palaces at once for the first time didn’t phase anyone – it was like some manic Strip The Willow.
Add in a great mix of people, good food, music, great scenery, dramatic weather and a bit of impromptu theatre, and you had the makings of a great weekend that will be remembered as one of the best ever.
Special thanks to:
Alistair for the epic bansai drive to Edinburgh Airport with Luigi and Suzi
John G for looking after Luigi and Suzi
My mother for the soups, curry and egg mayo and of course the Mummy Cake
Emily for a last minute shopping trip.Heather for her chilli
Everyone who brought cake, puddings, food and snacks.Everyone who helped in the kitchen
Most of all, thanks to Luigi and Suzi for their help, friendliness, knowledge and wisdom.
Below are some pictures from the weekend. Please send in any pics you have that you want shared here and on Facebook. There is also a wee reminder of the 9 palaces and the 8 Palms.
Here’s some ideas for Tai Chi related Christmas ideas to direct your friends, family and spouses towards. If you think of anything that should be on here, let me know.
Vouchers:
Contact me for vouchers for the following:
Class Cards – £65 for 10 x 90 min classes, 5 x 3hr classes or any combination.
Class Voucher – £5 for a 1hour class, £8 for a single 90 minute class, £15 for a 3 hour class. Vouchers for private tuition also available.
Residential Weekends. – Vouchers available for all or part of the £140 cost of a Residential Weekend.
Payments to me can be made by cash, cheque or Paypal.
Clothing:Highland Tai Chi T-Shirts – £20 Available in V-neck or standard (other styles often available), in Black or Blue.
Highland Tai Chi Sweatshirts – £35
For either of these, contact Douglas directly.
Loose Tai Chi Trousers
Shoes:
fieyueplimsoles
Swords
Telescopic Sword (fits neatly into a handbag)
Books
Gordon’s Book on Stress Qigong
Professor Li De Yin’s book on Tai Chi (Includes DVD , 24 Step and 32 Step sword)
Essential Anatomy for Martial and Healing Arts
Dancer in the Light: The Life Of Gerta Geddes – recommended by Josy
After Bob’s weekend seminar on qigong, I have decided to make some changes to the structure of the Qigong classes so that they cover a wider range of the qigong syllabus, and also to provide the school with a forum for developing the theories underlying qigong.
The classes will cover 2 different but complimentary aspects of Qigong, and in particular the Daoyin Tangsheng Gong syllabus. One part of the class will continue to concentrate on the Daoyin Baojiang Gong and the Shujin Zhuanggu Gong exercises, but will also look at other traditions of qigong. These exercises will be used as a basis for studying the theories that underpin the exercises.
The other part of the class will look at the Yangsheng Taijizhang (Tai Chi Palm) exercises that should be familiar to some of you. These are dynamic, flowing qigong exercises that at first glance look like short Taijiquan forms. Drawing on the Yangsheng qigong tradition as well as traditional movements from Taijiquan and Baguazhang, the exercises are great fun to learn and do, and are a little more dynamic than the usual standing exercises.
These classes will be of interest to everyone, covering TCM theory that applies to both Qigong and Taijiquan, and thus informs ones pratice.
To give those unfamiliar with the Yangsheng Taijizhang exercises an idea of the the form, here is a YouTube link:
Yangsheng Taijizhang 1
Please note that this is being performed by the residents/service users of a senior citizen centre.
I look forward to seeing lots of you there next month.
OK, we all had a great time. This was clear enough from the feedback I’ve had so far. For most people who have been to a few residentials before, this was a very relaxed weekend. There wasn’t a new form to rush through, there wasn’t the Sunday panic of remembering all the new stuff from Saturday, and still being able to digest enough new stuff to finish by Sunday afternoon. Instead we were guided through familiar movements, but took our time to look at the energetics of the move, the acupoints involved and how these acupoints affected the body. Instead of the weekend being based around solo practice (as so much of the internal arts are), many people were surprised at the amount of partnerwork involved. Indeed we frequently crossed the line from the auto-massage familiar to practitioners of medical qigong, to actual massage. This was both fascinating, educational, but also challenging for many people.
Meridian theory can be horrendously complex a subject. Within the group there was a wide range of knowledge on the subject, from complete beginners to experienced practitioners and therapists. However, everything was distilled down to a handful of specific points, which not only explained the focus and intent of each movement (specifically in the muscle and bone form, but also in taijiquan), but also formed an excellent template for understanding body structure within the moves.
Outwith the classes, the weekend was a success. Good food, great company, great music (ok, mostly great). From the raucus Saturday night, to the quieter Sunday night, the hostel was full of chat, singing, belly dancing and general good fun. The weather was unexpected: It has never not rained for a Torridon residential, and so having bright sunlight and cloudless skies (albeit with a terrific wind) was a wonderful surprise. The West Coast was on its best behaviour for those who had never been there before.
I look forward to including much of what we did over the weekend into my classes, not just my qigong sessions in Culbokie, but also into my Taijiquan classes.
My thanks go to everyone involved in the weekend; Bob, all the students and of course my Mother for her lasagne and cake. Thanks to Heather for the Veggie chilli, and to Matt at the Hostel and the Hall committee.
Some pictures from the weekend. So far mine and Lucy’s. If you want to share any, send them to me and I’ll add them.
Highland Taijiquan were responsible for a number of random acts of Tai chi at this years Belladrum Festival. It was a lovely festival this year – a nice chilled out atmosphere and lots of good humour. People enjoyed the demonstrations of 24 Step, 108 Step, Yangsheng Taijizhang 1 & 2, 32 step sword and Daoyin sword.
I did a couple of workshops with interested people, and did a wonderful sword workshop which proved to be quite the attraction. Some pictures were taken of this and added below.
Thanks to evertone who came to find me and say hello, and thanks to John Grocott who once again advertised my classes at his morning qigong workshops.
It’s been 10 years since I was last at TCC, but Ronnie had persuaded me to bring down a group of people this year, and I was glad he did. It is about time I got back into the loop. I’ve always recommended TCC to my students as a great way to see and hear the huge variety of approaches and opinions about taijiquan and qigong. I was pleased that this year Highland Tai Chi was really well represented with myself, Carolanne, Katie, Romay, Julian, Steve and Lucy all there. One day is never going to be enough, but the 6 sessions we did were fun, informative, frustrating, baffling and all the things you could hope for. Below is a quick summary of my opinions about the sessions I attended:
Medical Qigong – Bob Lowey.
I’ve known Bob a long time. In all these years, despite the jokes about things being ‘Bobbed’, there has been a consistent theme to his approach, especially his work with qigong. Bob is interested in why things work. this seems odd but I know from my own experience that I had been teaching for 5 or 6 years before a student asked me to explain why Taijiquan was actually good for you. It took me 3 hours and a few pints to actually answer that question to the student’s satisfaction that time, but it did get me thinking about the nature of the answer I’d like to hear. Like Yoga, there is an implicit assumption that simply to do Taiji or Qigong is good for you. Dig deeper and there are answers involving energy, meridians, points etc. “This exercise works on the lung meridian” being a typical answer about a qigong exercise that answers the question, but still doesn’t explain how.
Bob had 45 minutes to discuss the whys and wherefores about medical qigong. Obviously this was never going to be in-depth, but what he did was fascinating from my point of view. He had taken the first 2 exercises of the Muscle and Bone Form from Zhang Gaungde’s Daoyin Yangsheng Gong system, and spent the session looking at the specific acupoints that are worked on in the exercises. However, rather than spending time of the exercises themselves, we worked with partners working on the same points from an acupressure point of view to gain a better understanding of what it was that we were doing to ourselves as we went through the exercises.
Not only was it a great way to break the ice with other students, it was an excellent demonstration of how effective, and how precise, manipulation of these points can be.
In terms of my own study and teaching, this session has opened a few doors in terms of where to take both my own study and my teaching, to take it to a further level to get across this fundamental question that needs to be asked about all qigong exercises…why?
Nils Klug – Tai Chi Boxing and Inner Structure, Outer Balance
Nils is one of the many students of WIllian CC Chen who were present this year. This German instructor gets the award for the Person Who Most F**ked Up My Form. The first session concentrating on the simple punch in taiji started the process with his insistence that the punch is initiated from the fingers, and not (as is widely believed) from the Dantien. This theory was expanded to include the idea that it isn’t so much the change of weight from leg to leg the provides the power, but rather the structure responding to the opening and closing of the shoulder and hip joints.
Luckily for me and my students, our Saturday classes have been working specifically on the role of these joints in each movement, so this wasn’t so much news, merely confirmation that these things are valid, albeit more explicit in some forms that it is in the Simplified Yang 24 Step.
Of course, Nils is happy to show and demonstrate how his way of doings things works so much better in a variety of scenarios than the standard, accepted Yang Style approach.
His afternoon session on structure developed this theme of opening and closing hip and shoulder joints to develop power and structure. What caused the most problems for people was his approach to the spine. While his back was straight, his relaxation and sinking of the hips meant that he would lean forward in a way that raises the eyebrows of all tradition Yang practitioners. Further implications of his approach meant that the weight distribution between the legs is far more extreme that the standard 70/30 that I teach.
Again this was another of those sessions that make you question everything you have been taught and everything you have been trying to achieve. I like this, but boy is it frustrating. I need to do some work on what I do in my practice, how I can incorporate the best from Nils teaching, but still hold onto the best from my own traditions.
Henk Janssen – Competition Push Hands, Da Lu
Again I found myself doing 2 sessions with the same teacher. His workshop on competition push hands was a wonderful, gentle introduction to free push hands. I have found with my students that getting any enthusiasm for push hands is hard work. Formal sequences and sensitivity traing I can get away with, but I have never yet got away with free push hands. I think the reasons for this are a complex, and something that I think about a lot. Henk, with a gentle but firm manner manages to introduce the basic ideas quickly, without leaving any space for the aggression, panic, tension etc that often appears when the subject is broached.
There was time to play with 3 very different people, which for me was a high point of the day. Person 1 was a absolute beginner, allowing me time to absorb and process what we had been told, and to still me nerves. Person 2 had me beaten pretty much all the time. He stances were excellent, and she had the ability to continually lower her stance without losing power and balance. Very impressive, and my own stances just couldn’t match her, and nor could my technique counter any of her solid and straightforward pushes. More homework. Person 3 was one of those people you dread in push hands: a tall aggressive male, who hasn’t worked out the distinction between push hands and open warfare. to much messing about with locks, punches, footwork etc, simply to avoid the idea of losing.
Last thing on the Saturday was Henks workshop on Da Lu. this was the one session I was really keen on before going to TCC. Da Lu is something I have always had problems with. My first introduction to it was when I was coerced into demonstrating it in Kelvingrove Park, in front of an audience. I remember the sheer panic, being partnered with Lesley Rodgers, and hastily explaining to her that I had never done it before, seconds before the demonstration started. Thanks Bob.
That aside, I have worked with a number of people who have different approaches to Da Lu, and none of them have worked for me, either due to flow, or unconvincing moves. Henk managed to put the exercise together in 40 minutes, in a way that made perfect sense to me, and that flowed in a lovely way. I am looking forward to passing this on to my students this week, and making it my own.
Thanks to everyone involved with Tai Chi Caledonia. I have been reminded of what a great and important event this is. Next year, at least the whole weekend, maybe even the whole week.
Chinese Food In Inverness
The Oriental Choice Restaurant has an interesting couple of pages at the back of the usual menu. The pages are all in Chinese characters, but the food is authentically Northern Chinese food, and we’d really recommend going there and ordering off this menu. Several students of Highland Tai Chi, and several others have sampled the menu and blow are our recommendations, along with a few suggestions for improving your Mandarin Chinese. The staff are very friendly and are very good about tolerating our attempts so far.
 Lucy's Going away meal Recommendations:
Cold dishes
pai huang gua, raw cucumber,
liang ban san si, three cold vegetables.
Hot dishes,
jian jiao zi, fried dumplings,
ma po dou fu, spicy Tofu (not vegetarian),
jia chang dou fu, family style Tofu,
shao qie zi, fried aubergine,
chao mo gu, stir-fried mushroom with vegetables,
gan bian dou jiao, fried green bean.
jing zheng, steamed whole sea bass,
tang cu yu, sour and sweet fish,
gong bao ji ding, gong bao chicken (hot and sweet chicken with nuts)
mi fan, steamed rice,
green tea. (they have a choice and they know their teas- don’t be afraid to ask)
qindao/tsingtao – decent Chinese beer
Useful Phrases:
Ni Hao – Hello
Xie Xie – Thank you
Duo shao qian – How much is it?
Zai jian – Good bye
dui bu qi – sorry / mei guan xi – don’t worry about it.
Wo mei yi ge ping qingdao – I’ll buy one bottle of Tsingtao beer.
Oriental Choice
25 Union Street
Inverness
01463 712715
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