I don’t do short forms in Tai Chi. The Yang Chen Fu 108 for me along with the family neigong and qigong is the perfect morning ‘monk style’ workout that can be explored in a multitude of ways and the afternoon ‘warrior’ workout of the weaponry, Long Boxing and Sanshou set is perfect.

Repeated techniques cover moving on the spot (grasp sparrow’s tail) with the 4 major jins (ward off, roll back, press, push), and rolling arms moving forward (brush knee), backward (repulse monkey) and sideways (waving hands like clouds).

Other techniques cover the other jins and angles in a way that entering and exiting their techniques are ingeniously combined.

The forms are a working tool in a way that no 2 sessions are the same and the time it takes to do them is perfect for the mindfulness attention span that creates mental and emotional absorption allowing insight to arise.

I’m often asked why I didn’t create my own style of Tai Chi and the reason is that the Yang style structure is far superior to anything that I could produce. When practising I can also feel a connection through the ancestors like saying a prayer that leads to increased insight.

It suits me perfectly and I never feel like it’s a burden to train, it feels like I’m entering my place of refuge, a place to heal and learn.