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Retreat And Repulse Monkey

Steve Rowe

Is a Tai Chi technique of stepping back to remain powerful with structural integrity and ‘politely’ pushing the monkey god of mischief away. We don’t want to invite mischief into our life so we ensure to repulse him politely and gently. This is a strategy of life. We are always encouraged to be active and push forwards, to attack and conquer both others and ourselves. But it’s not always the best action. Sometimes it’s better to step back, it doesn’t mean that we have to be weaker, we can keep our structural integrity, take a wider perspective to see things … Continue reading Retreat And Repulse Monkey

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Don’t Believe Anything

Steve Rowe

The passing down of mistakes and bad practice is what destroys martial arts. When asked why something is taught, to answer “because that’s how I was taught” is lazy and a cop out. I ask my students to not believe a word I say, but to pay attention to what I teach, then practice it enough and challenge it to see if it works. If they can’t make it work to come back and discuss and experiment with it here. It’s the only way they can fully understand what I’m teaching and it’s how we all evolve how to learn … Continue reading Don’t Believe Anything

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The 5 Standing Postures

Steve Rowe

Zhan Zhuang, the 5 Standing Postures There is lower and upper yin, lower and upper yang and neutral. In my system they play an important role, they train:BreathingPostureMental awarenessFocusSensitivityIntensityLeft and right harmonyUpper and lower body harmonyHow to use these skills to move energy around the bodyHow to use emotion to colour energyDifference between yin and yang energy Being sensitive and skilful with energy means that we don’t just stand for long periods but as the energy ‘peaks’ in each position we transition to another as this is what happens all the way through the Tai Chi form and when push … Continue reading The 5 Standing Postures

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The Base Layer Of Learning

Steve Rowe

One of the things that came out on the seminar yesterday was the importance of the structure of learning, putting in the important base layers right from the start. We all advertise and discuss the importance of character training in the martial arts and yet many don’t teach how to educate and alchemise the character and only make vague references to it. We should look to the teacher and their senior students to see how the training system has worked for them. The most important base layer is emotional intelligence, as an angry or frightened martial artist is a danger … Continue reading The Base Layer Of Learning

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Tai Chi Is Simple And Easy

Steve Rowe

Tai Chi is ‘simple and easy’, it’s only one thing that we view through many different windows to increase our understanding. The first aware breath you take in neigong makes you better than you were before you took it. Your first lesson where you’re taught to ‘stand tall, breathe deep and focus your mind’ makes you better than before you attended. It makes you feel better, healthier, more happy and positive. From that point on you can only improve these skills. Always practice with an inner smile knowing that you can only get better. It takes years to ‘master’ musical … Continue reading Tai Chi Is Simple And Easy

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The Universe Police

Steve Rowe

I was floating around as a spirit in the universe with a kind of unresolved yearning. Then the universe police caught me in a net set out for spirits like me and I was given a ‘life sentence’ and suddenly found myself imprisoned in a meat carcass on this planet. At first I was confused, selfish, hurt and hated prison, as a result the other prisoners hated me and I hated them, my ‘teenage years’ were tumultuous and painful. I caused a lot of danger to myself, my cell, others and the prison itself. As the years went by I … Continue reading The Universe Police

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Dealing with 3am Black Dog

Steve Rowe

Dealing the 3am black dog. When you wake with that incredible feeling of dread or anxiety, when PTSD is at its height and what is normally only irritating makes you extremely angry. Breathe in fully and completely using lower abdomen, then expanding the ribcage and lengthening the neck and drain all energy, softening all tissue down with the outbreath to the lower abdomen. If that doesn’t work sit up and do the same. If that doesn’t work use distraction, think of a random word and with each letter of that word think of every other word that starts with that … Continue reading Dealing with 3am Black Dog

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Fingers & Thumbs In Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

Carrying on from my posts on cupping and flattening the palms of the hands to pump the energy and the power of mudras to manipulate it on discharge I thought I’d do a post on fingers and thumbs as they manipulate both. All these posts are on my blog. The thumb controls a large part of the hand and the ‘tiger’s mouth’ (the area between thumb and forefinger) and is used extensively for trapping and guiding the opponent. The forefinger ‘points’ and directs the hand and energy also stretching to work the other part of the tiger’s mouth. The middle … Continue reading Fingers & Thumbs In Tai Chi

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Tai Chi Teachers

Steve Rowe

When someone spends ages telling us what taiji/qi/neigong/qigong isn’t, I’m waiting for them to tell me what it is. When they’re telling us that we’re all ignorant and don’t understand and only they do, my spidey senses are alerted. When we’re told that you have to spend years to understand and train it I can definitely smell snake oil. Whatever art or system you train in after your first session you’ll be better than you were before it. Then you build your skills as the days, weeks, months and years go by, exactly the same as if you were learning … Continue reading Tai Chi Teachers

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Semantic Satiation In Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

Semantic satiation is when you’ve repeated a word many times and it loses its meaning and becomes just a sound, this can also happen with tai chi techniques. You’re practising your form day after day, month after month and year after year, the form has become a moving meditation, suddenly that technique that you’ve done so many times feels wrong. This is how when your mind and movement have gone from ‘absorption’ to ‘insight’, the conditions are right for these insights to arise. Your mind is receiving messages from the body to tell you ‘this isn’t right’ and that it … Continue reading Semantic Satiation In Tai Chi