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Monkey Mind

Steve Rowe

Our body’s ego and physical, mental and emotional needs can be tricky bastards. It’s like being an alcoholic or drug addict, when we’re not being mindful we revert to type. With mindfulness training we can gain insight into our faults and indoctrinations, identify them and change our behaviour to become a wiser person, but we need to be permanently vigilant or we regress. It’s like swimming upstream, if we stop swimming, we go backwards. The Buddha said that once we’ve built a house it’s important to keep the roof in good repair. The ego is a very powerful narcotic. I’ve … Continue reading Monkey Mind

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Amputate Or Die?

Steve Rowe

By the time most people get to the point of amputation, it’s amputate or die, up to that point if you were asked would you prefer amputation or death you probably would’ve picked death. But when reality kicks in…. When you come too after surgery a missing limb is a shock, and it’s not just that once, when you dream you have two legs or arms, so every day you wake up you get the same shock again and again. This is normal. The physical pain is bad enough, the phantom limb pains can be incredibly sharp (like cramp) and … Continue reading Amputate Or Die?

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Think For Yourself

Steve Rowe

It’s too easy to take on the views of others instead of working things out for yourself. You only have to look at your feed here on social media to see martial artists continually repeating the same old tropes that you know didn’t originate from their own critical thinking. It’s lazy, gutless and weak to only repeat the view of others so you don’t stand out from the crowd and attract criticism. Ask yourself WHY you train/study in martial arts. Ignore what everyone else has said and go deep inside of yourself to find the true reasons, is it for: … Continue reading Think For Yourself

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The Magic Of Avebury

Steve Rowe

I remember being in the Avebury stone circle and as I walked around touching each stone I felt that they were like ‘stone mirrors’, upright pieces of earth reflecting my ‘original face’ back to me. That thousands of years ago each stone belonged to a different magician and that completing the circle touching each stone gave me a unique transmission from each one and completed an ancient rite. I found Avebury far more powerful than Stonehenge and complemented the energies from Glastonbury Tor, Glastonbury Abbey (very powerful) and Chalice Well. Continue reading The Magic Of Avebury

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There Were No Kicks Or Punches in Karate Or Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

Let’s use language to give an insight and some depth to our martial arts. There was originally no kicks or punches in either karate or tai chi. The problem with ‘kicks’ and ‘punches’ is that it limits our understanding of the arts. In traditional karate and tai chi before they were ‘sportified’ they were used for health and self defence, self defence started when we reached grappling distance therefore leg and arm techniques were manipulations of the opponents body and usually all limbs were being employed at the same time. We had ‘husband and wife hands, one destroying the opponents … Continue reading There Were No Kicks Or Punches in Karate Or Tai Chi

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The Magic Speed Of Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

The magic speed of Tai Chi… Tai Chi forms are working vehicles and therefore constructed to be practiced in a multitude of different ways and speeds. But there is one speed and way that changes everything to bring you into a magical state of mindfulness making the mind aware, focused, sensitive and intense also changing the body energetically. Imagine you are completely immersed in water and you have to practice the form so carefully that you don’t disturb the water in any way. This forces you to be completely ‘in the moment’, extremely mindful and feel the pressure of the … Continue reading The Magic Speed Of Tai Chi

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Manipulating The Chakras With Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

Manipulating The Chakras With Tai Chi What do the chakras do? Root Chakra – is life and death, a very powerful primal energy driving sex and mortal fear. Sacral Chakra – is instincts, that ‘gut feeling’ you need to learn to rely on. Solar Plexus Chakra – is normal fear, anxiety and anger. Heart Chakra – is patience, kindness, tolerance and compassion. Throat Chakra – is expression, the ability to influence your environment. Brow Chakra – the ‘third eye’ is insight and visionary. Crown Chakra – is wisdom and spirituality. They each have their own emotional colouring and vibration of … Continue reading Manipulating The Chakras With Tai Chi

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The Perfect Workout

Steve Rowe

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 … Continue reading The Perfect Workout

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Releasing Energy

Steve Rowe

Understand how the body naturally builds up and releases energy and you understand how to use it in qigong and Tai Chi. This also applies to the internal energy in all martial art technique. Your morning stretch is different to your exercise stretches. This is because you build up your energy in your stretch and then release it to wake up. Notice the feeling that goes with the release. You do the same when you sneeze, yawn, when you go to the loo, when you ejaculate and even when dealing with emotion and pain. Understand this and you go a … Continue reading Releasing Energy

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Keys To Success

Steve Rowe

Keys to success in training: Work out what you genuinely want to achieve from your study and periodically review it.Don’t take on aims and objectives that others give you.Plan your training schedule for the optimum way to achieve those aims.Don’t waste time training in anything that doesn’t take you in the right direction.Never over or under train.Train every day. Sounds easy but you will inevitably have to fight against pressure from others who want you to do what they want, both at home and in the Dojo. You will also have to deal with your enemies of laziness, distraction and … Continue reading Keys To Success