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Healing Energy Meditation

Steve Rowe

Healing Meditation – video and further explanation. If you see space as conscious, it pervades everything in the universe. When we yield to this universal energy the inside and outside energies of our body harmonise, literally making us ‘at one with the universe’ encouraging our body to heal and balance itself. When we can’t yield, we only exist in our emotions and thoughts and therefore tend to get anxious, fearful and tense becoming ill. The ability to widen our perspective beyond our ‘self’, understand our place in the universe and yield to it is indeed a great healing. Continue reading Healing Energy Meditation

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Soft Cotton Boxing

Steve Rowe

A soft front and a strong back is my mantra for life, embodied in the yin/yang symbol of our Tai Chi. I teach from this, mentally, emotionally and physically, the old names of our art ‘Soft Cotton Boxing’ and ‘Deceptive Boxing’ are also good descriptions. To be kind, compassionate, empathic, polite and well mannered are essential social skills for the soft front and resolute, determined and powerful are learned skills to back it up. Our Tai Chi embodies the philosophy and skills necessary for a healthy, balanced life. Training needs to be sensuous and enjoyable, connecting and balancing the body … Continue reading Soft Cotton Boxing

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Constant Mindfulness

Steve Rowe

Mindfulness –Is not something you do for 30mins a day. You do it all day in an unbroken line. To be ‘mindful’ of something is to take care of it and we have to be careful and ‘mind’ our mind all of the time. We have to mind our perspective, our resolve, our speech, behaviour, livelihood, effort and concentration all of the time – that’s how we evolve as a human being. The qualities of our mind are awareness, focus, sensitivity and intensity. If we lack in any of these we become lazy or distracted. Mindfulness is the key to … Continue reading Constant Mindfulness

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Dealing With Pain

Steve Rowe

Dealing With Pain.Right from their first day of training we have to teach students the difference between good and bad pain. Good pain strengthens the body, emotions and mind and bad pain affects them negatively, student and coach need to know the difference between them. The understanding has to deepen with illness and injury as rehabilitation is essential and needs to be positive. Today I was fatigued from a seminar on Sunday and had a bad night last night, still recovering from cancer treatment, so training had to be very mindful. I needed to open and manipulate the core and … Continue reading Dealing With Pain

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Have Patience….

Steve Rowe

Social media is full of ‘up and ‘at ‘em’ ‘get off your ass’, ‘take action’ type statements, memes, reels and FB live vids, usually by young, healthy, trying to sell something, would be ’influencers’, but I’d like to add a counterpoint. Patience really is a virtue and timing is everything. Often you have to wait to heal and for the circumstances to be right. Instead of pushing forward (often to failure or to suit others) sit back and look for opportunities instead of rushing past them. Less can be more. Instead of blasting forwards, nudge the opportunity and allow it … Continue reading Have Patience….

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Toru Takamizawa

Steve Rowe

Toru Takamizawa was the best Karateka I ever met, physically he was incredibly fast, dynamic and for a small man powerful. Technically he was a genius. He structured Wado Ryu Karate in a way that I still use to this day in all my methods of training. He failed me on my second Dan grading and from then on I travelled from Kent to Birmingham every Wednesday for many years for private lessons. Financially he was terrible because money embarrassed him and that led him to trusting all the wrong people and he needed rescuing from financial ruin. To do … Continue reading Toru Takamizawa

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Pain…

Steve Rowe

PainWhen I was young I taught myself to like pain, it made me train harder, made me focus and never give up. When I was hit, I tasted blood and fought harder. I constantly found myself joyously saying “is that all you’ve got?” There was a perverse pleasure in pain. As a matter of principle I would never, ever give up and you would have to kill me to stop me. Now at 72yrs old I’m in constant pain, with an amputation and phantom leg pain, painful arthritis in both shoulders and remaining leg, prostate cancer and radiation treatment inflammation … Continue reading Pain…

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Okimitsu Fuji

Steve Rowe

This is Okimitsu Fuji’s hand written history and the photos he gave me at the time, must have been in the 1980’s. I used to have private lessons with him every Tuesday morning for many years, I’d go to his house and wake him up, we’d go to the Irishman’s club in Dartford where he’d give me a private lesson. We became good friends and he was a good Japanese cook so he would cook for me and my family. My daughter Caroline would call him ‘Uncle Oki’ and I also took Toru Takamizawa and his wife to his house … Continue reading Okimitsu Fuji