The True Meaning Of Karma

Our oligarchs and their puppet politicians are telling us that the only way out of the ‘predicament’ that they have put us in, (where they have multiplied their personal wealth and multiplied the poverty of the masses as a natural balance) is to treat us as ‘straw dogs’, to tighten our belts, work harder and create more wealth for them to the cost of our peace, happiness and the environment. Lao Tsu wrote “the space between heaven and earth is like a bellows, the shape changes but not the form. The more it moves, the more it yields.” When they … Continue reading The True Meaning Of Karma

I Am Beautiful

I am beautiful. That’s not a ‘guru’ style bogus affirmation, at 74, with a barrel rather than a 6 pack, riddled with arthritis, a missing leg, more wrinkles than a crumpled crisp packet and more scars than a Russian gangster my body is my best friend and a record of an exciting life. I am beautiful. Because despite its battering my body is suffused with chi (life energy), alchemised and educated into geng (warrior energy) and then shen (spiritual energy) by trained emotions and a mind that has trained and meditated twice a day for over 50 years. I am … Continue reading I Am Beautiful

2026 Shi Kon Tai Chi Coaching Programme

No Previous Experience Necessary.This one day a month for 10 months programme will be taught personally by Steve Rowe 9th Dan and his team of assistants, Steve is an internationally renowned Tai Chi teacher, Chairman and founder of Shi Kon Martial Arts International.  The programme has been running for 9 years and has qualified over a 100 coaches, it is designed to certificate and give Tai Chi Students the ability to teach Tai Chi and run and administer a club to a basic level standard. Participants will be registered with Shi Kon Martial Arts International Association and the British Council … Continue reading 2026 Shi Kon Tai Chi Coaching Programme

Trust Your Gut

Over the years, I’ve learned the hard way to trust my gut. The moment I meet someone I know whether they are a ‘wrong ‘un’ or not. Unfortunately I’ve not always listened to it, only to discover in the end that I should have – and sometimes it’s cost me dearly. It’s important to meditate and learn about your instincts and how important it is to rely on them. Your head and heart can mess you up, but your gut never does. Continue reading Trust Your Gut

The Missing Leg

Sat in the consultants office.The leg is infected, hot, red and swollen. The metal prosthetic rod that ran through the entire leg had now broken through the shin bone. It was a mess. “Go home, dial 999, it has to be amputated within 24 hours or you will die. It was 2021 in the middle of Covid, I was blue lighted into a hospital in chaos. By that point I’d had over 20 surgeries on my legs, 3 sepsis infections, 3 knee replacements in that leg including an antibiotic spacer, lost all my quadricep muscles on both legs, eventually having … Continue reading The Missing Leg

What The Prophets Knew

The word ‘religion’ comes from the Latin ‘religare’ meaning ‘to bind’. The root of the various religions as taught by their prophets is to ‘bind’ or ‘stay bound’ to the infinite energy that formed us and to that which we return to when our body ceases to be. Politicians then overlay those teachings with dogma creating doctrine to control the masses, but those with penetrating insight can still see the common root – and that’s what humanity needs to get down to. We need to care for each other, whatever our roots. I’m long enough in the tooth to know … Continue reading What The Prophets Knew

Emptying Hearts & Stuffing Bellies

Lao Tsu talks about a wise leader ‘emptying the hearts and stuffing the bellies of the nation’, and this has many levels of understanding. The word ‘karate’ often translated as ‘empty hand’ Funakoshi explained the ‘Kara’ part ‘empty’ as empty of (violent) intention and ‘te’ (hand) is generally understood as a term for martial art. Therefore an art of peace. Draining the chi (ki) from the heart to the belly calms the body, emotions and mind. Filling the belly is to retain and store power instead of losing it. This gives an absence of negative energies like fear and anger … Continue reading Emptying Hearts & Stuffing Bellies

Good Men Don’t Argue

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Eighty One  “Truthful words are not beautiful. Beautiful words are not truthful. Good men do not argue. Those who argue are not good. Those who know are not learned. The learned do not know.  The sage never tries to store things up. The more he does for others, the more he has. The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance. The Tao of heaven is pointed but does no harm. The Tao of the sage is work without effort.” This could be good advice for social media. As the Chinese would say, ‘don’t put legs on a snake’. Tell the … Continue reading Good Men Don’t Argue

A Small Country

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Eighty “A small country has fewer people. Though there are machines that can work ten to a hundred times faster than man, they are not needed. The people take death seriously and do not travel far. Though they have boats and carriages, no one uses them. Though they have armor and weapons, no one displays them. Men return to the knotting of rope in place of writing. Their food is plain and good, their clothes fine but simple, their homes secure; They are happy in their ways. Though they live within sight of their neighbors, And crowing cocks and barking dogs are … Continue reading A Small Country

A Bitter Quarrel

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Seventy Nine  “After a bitter quarrel, some resentment must remain. What can one do about it? Therefore the sage keeps his half of the bargain But does not exact his due. A man of Virtue performs his part, But a man without Virtue requires others to fulfill their obligations. The Tao of heaven is impartial. It stays with good men all the time.” This is about learning to be the better person. The Buddha said that holding on to anger is ‘like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die’. Fulfilling our part of a resolution is important but … Continue reading A Bitter Quarrel