The Top Of The Mountain

Anyone training in the martial arts needs to educate and alchemise their body, mind and emotions. There are only so many ways they can effectively do this. If they train to fight, they have to train the body and also their health, including the emotions and mind. If they train for health or skill the same also applies, so whatever the reason, to reach the top of the mountain. the route has to contain the same basics. The mountain can have many paths, soft, hard, internal, external, different arts and styles, but when they reach the top, they have to … Continue reading The Top Of The Mountain

Stimulate Store & Release Qi In Taiji

In Tai Chi we often talk about the 3 bows, the arms legs and spine (some separate them and call them the 5 bows), it’s good terminology as bows store and release energy. The more you study you realise that there are actually hundreds of bows throughout the body, every joint acts as a bow from fingers, toes, palms, arches, shoulders, hips chest and so on. As we connect and coordinate all these bows, we need to develop the ability to release all excessive tension so they can function effectively. We then stimulate the energy using the mind and emotions, … Continue reading Stimulate Store & Release Qi In Taiji

Freedom!

Life is based on desireThe desire to have or not haveWhen we free ourself from desireWe are enlightened from itNo one can control usTemptation is goneAdverts and media pressureHave no effectWe walk a solitary pathBecause others can’t understandWe don’t fear lifeBecause it is as it isWe don’t fear deathBecause we don’t desire lifeThere is no pressureNo anxietyNo fearWe’ve found peaceAnd acceptanceA deeper happiness arisesBecause we weren’t trying. Continue reading Freedom!

Emotional Alchemy

REALLY IMPORTANT if you work with qi/chi/ki in your technique is to understand how the energy is coloured by areas of the body and how this affects areas of your life. The ‘alchemy’ is the study and journey of how your emotions affect you and therefore to be able to understand them and develop emotional intelligence. I’ve stripped away any ‘spiritual’ dogma to show how useful they are to practical martial artists. I’ve used my keywords for each chakra here to help you see how practical this study is to help you become a more balanced martial artist. Root Chakra … Continue reading Emotional Alchemy

Feedback From Aaron

I often get asked why I started learning Tai Chi”. The truth is, there were many reasons, but primarily it was the opportunity to train under Sensei Steve Rowe and the allure of a deeper, more spiritual path to martial mastery than I’d found in other styles. What I discovered far exceeded my expectations. Tai Chi has transformed me in countless ways. It taught me meditation, breathing techniques, and a profound understanding of the body. It revealed the intricacies of energy manipulation, both defensively and offensively. I delved into the philosophies of Yi and Chi, cultivating emotional intelligence, and mastering … Continue reading Feedback From Aaron

My Security Work

I was laying in bed last night trying to remember all the security work I’d done and couldn’t do dates or even in order but this is what I could remember after I left the Fire Brigade in ‘71: Group 4 had just arrived in the U.K. and I went from ‘beat officer’ to staff sergeant in charge of all Cash In Transit at the time also getting my HGV to drive the big ‘dustcart’ type wagons and had some near misses as ‘blagging’ cash vans was very common at the time. Woolworths doing plainclothes and undercover fraud work also … Continue reading My Security Work

Screaming Into The Void

Screaming into the voidNo one’s listeningThey’ll ask you how you areAnd turn offThey don’t really want to knowThey’ll tell you their opinionBut they won’t listen to youThey think they careBut they don’tAs long as they get what they wantAs long as you don’t get in the wayAs long as you’re no botherAs long as you fit into their ideasOf who and what you areThey’ll tolerate youOtherwise you’re a pain in the assIf you can walk away you’re luckyIf you can’t you’re fuckedThe void is realYou’re scream is silentIt comes from the soulIt involves every cell of the bodyBut the void … Continue reading Screaming Into The Void

Using Both Sides Of The Brain To Learn

We spent a lot of time yesterday ‘learning how to learn’, understanding how differently the left and right brain learns and how both are useful. Learning in words, in a linear logical method is essential and the most useful way of starting, once the sequence is internalised the mind can easily become distracted or lazy, at this point we need to go deeper, increasing our awareness, focus, sensitivity and intensity until we are eventually studying micro moments and connections. We also need to learn by ‘direct transmission’ and this depends on the relationship between teacher and student, it’s wordless and … Continue reading Using Both Sides Of The Brain To Learn

The Power Of Silence And Stillness

We have to develop and alchemise silence and stillnessIt’s the only way to give life perspectiveIf we’re always moving, thinking and feelingHow can we give it context without anything to compare it with?The amount of time and focus we give to each is importantWhen we develop silence and stillnessWe can see everything objectivelyWe can develop insight and wisdomThis gives value and insight into our thoughts, feelings and activitiesWhen we mindlessly engage in lifeWe’re asleep at the wheelOur locus of power is externalWhen we add the power of silence and stillnessWe’re awake and our locus of power is internalWe’re no longer … Continue reading The Power Of Silence And Stillness