Tag: Tai Chi

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FOMO In The Martial Arts

Steve Rowe

Sometimes I wonder whether too many martial arts teachers suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out). We are supposed to be strong independent people knowing exactly what we’re doing and where we’re going and not influenced by outside forces. But the pressure from social media does seem to produce this fear that if we don’t follow certain trends that we’re missing out. If we don’t cross train in other arts, run seminars with certain instructors, attend events and certified courses, manage our club in a certain way, make fools of ourselves with ‘entertaining’ reels and videos, advertise within the current … Continue reading FOMO In The Martial Arts

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The Left Hand Path

Steve Rowe

Walking the left hand path. There are those that loyally carry the treasure chest of their system from generation to generation. They will say “I teach exactly as I was taught”. Not every generation will have innovators that are capable of developing a system to make it better, so the carriers have an important role until someone can unlock the chest, penetrate the ideas of the system and make them better.. These are the people that walk the left hand path. They take the instructions and then practice and internalise the skills until they become them, but don’t stop there. … Continue reading The Left Hand Path

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Points Of Inevitability

Steve Rowe

Inevitable points in life. There’s birth and death, but what are the others? When I look back there are points of inevitably. It seems that whatever roads I took in life they would bring me to the same points and people. It’s like I have choice, but I’m here for a purpose so whatever choices I make, certain things have to happen, otherwise there’d be no meaning and purpose to life. My choices determined whether I learned the hard way or the easy way and sometimes what appeared to be the hard way was in fact the easy way. If … Continue reading Points Of Inevitability

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Drawing Lines From Insight

Steve Rowe

Whilst meditating this morning my mind was connecting the chi to the breath. As I breathed in it moved it from the lower dantien through the coccyx, up the back, over the head where it collected between the in and out breath and as I breathed out I sank the chest to drain it down from the tongue back down to the lower dantien. I found myself naturally drawing the line with my hands in front of the body and that drew a mental image of the shape of Daruma meditating in the cave. (I wish I could draw, AI … Continue reading Drawing Lines From Insight

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Everyone Has A Story

Steve Rowe

As the government turns on people with disabilities, removing independence payments and most importantly social help of all kinds, no one can understand the full import of what becoming disabled means. We all have a different story and I’m lucky that I’m still able to work and support myself, with a lot of family, friends and students around me to help. Others are not so lucky. Having been an independent, fit, strong career martial artist for most of my life, becoming disabled and losing my leg meant that I lost 95% of my life. If asked if I would rather … Continue reading Everyone Has A Story

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Open A Portal

Steve Rowe

Our life is chasing one thing but always empowering its opposite.We can’t have one without the other.This is the way of the universe.We call it karma, action creates reaction.We chase happiness and in doing so empower sadness.The more happiness we chase, the more sadness is always on its back.We only know happiness exists because we have sadness to compare it to.Otherwise how would we know we were happy?We can only be rich by making others poor.We only know one by knowing the other.We don’t really want happiness, it’s a drug.We want peace.How do we get peace?Through balance.Recognise the effect one … Continue reading Open A Portal

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It’s A Matter Of Perpective

Steve Rowe

Was giving a private lesson to Kieran Evans yesterday and we were discussing perspective. I asked him if he was the centre of the universe or just a part of it. We often talk about how we are like a wave on the sea, we arise from the source, are separate but still made from it and when our body dies we return to it. The Tao Te Ching states ‘the space between heaven and earth is like a bellows, the shape changes but not the form”. But what if we turn that on its head? What if we are … Continue reading It’s A Matter Of Perpective

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Legacy In Martial Arts

Steve Rowe

As they age I think most martial art teachers wonder what will happen to their club and teachings when they pass. Legacy has changed as martial arts have moved from east to west and integrated. No longer do we have a style passed through family or club as the idea of ‘family’ and ‘secrets’ has largely been shown to be false and not work. It’s rare that sons and daughters carry the talent of an originator and even if they do, for it to go down through more generations is almost impossible. There are no secrets, as the formula for … Continue reading Legacy In Martial Arts

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Moving Chi

Steve Rowe

‘There is stillness in movement and movement in stillness’ – Yang Chen Fu This skill can be used in ALL martial arts, adding the internal to the external. Neigong (inner work)In stillness, (meditation and standing postures) we learn to open our body, opening the joints, fascia, lungs and empty spaces filling them with chi energy. We attach and harmonise our mind to our energy and breath (Sanchin, Saamchin) using our attention and intention to ‘follow our breath’ we stimulate and move the energy around the body. In the standing postures we learn to use intelligent and alchemised emotion to colour … Continue reading Moving Chi

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The Magic Jian

Steve Rowe

We study the names of the jian (Chinese double edge sword) techniques in great depth. The jian is the ‘magical’ sword in Chinese culture (a bit like King Arthur’s Excalibur) and the names carry the mythology and cultural stories that go along with it, and most importantly, tell us the ‘spirit’ and mindset that the techniques are done with. They are poetic, they include real and mythological creatures, they are shamanistic as we take on the spirits of various types of dragons, gods, swallows, cats, wasps, phoenix, wild horses, lions, tigers, rhinos, apes, celestial beings and observe and copy everyday … Continue reading The Magic Jian