Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com I remember reading in a Zen book that I enjoyed that you should not practice for yourself, but just practice for the sake of practice. I like that. There’s a kind of grim realism to it but it raises the issue of how exactly are you supposed to approach … Continue reading How much practice is enough?
Taoism
Looking back at The Tao of Pooh all these years later, I can’t believe what’s happened to its author, Benjamin Hoff
Things have not worked out well for the author of the book that got me started with Tai Chi... The reason I got interested in Tai Chi in the first place was a combination of watching Kung Fu, the classic TV series starting David Carradine, in my early childhood, which primed to be receptive towards … Continue reading Looking back at The Tao of Pooh all these years later, I can’t believe what’s happened to its author, Benjamin Hoff
Tongue behind the two front teeth
If you've been doing Tai Chi, meditation or yoga for any length of time you'll have heard the old adage to 'put your tongue behind the two front teeth'. The explanation given for this is usually that it "connects the two meridians that go up the back and down the front of the body called … Continue reading Tongue behind the two front teeth
How most people get Tai Chi breathing wrong
"Stop doing the wrong thing and the right thing does itself." - F. Mathias Alexander. Breathing has become a hot topic these days. There's Wimm Hoff with his patented breathing methods for overcoming extreme cold all over TV and YouTube, breathing classes have sprung up in every town where you can go to where you … Continue reading How most people get Tai Chi breathing wrong
New podcast: Discovering Neijiaquan, with Jess O’Brien
My guest for this episode is Jess O’Brien, author of the book Neijiaquan and co host of the Neijiaquan podcast, which he runs with Isaac Kamins. Since 1999, Jess has studied extensively under BK Frantzis. Over the years, he has also trained with other, preeminent internal martial artists like Luo De Xiu. He has been … Continue reading New podcast: Discovering Neijiaquan, with Jess O’Brien
The internal qualities of martial arts
Photo by Thao LEE on Unsplash One observation I have on 'internal' martial arts is that there there is often very little focus on the ‘internal’ qualities to a human being. Or if they do address them then it is, not directly and often in passing. I'm not talking about things to do with forces, … Continue reading The internal qualities of martial arts
NEW PODCAST Simon Cox on Zhang Sanfeng and the Wudang connection to Tai Chi
New podcast! My guest today is Simon Cox, who co runs the Okanagan Valley Wudang with his wife Brandi in Penticton, British Columbia. Simon and Brandi spent six years living and training in China under master Yuan Xiu Gang at the Wudang Daoist Traditional Kung Fu Academy. While there they studied Kung Fu, Tai Chi, … Continue reading NEW PODCAST Simon Cox on Zhang Sanfeng and the Wudang connection to Tai Chi
Simon Cox on Zhang Sanfeng and the history of Tai Chi Chuan
The article On the Historical Mystery of Zhang Sanfeng by Simon Cox, on the history of Tai Chi Chuan and its connection to Zhang Sanfeng is great. I'll just quote a couple of paragraphs from near the end, but recommend you read the whole thing for context: It seems like Tai Chi was really a … Continue reading Simon Cox on Zhang Sanfeng and the history of Tai Chi Chuan
Ep 24: George Thompson on Tai Chi and Taoism from Wudang mountain
George Thompson is a film maker and Tai Chi teacher who studied on Wudang Mountain in China under Master Gu. His videos at https://www.youtube.com/@George-Thompson have been watched by over 15 million people and has over 200K subscribers. He runs the Wayfinder Academy at https://www.wayfinder.academy through which he teaches online courses for balanced living. In this … Continue reading Ep 24: George Thompson on Tai Chi and Taoism from Wudang mountain
Upcoming interview with George Thompson
I don't normally do a preview of my podcasts guests before the podcast comes out, but in the case of George Thompson I think it's worth doing one because not only is he a fellow Bristolian, but he has so much great media out there for you to view that it's worth watching some of … Continue reading Upcoming interview with George Thompson
The Tai Chi Notebook 