The importance of focus

The two main reasons for practicing Tajijquan are health and self-defense. It cannot be stressed highly enough the importance of focusing your thoughts on your desired outcomes when practicing the form. Practicing martial arts is the cultivation of a state of mind, as well as a desired fitness. Many people refer to this as Evolution of Consciousness.

So what is consciousness? Thomas Campbell defines, it as the information that your brain holds. This should not be confused with the physical brain - even though the brain is important, we are concerned with the information it holds - or your consciousness. Why do we have a consciousness? A consciousness is required if you are to experience reality. The better your consciousness, the better you can deal with life in general.

Take the example of a car battery. When is it fully charged, all the molecules have their poles in line with each other and it is able to discharge power. Physicists call this a Low Entropy state. As the charge is released by the battery, the molecules become more and more disorganised, until the battery can no longer send out any more electricity (or High Entropy state). In this case, entropy is a measure of the organisation of the component parts within a greater system.

Martial arts are a practical way of lowering the entropy of your consciousness, with specific emphasis on the body-mind connection.

To lower the entropy of your consciousness in line with your goals is then quite simple. If you wish to focus on health benefits, concentrate on correct movement and the flow of the force and energy going through the body. For those who wish to concentrate on self defence, start with the above and then move on to focusing on the practical applications (striking etc).

All Tai Chi forms are designed to be a moving meditation to lower the entropy of your consciousness and unify the mind-body connection. So consider your train of thought while you practice. Do not play taijiquan form while under the influence of negative thoughts. If you are angry and want to practice, calm yourself first or your movements become a meditation on anger. Anger is a disorganised mental state, so if you practice the form whilst being angry the entropy of your consciousness will be raised, and your ability to objectively deal with reality will diminish.

High entropy states to avoid: Anger, Fear, Jealousy, Hatred, Need, Infatuation, Control, Power, Addiction, Selfishness, Ego, Arrogance.

The lowest entropy state is love. When in a state of love, the body is nurtured and moves correctly; the mind is calm and all is good in the world. For both health or self-defense, love is a valuable state to focus on. If you think that love is a bit too wishy-washy-touchy-feely for a tough martial artist like yourself, start with philanthropy....

... and work your way up.

Are your knees trying to tell you something?

After many years of teaching, the most common physical complaint by far is aching knees. It's not a sharp pain, but more reminiscent of dull toothache. Practice seems to exacerbate the problem until you are forced to rest for a few days. The pain stops for a while, so you resume practice only for it to return as though it never went away.

There can be a number of reasons why you may be feeling pain:

Arthritis:

This generally affects people over 50, however, if you have had a history of high impact exercises you may have torn your meniscus or suffered ligament damage. Such damage can also bring on early arthritis in the knees. There also appears to be a genetic predisposition towards arthritis of the knee, so check your family history. Ask your doctor for a diagnosis.

Incorrect usage:

Very often people who practice tai chi do not have their knees correctly aligned. Start by checking that your knees are pointing the same direction as your feet in your postures. If that is ok, check that you are not bending them too much. The yang knee should NEVER extend beyond the tip of the toe (i.e. if you draw a vertical line upwards from the toe, the knee should not cross that line). If that is OK, check your movements. Are you over-twisting the knees, by not letting your ankles relax. Thoroughly warm up the ankle before starting. Another common problem is caused by not being supple at the hips. This causes the knees to over-compensate.

Treatments should go in this order:

1. Consult your doctor. Make sure you do not have arthritis or any other injury. A doctor will be able to recommend surgery or injection etc that will definitely help. You may not need any of these, but it is good to rule out the big problems first.

2. Study your form and find out which movements give you pain, then ask your tai chi teacher. They should be able to correct you.

3. Take supplements. Glucosomine and Cod liver oil are great helps to get the joints moving.

4. An acupuncture specialist will be very effective at helping you to reduce pain. Seriously, it works.

However, there is a more profound way of reducing knee pain, arthritis and general stress on the body. It has a greater impact than most eastern and western treatments. It requires no specialist equipment, and can be done in the privacy of your own home with just a little bit of self control. However, in this modern age of political correctness, recommending it is a little controversial. It has lost me more students than I care to mention by saying it. But I'm trusting you to be strong and not take it personally.......

.....lose weight.....

No really........ lose some weight.

There I said it. We're all still alive and no harm has been done. Not so bad, was it? Not only will it increase your energy, lower your cholesterol, improve mobility, improve sleep pattern, prevent angina, reduce risk of heart disease & stroke, but it will also reduce the stress on your knees.

So are your knees (or ankles or hips) trying to tell you something?

Surviving Christmas

The festive season will soon be upon us all. For many Christians it is a time of contemplation and worship. For most of us, there is a lot of peer pressure towards partying and excess. It just takes a little too much indulgence to tip a perfectly good Christmas over into a downward spiral.

Alcohol: Remember, one unit of alcohol takes (on average) one hour to be filtered out of the body. If you really have to drink, take the following precautions.

1. Get a good night's sleep before your party. Tiredness exacerbates the effects of alcohol.

2. Eat well before you drink. Food absorbs some of the alcohol and acts as a buffer to stop you getting drunk too quickly.

3. When partying, drink a glass of water between each alcoholic drink.

4. Don't drive. Book a taxi, stay in a hotel, anything. Just don't drive.

5. Before you go to bed, get a large drink of water.

6. Get plenty of sleep afterwards to recover.

7. Do not party two nights in a row. Give your body time to recover.

Martial Artists: Be extra careful about getting drunk in bars and public places. You have been trusted with important skills that are not to be wasted on drunken fools. Many of the great Chinese masters liked a drink. But more often than not, they drank at home behind closed doors with close friends. Don't disgrace your Sifu/Sensei.

Exercise: I lose more tai chi students over Christmas than at any other time. It is such an all consuming activity that we often forget to exercise. The longer you stop, the more difficult it is to start again. So make sure that you stick to your regular exercises - whatever they are. They will also help you to digest your.......

FOOD..... peer pressure is very powerful at this time of year. "Oh go on, have another mince pie." If you don't want something, say no and mean it. Real friends will understand and respect your wishes. Whatever they may say, people do not judge you by the capacity of your stomach. Stick to your guns.

So plan carefully, pick your parties wisely and have a great festive season.

Chen Zhenglei Seminar

Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei is the 19th generation inheritor of the Chen Family, and the 11th generation direct-line successor of Chen Style Taijiquan. He has been officially recognised as one of China's top ten martial artists.

He started competing in 1974 and by the end of 1987, had won more than 10 gold medals in the Henan province & National China Martial Arts competitions.

I was fortunate to catch up with him for an advanced workshop in his family form of taijiquan. Master Liming Yue is a senior student of Grandmaster Chen, and has enjoyed a long association, bringing him over to the UK to conduct lessons.

I first met him in 1999 when he came to the UK for seminars in Manchester, and have learned from him in China, and in England many times since then. He as always delivered an outstanding class.

I think it was Barbara Raskin who said "When love & skill work together, expect a masterpiece." You can say the same about Grandmaster Chen's skill as a tai chi player and teacher. Every nuance of taijiquan is conveyed with a simplicity and power that eclipses men half his age. The energy in the room was astonishing, with everyone taking away valuable lessons in the art.

If you practice your tai chi seriously, I highly recommend a lesson from Grandmaster Chen. it also goes without saying that Master Liming Yue must be applauded for bringing him to our shores and providing translation. Long may it continue.

Culture Shock! - Tales from China

The first time I went to China (1999), I went with Master Liming Yue and a group of his senior students. (Incidentally, if you ever get a chance to go to China, GO! You will not regret it.) Many of us were students from different classes, so we did not meet until the airport.

One chap was a proper northern lad called Keith. He was a larger-than-life character, who had done a lot of martial arts and was discovering tai chi. Keith was a tough guy. He did not do breakfast. He liked to get up early and go for a run. Generally, we did not see him until after breakfast.

After staying in Beijing and Jiang Jia Jie forest park, we met up with Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei in Handan. We were to undergo a week of training in a hotel there.

None of the hotel staff spoke a word of English. Most of us did not know Chinese. Generally, we got through the language barrier well, until one morning. We were having our breakfast in the hotel restaurant, minding our own business, when there was a loud commotion in the entrance hall. The next thing we saw will stay with me for the rest of my days.

Keith was being comically dragged into the restaurant by five small chinese waitresses. The noise was quite amazing. keith was shouting: "Tell them.... will someone tell them I don't do breakfast..... I just want to go for a jog".

They just didn't understand. They were only worried that he was going to miss his breakfast. Liming hastily explained to them. They finally let Keith go.

I laughed so hard, my ribs ached for the rest of the morning.

First Steps

Let me take you back to the middle-to-late 1970's. The Bionic Man, Scalextric and Evel Knievel were the number one boys toys. My first "best friend" was Paul. He was a whole year older than me and lived around the corner from my house. I attended the local state primary school and he went to the catholic school. We spent many good times getting into scrapes.

When I found out that he went to karate classes, I was intrigued. He used to show me his moves while I kept nagging my parents to allow me to go "Karate? What do you want to do karate for?". Finally, after weeks of begging, my father relented, and gave me the £1 for my first class.

The Roe Street Mission was a dark, dusty place. We would wait outside for our sensei, Brian, to arrive and open up. Once inside, the warm-ups would begin. But when his back was turned, we used to take it in turns to spin each other around by the ankles and let them go sliding on our backs along the polished wooden floor. Fantastic fun!

Then the classes would start. I don't think I was the best student Brian had ever seen. But I worked hard - press-ups on the knuckles, sit-ups, crunches, stretches - it didn't matter. I was so small and light, they were all easy. The sparring used to frighten me, but I gradually got used to it.

But good things don't last. Firstly, Paul's family moved across town, which may as well have been across the world for a seven year-old. Then we moved further away still. My peers changed for the worse, and my life changed completely. I looked at local judo and karate classes, but they did not have the spirit or character of Brian's class. I gave up martial arts completely.

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since my first Karate classes. The Roe Street Mission is now a fully-renovated, beautiful silk museum with a posh cafe and shop. It took twenty years to discover the richness of Chinese martial arts and taijiquan. I am now a taijiquan teacher and a father of two.

If there is anything that I have learned about martial arts from this meandering journey... there are a lot of things that make up a good class. It can be great friends to train with like Paul or charismatic teachers like Brian. But for a martial art to really catch you, to inspire you to improve, it has to be the content of what is being taught. It took me along time to find the right content, so don't be disheartened if you don't find what works for you immediately. There is a martial art for everyone. Just keep searching.

To those who have found it, you know how it feels. This article is in response to another teacher in London who has obviously found his content. You can view it Here. Thanks Neil for sparking off the memories.

My Tai Chi Experiences by Natalie Weiner

I am your archetypal ‘rubbish at all sports’ kind of person. I hated PE at school (yes, I was the one who always got picked last!), and have never enjoyed going to the gym or going to fitness classes. But I reached the point where I thought I ought to make some kind of effort at getting fit, and Tai Chi seemed to be a gentle way in. I think it appealed to my slightly lazier side, I thought it looked easy, gentle and effortless, and I reckoned that with my lack of coordination I wouldn’t last very long anyway!

I was so wrong.

Although it looks gentle, Tai Chi is still a martial art, and not only does it require physical exertion but mental focus too. As a result of going to classes for so many years now that I don’t even remember how long it’s been, I’ve realised that Tai Chi has slowly started to infiltrate my daily life. My posture has improved hugely. It seems that my coordination isn’t as bad as I thought. And the breathing exercises which help focus the mind have been invaluable - on my wedding day, in order to stay calm, I encouraged my chief bridesmaid to join me in some ‘Tai Chi breathing’, despite the fact we were both in our dresses, fully made up, carrying flowers and about to go down to the ceremony! I dread to think how it looked but it definitely helped me!

One of the key points for me about Tai Chi has been that you are never perfect, and that’s not a bad thing. You can learn for years, and still spend time refining your posture here and there, working on it all the time. It’s given me a huge sense of achievement to be able to say that I can do the first 11 moves, plus a chunk of the sword form (on a good day!). But it’s a work in progress, and an enjoyable one which allows me to switch off from the daily grind whilst also keeping fit. If only they’d taught this at school!!

By Natalie Weiner