Dying ground

The 'dying ground' is when you must act decisively and calmly in order to escape an unpleasant situation.

Although the training in class will still be playful and fun, the pressure will be on.

With limited options and the need to act, what will you do?

Your mettle is tested when you are backed into a corner, overwhelmed and in desperate need of inspiration.

What happens when more than one person attacks you at the same time?
Can you cope with multiple opponents?
What will you do if two people restrain you whilst a third punches you?
What if there is a knife held to your throat?
Can you escape when you are on your face, your back, your knees, in a confined space?

Self defence needs to be honest and realistic. Modern urban violence will not be a gentlemanly affair.

Assailants are cowards. They are opportunists.

They will aim to overwhelm you and then take advantage of your vulnerability.

Self defence

Pursuers may attack you;
that is unfortunate,
but the question is:
what can you do about it?

(I Ching)

White belt syllabus topics

Alignment
Balance
Centre
Chin na escapes
Group work/melee (intro)
Monkey paws (intro)
Neigong (intro)
Penetrating defences (intro)
Posture testing
Pushing hands
Pushing legs (intro)
Qigong
- 16 topics (intro)
- 40 mins endurance challenge
Striking
Structure
Yang Cheng Fu form (section 1) (intro)
Yielding

Floor work

An assault may take you to the floor. Your priority needs to be getting back on your feet quickly.

Brawling on the ground makes you an easy target for people to 'stick the boot in'.

Aiming to apply a lock/hold yourself is naive. It assumes only one opponent. What about his mates?

Immobilising your assailant also immobilises you.

New people

New starters get to try out some basic skills and can watch a demonstration of taijiquan combat skills.

It can be very useful to see how the art can be used in combat.

You can ask yourself: would I like to learn how to do that?

Sometimes new starters look skeptical. They imagine that the attacker is somehow cooperating. This is fine. We let them defend themselves against the attacker, and see how they cope. It is a simple lesson.

Every school teaches kung fu slightly differently. Seeing the application of the art explains why things are done 'this' way, rather than 'that' way. It is important for new people to recognise why we do what we do.

And to see that it works...

Commitment

Progress is a funny issue.

I make no secret of the fact that limited commitment will (and can only) produce a limited outcome.
This is true of any aspect of life.

Taijiquan is no different to being at university.
The lectures/seminars are meant to tell you what to study, and how.
You are then supposed to go away and do the actual work.

Western students learning taijiquan are seldom prepared to make this necessary commitment.

Grappling skills are vital

Escaping from locks, holds and grapples is a necessary skill. You must also be capable of making space and delivering a powerful strike at close range.

Neglecting grappling is stupid. It assumes that your opponent is going to assault you in a method that suits your requirements.

How absurd.

You must be ready for all kinds of attack, armed and unarmed.

Grappling in taijiquan is known as 'shuai jiao'.

Errors/misrepresentation

Whilst the publicity is good, the message was a little distorted.

The article misquoted Sifu Waller and omitted some information:

- the picture used on the cover of the health section featured a man doing wing chun, not tai chi
- the classes were not set-up for RA. They are for anyone over 50
- Sifu Waller is teaching neigong and qigong, and very little tai chi in this class
- neigong is excellent for people with poor mobility/strength/stamina
- both classes are beginners classes. There is no Age Concern intermediate class
- Sifu Waller did not say that anything about taking control of the disease
- http://www.northeastkungfu.co.uk/

Article on-line

Courtesy of Keith:

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/lifestyle/health/2009/11/02/ancient-art-of-tai-chi-eases-pain-of-arthritis-72703-25066052/

Newcastle Chronicle

The Chronicle sent a journalist and a photographer to the Friday morning class a couple of weeks ago in order to photograph both classes and interview students.

Eleanor from the Rheumatoid Arthritis group believes that the Chronicle will be featuring our class in tonights newspaper.

Kebaya

Close quarters combat

Self defence is not about fighting. It is a response to assault. You do not instigate. You respond.

If the assailant wants to get close enough to hit you, they need to move in. Initially, they can strike with their feet and legs. If they come closer, the hands, knees and elbows can be used.

Finally, if they come in very close, they can headbutt, shoulder or grapple with you.

Close quarters combat is not easy. Small movements are necessary. Composure is essential.

Someone is right inside your personal space, and they are not there to cuddle you.

Emotions and words

The more important the emotion is, the fewer words required to express it:

Will you go out with me?
I think I like you.
I care for you.
I love you.
Marry me.
Goodbye.

(J M Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5)

Free kung fu taster session

New starters are welcome to commence beginners classes any time throughout the year.

If you want to attend an evening class - the first lesson is free of charge.

Just turn-up and join-in.

There is no need to e-mail or phone in advance.

Enjoying this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL4mywCOJXA

It was used on the Burn After Reading trailer.

Beauty

If you have an open heart you can see beauty in all things.

Even the most fearful, tortured person has their own kind of beauty. You just need to be open to it.

Receive without judgement.

And if you cannot see beauty in yourself, do not despair. It is there. It is always there.

Back online

After a 6 week absence, I finally have broadband again. It feels like regaining a limb.

It will be nice to update the website, respond to e-mails and forward handouts etc.

My apologies for the delay.

Student discount

Students who are in full-time education receive a discount.

Prices:

Private lessons: £20 rather than £25.

Shared private lessons: £25 rather than £30.

Beginners (evening) class: £5 rather than £6.

-----------------------------

Proof of full-time student status is required.

Workshop

There's a stretches and joint work session this Thursday evening.

It is important to stretch.

Form, qigong and partner work are not about stretching. Stretching must be trained separately.

When chin na is an ongoing training concern, you cannot neglect stretching. Joints must be strengthened. To ignore this aspect of the syllabus is to short change your body.

Walking

Don't underestimate the value of walking.

Leave your car at home whenever possible, and walk.

The feel of the ground beneath your feet, the air in your lungs, the movement of your body... These things are wonderful. And they are free.

A way into Krishnamurti

Some people find Krishnamurti a little hard to access.

Why not start with Commentaries On Living Volumes 2 & 3? Don't read the actual discussions initially. Read the descriptions of the world. They are blissfully simple, unpretentious and calm.

Boot Camp - next month

This time next month will be boot camp.

The weekend will commence with a challenging night exercise in a pitch black forest setting. Expect a weekend of vigorous training, healthy food and some small measure of relaxation.

Do you teach something else?

People e-mail regularly to ask whether or not I teach something else. They want a totally different martial art to the stuff listed on the web site.

This seems rather odd. Like going to an Indian take away and trying to order a Chinese meal?

Bad Sifu

Have you ever seen the film Bad Santa?

After weeks of less than healthy living, I feel like Bad Sifu.

Water that is too pure has no fish, eh?

Broadband next week

BT have promised to restore broadband early next week. After weeks without it, I look forward to updating the website and sending handouts, worksheets, assignments etc.

100 days

5 weeks of moving house, travelling around and disruption have left my daily routine unbalanced.

To counter this, I now commence 100 days of very hard training in order to reclaim my body and rediscover the daily muscle ache I equate with kung fu.

The first session left me sore and tired, but it felt great.

The garden is big enough for stick and sword, and the 3 tier wallbag has been adequately positioned in the garage. The joy of training!

Big horse, come here!

Rachel's sister-in-law (Peggy) told me how to make a traditional kung fu challenge.

The intonation, body language and humour made this colourful expression very enjoyable to say. It translates as "Big horse, come here!"

Languages

Taijiquan people often consider learning how to read and speak Chinese...

Learning a new language sounds great in theory but is ultimately quite complex.
Beyond the difficulty of the language(s) itself, there is the challenge of cultural context.

A commonplace expression in China may be meaningless to an English person.

Don't be put off by this.
It can be fun to learn new things.

Corporate tai chi?

According to Rachel's brother (Chris), the term 'tai chi' is used in Chinese/Malaysian corporate circles to describe a person who is skilled at evading responsibility. Good tai chi is demonstrated by being sly, fluid and mobile, not being pinned down or held accountable.

Sifu & Tai Tai @ an Edinburgh pub

The reality of change

Change is not what people typically see it as being.

It is easy to think you have changed, only to continue on without any fundamental difference taking place. That is not change at all.

To change, you must shed what has been, and step forward not knowing where the path may lead, or what you may find along the way, or even if there is a path at all.

It is quite unnerving. For there is no security. No familiarity.

The Floating World

The poet needs to be up at night, when the world sleeps;

needs to be up at dawn, before the world wakes;

needs to dwell in odd corners, where tao is said to reside;

needs to exist in dark places, where spiders forge their webs in silence;

near the gutters, where the underside of our dreams fester.

Poets need to live where others don't care to look,

and they need to do this because if they don't

they can't sing to us of all the secret and public domains of our lives.

They speak to us. Creation speaks to them. They listen.

Storms speak to them. Thunder breathes on them.

Human suffering drives them. Flowers move their pens.

(Ben Okri)

The flow of things

There is tremendous merit to be found in following the way of things rather than forcing. Whatever will be, will be. This does not suggest apathy, but rather an intuitive feel for the way of things, the how of life.

Change

Change shakes you up. It requires you to shed the past and reconsider who you are, what you want and what is important to you.

Life changes shake loose the cobwebs.

You find yourself discovering new things about yourself and remember old things.