TAI CHI UK NEWS

 

A good kick-start to relaxation, health and releasing your stress and anger.  Meet people, make friends, and enjoy yourself with Tai Chi UK.

 

Introduction:

Tai Chi works in various ways to enhance physical, emotional, mental and spiritual balance and health, by releasing blockages, stimulating circulation and functions of the body, alleviating pain, reducing stress and creating optimism.

 

Tai Chi UK offers specialist healing and therapeutic services such as Reiki, Anger Management, Stress Control, Healthy Eating, and many more, as well as Instructors of various martial art forms, list of Restaurants & Cafes for Healthy Eating venues.

 

Historical Background:

Originally, an ancient Chinese art of moving meditation translated as “ Supreme Ultimate Fist”, based on the Taoist understanding that all things comprise the harmony of two complementary forces – Yin & Yang.

Now, under the leadership of ‘Sifu Michael Jacques’ who is the founder of the ‘Zenon Wudang Tai Chi Chuan’ also practised in the Caribbean, and seeking to expand worldwide.

 

Michael Jacques has lived and practised Martial arts for the last 30 years of his life (15 yrs as a Tai Chi master).  He is the undefeated Open British Tai Chi champion possessing a BA. (Hons) and Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).

 

Application to Business/Personal life:

Tai Chi can be utilised and effectively applied to our everyday lives.  It can help in the following ways:

 

Ø      Detoxification of the body’s systems

Ø      Relaxation

Ø      Relief of pain

Ø      Improvement of joint mobility

Ø      Boosting the immune system

Ø      Treating of illnesses

Ø      Accelerating personal & spiritual growth & development

Ø      Raising vibration levels

Ø      As an effective form of martial art & self-defence practise.

 

Relative Growth:

Tai Chi is an art that expands globally.  In relation to other martial arts, Tai Chi is growing in its level of consumption, attracting a massive interest from people of all walks of life.  It seeks to involve all age groups because of its holistic nature, combining fun, elements of challenge and skill through competitive activities, Intrinsic & Extrinsic motivating factors, Rewards/Certificates, etc.

Its holistic nature is guaranteed to aid in the improvement of one’s self-confidence, self worth, self-awareness/concept, among other qualities.

 

In Tai Chi UK Reiki classes, for example, you learn to work with all rays of elemental healing, and how to channel these elemental energies onto one another.  Reiki is a Japanese word describing many different healing methods and is thought to have originated as a Tibetan Buddhist practise meaning ‘Use of Universal Life Force Energy’, both surrounding and within all living organs.

 

Evolution:

The advancement of Tai Chi UK towards the future is fast becoming radical with more & more invitations for; demonstrations, meetings to discuss ways of incorporating Tai Chi UK services into other domains and organisations, magazine/newspaper publications, television shows, and more openings of new classes….

Tai Chi UK membership is also growing rapidly.

 

What has recently happened?

¨      On 30 &31/8/99, Tai Chi UK was invited to give a demonstration at the Horticultural Centre in Blackheath’s ‘Festival of Life’.

 

Michael Jacques pursued this with enthusiasm displaying a fantastic demonstration of Tai Chi forms, with verbal interpretation of his graceful, flowing movements. 

He invited the audience (over 60 participants) to part-take in the Chi Gong exercises and demonstration of stress/pain relief such as headaches.

He spoke about the exercises, ailments, explaining the different objectives of Tai Chi UK practise, including Reiki.

Feedback from the audience was that ‘it was a very interesting, informative, relaxing & calming experience’.  Many people immediately applied to become members.

 

On the 10th of September’99, Shell International received a Tai Chi/Relaxation workout at the Lensbury club in Teddington.  More classes have now been requested as the demand for the Tai Chi UK services increases from their staff members.

 

A further demonstration took place at Wickway Centre in Peckham, St. George’s Rd, on the 12th of September ’99, where Michael Jacques met and was congratulated by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Southwark Council for his providence of skilled, health related services.

 

¨      New classes opened this month include:

Holmes Place in Putney                                                        3/9/99. (7.00 – 8.00pm)

Hallmead in Sutton (people with learning difficulties)     16/9/99. (10.15 – 11.45am)

Sobell Sports Centre in Hornsey Rd                                  23/9/99. (8.30 – 10.00pm)

Lensbury Centre in Teddington                                         24/9/99. (1.30 – 3.00pm)

 

¨      On 3/9/99 Tai Chi UK held a meeting with Human Capital Resources (HCR) at Twickenham.  HCR want to incorporate Tai Chi UK services into their new business infrastructure so as to offer a complete package of services to their members.

Among the active members of HCR are Sally Gunnell & Roger Black, the two main British athlete representatives.

 

In the meeting, Tai Chi UK outlined propositions of layout of demonstrations as well as ways to combat maximum interaction from the audience.

HCR and Tai Chi UK came to a final agreement that an event to primarily introduce Tai Chi UK to their other organisational groups and to the public would be carried out on 24/10/99, venue to be later discussed and arranged.

 

(To be a part of the demonstrations and growth of Tai Chi UK, stay on-line   )

 

¨      Publications:

The magazine, ‘Women At Home’, published an article after research, testing & findings by specialists at New Jersey Medical School in the United States.  A quote from the article entitled “Exercise your pain away” is as follows:

“Chi Gong, a system of health-enhancing exercises,

may offer relief to people living with pain.

Specialists at New Jersey Medical School in the US

Tested chi gong on 22 patients suffering from chronic pain.

Half received proper training, while the other half

were taught sham exercises.  After just three weeks, 91 per cent

of the chi gong patients were experiencing less pain

compared with just 36 per cent of the “sham” group.

For more details about chi gong, send an SAE to Tai Chi UK,

25 Arrol House, Rockingham Street, London SE1 6QJ.

Or phone 0207 407 4775”.

 

Feature of a Prominent Member:

 

Jon Wallwork is the chairman of Zenon Wudang student’s union.  Zenon Wudang is part of the Tai Chi UK organisation specialising in the self-defence and relaxation sector of Tai Chi.

 

He has held this post for approximately 1 year.  This section features an interview with him on how Tai Chi has influenced his life since he became a member & participant.  He has since become one of the principle instructors within the field.

 

Interviewer:    What are your views on Tai Chi and how has it influenced your life?

Jon:                 I took up Tai Chi primarily for medical reasons because I had a severe case of slip-disc, which resulted from SCIATICA.  I was obviously interested in finding a remedy to help me deal with my situation.  I found that both Tai Chi & Chi Kung provided an excellent remedy.  Infact, since discovering this I have been practising Tai Chi & Chi Kung.  The results being that the pain and the sciatica have completely disappeared.

 

Interviewer:    Over what period has this transition occurred?

Jon:                 Over a period of about one-year.  It has not been instant.

 

Interviewer:    What is Sciatica?

Jon:                 Sciatica is a condition where the main Sciatic nerves come out of a group of nerves at the base of the spine.  Sciatic nerves follow a path down to both legs.  In my case, the vertebra, at the lower back, Nos. 4 & 5, were interrupting the central nerve in the spine causing it to press.  That resulted to a shooting pain along the right leg.  It was extremely painful, uncomfortable, inconveniencing and it weighed me down emotionally, mentally and physically.  Specialists could only advise two things:

 

1.      An operation involving surgery on the spine – not advisable & potentially unstable.

2.      Painkilling Drugs.

 

I did not particularly want to settle for either of these.  My osteopaths and other people suggested that Tai Chi & Chi Kung might provide some sort of remedy, and indeed it has.  I have also witnessed and read reports based on remarkable results achieved by practitioners of both Tai Chi & Chi Kung.  But that was my dramatic introduction to Tai Chi.

 

Interviewer:    Were you initially discouraged for any reason?

Jon:                 No because I started by focussing on the benefits I would achieve.  I didn’t think that it would eradicate my Sciatica completely, but as I started to develop with the exercises and with Tai Chi itself, an art form of martial arts, I found two things out:

·        My interest in it, in the history of it, increased because it is of such a rich heritage, nearly 1000 years old.

·        My health improved enormously, so I won on all accounts.  It was a win, win situation.

It became very interesting, very absorbing and at the same time, my health has improved, the pain has dissipated and I have lost weight – a result which most practitioners find not through going on a special diet but merely working with an exercise system which involve energy management.  Your Yin & Yang balance starts to harmonise gradually, thus, better functioning of your organs, blood flow, heart, meaning excess weight becomes dissipated, lost & burnt out hence winning all round. Infact, when you start feeling & seeing results, you’re motivated to carry on.  People I know started to approach me saying that I had lost my excess weight and I looked younger, they wanted to know what I had been doing.

 

Interviewer:    How else has Tai Chi helped you in ways that conventional medicines and/or other martial arts have not been able to?

Jon:                 Other martial arts are by majority what I would refer to as hard external martial arts.  They generally involve exercises/drill routines, which emphasise a strength force & hardness.  This in itself is fine if you want to be competitive, as the regime is quite healthy in terms of cardiovascular tissues, fitness, energy building & stamina.  They don’t, however, have the other benefits that Tai Chi has because they are not necessarily working on the internal body centres.

                       

                        Generally, Western medicines look to alleviate symptoms in particular problem areas, be it kidney, liver, etc whereas traditional Chinese medicines work on the whole balance of an individual.  Thus harmonising all the internal organs so as to work efficiently, hence the holistic view or balanced view of overall health.

 

                        Tai Chi benefits may not be instantaneous but over time, improvements of health, stamina, energy levels is apparent, as well as definite psychological benefits such as increased concentration & focus levels.  It causes an heightening of awareness & increased ability to see the heart of the matter, i.e. for one to focus on the core of the issue.  Continuous practise improves your posture, the way you sit, talk, and even the way you work!!

 

Interviewer:    How do you think Tai Chi Students or practitioners feel about it?

Jon:                 Majority of the practitioners I associate with enjoy Tai Chi and find great benefits which directly relates to how much effort and practise they put into it.  Most practice diligently, with an attitude that’s concentrated & focused towards achieving set goals.

 

Interviewer:    Do you feel that there are some particular factors that hinder some people from joining?

Jon:                 People come to Tai Chi with different expectations & mindset.  Some people are disappointed if they expect a lot of high speed, fast movement, etc at beginners’ levels.  But I usually take on board that it is not an art for every one though it has the advantage of benefiting everyone.

 

Interviewer:    What are the interesting activities happening within Tai Chi that you would want people to know about?

Jon:                 Development of this website is definitely a good starting point.  It means exposure to people worldwide.  Secondly, the world’s Tai Chi day happens on April the 8th.  It is a public exhibition of Tai Chi and an extraordinary event.  The idea being that at 10.00am people practise Tai Chi for an hour throughout the world.  From Australia, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, India, Russia, The Mediterranean, Europe, America, all the way back to Australia forming a wave-like performance across the globe.  It is an opportunity for people to practise together, outdoors for 1 hr worldwide.

 

Interviewer:    What do you feel are the forces that influence most people to join?

Jon:                 The most potent force of attraction of Tai Chi is its benefits for distressing, relaxing, calming, centring, refocusing the mind, balancing the body’s system, and returning one’s integrity so that you are not always stressed out.

                        The martial side of it is less known because it is less published, but that side attracts some people who know about it.  They realise that it is a very powerful, different form of martial arts to many of the others.  In a sense, it has similarities to the Japanese AIKIDO martial art.  Rather than an art of combat, of resistance to opponents, Tai Chi is of non-resistance because you redirect the energy of the opponent so that his own energy is the cause of his fall.  You are basically helping him to trip-up.

 

Interviewer:    What are the goals or targets of Tai Chi UK student’s Union?

Jon:                 We want to be so established such that members can have regular classes, in regular practise centres and be able to exchange information with other styles to learn more about the breadth of scope of Tai Chi.

 

                        Club targets through website or information exchange is to help improve peoples’ awareness for them to realise their potential within Tai Chi.

 

                        We also hope that more & more members can get to know each other through exchange of information therefore we intend to arrange more social functions regularly, e.g. club outings, dinners, etc.

 

Interviewer:    How do you think participation at grass-root levels reflect on achievement and success in the Tai Chi arena?

Jon:                 Tai Chi can be started at any age but of course different age groups tend to exploit it in different ways.  Children, for example, have bags of energy, agility, flexibility & stamina.  Adults bring in their wisdom, focus, self-discipline, etc.  Results come from the effort you put in and not necessarily dependent on your age.  You are basically dealing with energy systems in the body which effect the way you think, act, reason, balance your emotions, etc and in the long run, helping you to deal with your relationships, work, etc.

 

                        When you practise Tai Chi with someone else, e.g. partner drills or pushing hands, you are actually having a physical conversation, mild combat or an exchange of ideas.  If applied in a real situation, you are allowing your opponent to put forward an idea, statement or argument.  Instead of resisting or ripping it up, you take it on board, sass it out, then you put it back or return it, and vice versa.  Tai Chi can affect the whole of your living.  It is a very profound art.

 

Interviewer:    What is your message to the public?

Jon:                 Come & try it out – give it a go!

                        Read books, watch videos, talk to people about it.  It is a dynamic, active, artform, exercise system, sport, form of combat, so try it out and see how it feels…

 

                        The term combat is used to refer to a controlled, regulated form of sparring, boxing or wrestling rather than war.

 

Each month Tai Chi UK will update its news on the web and endeavour to inform club members and other interested parties of all known events, competitions, club activities, fairs, etc.  If any one has any news items, suggestions or information relating to our students’ achievements or Tai Chi in general please send it to Tai Chi UK via the web, michael@jacques4.freeserve.co.uk.

                       

                        For all your resent News on Tai Chi, order the Tai Chi magazine on-line. Price is £7.00, including postage and packaging.


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