I took up Tai Chi as a consequence of seeing what I later came to know as the One square yard tai chi form,  I was an alcoholic and drug addict living under the bridges of London at the time, on Sundays my Aussie mate and I would go to drink in Lincolns inn fields near Holborn, it was there that I first saw tai chi being practiced by Master Chee Soo and his pupils, as they would come there to practice.  At the time I was simply struck by what I saw,  shall we say it stuck to me, only years later did it grow.                                

           It was some years before I was to take to the practice myself and then that after a year of chi kung practices first after which Master John Barber let me join the Tai Chi classes.   I was not attracted to the martial aspect it was more to do with the fluidity and healing aspects that drew me to Tai Chi, but as time went on I realized there was a link between understanding the moves and their martial application, which made the right applications or intent a deeper power of opening to our true selves.    My teacher Master John Barber never emphasised the martial aspect, he was more interested in the healing aspect, though he is in fact a martial adept too, he taught the martial form since he knew the correct movements within any given form facilitated the maximum benefit in the opening and closing of the meridian circuits muscular and skeletal structure.   So in tai chi we bring balance to body and mind and spirit is once more heeded.

          From a personal point of view Tai Chi has proved to be an essential tool in bringing this man back too life, to reconstituting spiritual reality with living in a world that in main seems to have severed beings from spirit truth concerning the reality, and it is my hope that that which I share will help others to transcend the earthbound point of view and return the consciousness to its rightful perception of being other than this softish material body, there is no belief required other than self belief in the ability to practice, out of the practice results will come, as we grow in practice our minds are naturally rectified as is the body, then we come to see what is for ourselves as our minds fine tune to higher vibratory energies thus our perceptions and understanding purify, well this is how it is for me, as my energy improves I see things with a brighter clarity and as many things I had but heard about proved to be so. Tai Chi is moving meditation, sometimes it is referred to as swimming through air, and certainly when the moves are known and understood then the practice certainly can feel that way sometimes there is the definite feeling of the chi moving the whole body from within and without in a class of practitioners where all are moving together doing the form, as it is called, this feeling is greatly magnified when two or more are gathered in my name so as to speak.

   There are various styles of tai chi, but the underlying principles are the same and further more are those of chi kung too.   Those wishing to know more about the various styles need only check out tai chi on the web where there is much info.

    The form I shall be dealing with is the Master Chen Man Ching style, it is a short form of 37 different postures within which there are many subtle and hidden movements or possible variations, its only when there is an understanding of the movements and there applications that the hidden possibilities begin to become apparent and it is by the correct performance of the moves that the form becomes truly effective in its health giving aspects....thus if you decide to take this on do try to find a good teacher, one who themselves are adept in the art.

    Apart from its martial aspects Tai is said to be able to heal over 700 diseases through its ability to massage internal organs strengthen muscle  it moves energy through the whole meridian system, it affects the brain the immune system the lymphatic system the nervous system. It along with chi kung also helps prevent disease by cultivating what is called guardian chi an energy that surrounds the body and guards it from infection . Further more at the end of a good session one feels much brighter lighter and balanced.

Written by:-

Sutapadas©