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.