Tai Chi, or, in modern Chinese, “Tai ji”, is a movement art comprising linked sequences of postures that originated as a martial art in the nineteenth century in a small village in Henan province in north central China. Introduced to Peking (modern Beijing “northern capital”) it became well-known due to the reputation of the founder of the eponymous Yang style, Yang Lu Chan. As time passed, tai chi became famous and popularised. In order to teach the public, difficult moves were removed and the entire set, or Form, was simplified. This simplified form, when it transferred west, into the fertile ground of the 60s counter-culture, was even more diluted, and uprooted from its martial base, such that many practitioners refuse to acknowledge that it was even a martial art at all. Thus, tai chi has come to be seen as gentle movement routine suitable only for those who have lost dynamic whole body power; in other words, the elderly. In 150 years, from Yang the Invincible to Tai Chi in a chair, it is a tale found in all arts, from dynamic, energetic origins to effete, enervated exhaustion. As in empires, so in the arts.

However, even sketchy tai chi is better than none. And I have learned much of the original material from my teachers in Shanghai. I go through the Form ( the combined sequence of postures, which may vary according to style) slowly, explaining in great clarity the reasoning behind the moves in tai chi, starting with the assumption that most people are only dimly aware of their bodies until it begins to break down or hurt from long-term damage. I outline what I call Movement Principles, the archetypal moves that you need to move your body efficiently. Tai chi is not just for recreation; like all so-called play, it has a deadly serious function-to rewire your nervous system so that future moves are not putting strain through the system. We will try to make you feel and recognise the Zero Point; the position where you are balanced in all planes. From this position you begin to learn movements, via the Movement Principles, like "How To Move Your Arms From Your Body" and "Learning To Step Correctly" and so on, building up a repertoire of motion. In order to learn these effectively and correct yourself from "falling into dysfunction", you will learn how to feel your body and recognise when you are starting to clench and contract your body unnecessarily; clenching tension can lead to hard fascial tension, which is what distorts bodies into pathological postures.

In addition, you become aware of the endless distraction in your head, as well as your nervous system; the chattering monologue of left-hemisphere interference ( in both senses of that meaning) which can lead to worry and anxiety that can injure your life through stress. Mindfulness is an over-used word these days. Too often, mind practices are undertaken with little understanding that a relaxed mind must be housed in a relaxed body, but real physical relaxation is something that many people in our modern world have little conception of. I will explain how this can be achieved with some body/mind scanning practices.

From the ideal which is explained in the first class and constantly revised, we start learning how to move efficiently. So the tai chi Form is taught slowly, allowing you time to absorb the new way of moving. This can then be put into practice into your daily routine. Students who do this make rapid progress and report great benefit. When the principles are hard-wired in, you can then export this function to your habitual postures in daily life, preventing the relentless pull of gravity upon your spine, and working with it, to balance both sides of your body in a poised totality of flexible, resilient and relaxed motion. Stamina, reflexes and strength also improve. The benefits of tai chi are not always immediately noticeable, until they are. In this Instant Noodle culture of ours, where not accelerating at a traffic light within 2 seconds can trigger road rage in those behind you, having results imperceptibly flourish is harking back to an earlier time, when the clock did not rule over us.