I had my first one-to-one golf lesson yesterday and was delighted to have a number of familiar metaphors suggested to me – among them – to not focus on the ball but to consider the ball just gets in the way ( very Zen ) as an opponent “just gets in the way of my punch”, to keep a straight back so that I turn about my central axis ( classic Tai Chi ), to create a connection with the club head through my body by relaxed opening of the joints so that I pull it through like pulling an extension of my arm ( perhaps a sword ).
Culminating in my finding that good shots follow from the “right” - ”Sung” feeling in my body – funny that!
So we spent some time looking at ways of arranging my body in relation to the club/ball to achieve this feeling – with detailed corrections including hands on adjustments - just like in Tai Chi. Excellent - and really adding to my enjoyment of learning to play.
Contact James here for golf lessons at Mount Pleasant Golf Club.
I practiced driving on my own the other day and paid attention to being relaxed – while pulling my right elbow from the centre – this seemed to work well and I managed improved grouping although still only about 7 out of 17 within comfortable reach of the marker @ 100 yds. This gave me some further insight into lu energy – plus it confirmed how important it is to maintain the feeling of the top of the head floating upward in line with the spine while turning about the centre using the waist/hips. Interesting how the Tai Chi approach helps to identify problems in golf and then to sort them out – excellent!
There is quite a resurgance of interest at the moment about Mindfulness – something at the heart of Tai Chi – so I have put a few thoughts together in a short article – click here to download.
In much the same way I keep coming across issues of bad backs – so a few simple thoughts on “Tai Chi for a Good Back” may be of interest.
Like probably all Tai Chi instructors I have been teaching a lot of people who are completely new to Tai Chi – and I have come to recognise that often the “newness” of the experience can be quite mysterious to people – so I have put a few guidance notes on the main website in the hope that they will be helpful for those just starting – click here for notes.
I am delighted that we are now holding a daytime beginners class at The Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living as part of their Community Program - which also includes Group singing and Latino dance.
The Tai Chi class is on Monday mornings at 11.30 to 12.30 when we do some gentle exercises aimed at improving balance and mobility – and generally enjoy the community environment of the centre - for me at least this includes the now re-opened “Rosehill Cafe” which provides lovely food, excellent drinks - and banter if you are lucky!
Click here for more information
I’ve done quite a bit of work recently teaching Tai Chi as a falls prevention program, with some brilliant feedback – but it has got me thinking a lot about the wider aspects of the subject and led me to produce a whitepaper on the considerations of setting up a Tai Chi based falls prevention program – the whitepaper is available on the main website along with examples of the feedback.
I suppose the main point that I noticed is that if one tries to focus on those epeople known to be at risk of falls – eg over 60 yrs old , then there is a huge variation in capabliity and it requires a greatly increased level of input. Ideally therefore I suggest that one should start one’s program earlier say at 50+ when people still have a significant capability and another 10 years to learn the skills involved in the Tai Chi approach before their risk of falls becomes critical. This would truely be a falls prevention program – although it would probably be more appropriate to call it something like “balance and mobility for the over 50s”.
Anyone looking to set up such a program can contact me to discuss.
I am delighted that The Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living have managed to arrange a measured trial of Tai Chi classes to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi related exercises on balance and by extension on the likely risk of falls. Quality of life, longevity and cost to health career stakeholders are all major issues. The trial covers June into September – I look forward to the classes and seeing the outcome. This is based on a previous very well received 8 week trial coupled to Moving Mindfully classes run by Judy Hammond.
Building on my work with the Letchworth centre for Healthy Living I will be running classes in Shefford for people approaching their 60′s and for those already in their 60′s or older – these classes will cover Tai Chi exercises aimed at improving balance and mobility – simple, gentle exercise suitable for those feeling vulnerable to falls with a view to reducing the risk of falls in later life.
I’ve just tried the Wii fit – Wii fit age 46 – real age 59. I suspect it’s the Tai Chi practice!
