It may be that direct experience of reality is something we are unable to achieve – equipped with a brain we spend our lives using it to filter our experience. Interestingly, it gives us the possibility of creating unreal things like visualisations, lists and labels as ways of manipulating reality.

So, for example, we use a visualisation to create a feeling, we analyse processes into lists so we don’t forget something and we label outcomes as shorthand for processes.

The danger is that we come to live in our heads constantly creating these artefacts and forget that the whole purpose was to become more connected, more real, more authentic, more real-world congruent – or whatever label you chose – the whole point is to lose the labels, lose the lists and lose the fantasies.

It is always easier to connect with the world in our heads and it can be incredibly useful to do so, but it is an illusion.

For me the goal of Tai Chi at heart is to survive and prosper in the real world – whatever that is!

I spent a very pleasant weekend recently with some friends – Andy and Denise Spragg on one of their retreats at Braziers Park Community in Oxfordshire. The retreat program spanned an introduction to Yang style ( Chen Man Ching ) with Buddhist meditation and general relaxation – in the environment of an independent community based at the old country house of Braziers Park – a wonderful experience including brilliant vegetarian food, shared with about a dozen other people of varying interest in Tai Chi, Buddhism and personal development in general.

The implication of considering the human body as a tensegrity structure is that we can now see how a force applied to one point of the structure is dispersed through the structure through specific elements – and with this in mind we can allow this process to happen – much as we regard the establishment and fluctuations of a peng pathway – instantly tracking an external force to channel it most efficiently to ground with minimal disruption to the overall structure.

For links on Tensegrity – check out:

Wikipedia
Anatomy Trains
Scholarpedia

A Tai Chi residential seminar weekend from Friday afternoon through to Sunday afternoon – an opportunity to learn, explore and develop your Tai Chi in a quiet relaxed atmosphere

Classes in Chen Laojia form, Broadsword form, Chi Kung,  Tai Chi exercises – silk reeling, Partner work and Push Hands

Open to existing students plus anyone with previous experience of Tai Chi
Class restricted to 10 people. Cost: £280 (en-suite), £250 (without en-suite)
Payment in advance. £50 deposit required. Late booking fee of £30 after 1st August. Includes tuition with full board
Venue: Belsey Bridge, Ditchingham, Bungay, Suffolk, NR35 2DZ

To book call Ian Deavin on 01462 621970 or e-mail at [email protected]

Covering exercises, spiralling movement, qigong, meditation, Tai Chi principles and Alexander principles.

The seminar will be run by myself and the excellent Judy Hammond – so participants can expect to be engaged in a fascinating mix of meditation and movement, creating inner body awareness and developing a practical and spiritual mind/body link of considerable strength.

Qigong is a basic training method of Tai Chi coupled with body spiralling, also found everywhere in the movement of dance and the natural world. Principles of Alexander Technique posture and relaxation aid in achieving good balance and relaxed easy movement – developed by Tai Chi practitioners into a way of creating powerful body centred action.

Venue: The Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living

Rosehill Hospital, Hitchin Road, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, SG6 3NA
Cost: £45 per seminar for bookings up to 1 week before the seminar. £55 after
To book contact The Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living on 01462 678804
Please wear suitable loose clothing and flat soled trainers or similar

A seminar to celebrate World Tai Chi & Chi Kung Day. To join with practitioners around the World and to share the energy of a day’s practice together

This 3 hour seminar costs £30 and will run from 2-5pm on Saturday 25th April at Shefford Community Hall, 60 High Street, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5AX.

To book contact Ian Deavin on 01462 621970
e-mail: [email protected]

After 40 years I can finally venture that the reality of martial arts practice involves close working with others to explore the relationships we have internally and those we have externally. This obviously involves studying the dynamics of conflict and it’s resolution in both internal and external situations.

The reality therefore is of physical, mental and emotional work in co-operation with others.

I recently read a piece by Osho – a Buddhist teacher ( posted by an old friend of mine – thank you Chris for the reminder ) about the way that meditation is simply “a device to make you aware of your real self” and realised that in our Tai Chi we are doing exactly the same thing, with our bodies and our minds – so explaining the close link with Buddhism.

We are seeking to release that movement which we could have if our body worked freely and naturally. This includes it’s free relationship with our mind and our emotions – where meditation is important in developing this relationship.

We then seek to optimise this free movement in a powerful and resilient way – by using Tai Chi exercises and practice to understand it’s capabilities and limitations.

It is clear from the outset that learning Tai Chi is difficult – but, in that respect and many others, very similar to a wide range of activities. Different people learn at different rates, in different ways and to varying levels of skill.

However, in any difficult project we need to address the question of “how to keep going?”

First perhaps it is important to understand why we are engaged in the project and the level of energy and other resources we are prepared to devote to it.

Second, we should continuously review our progress and in light of that then review the level of commitment we are prepared to invest in the activity.

Thirdly, we should recognise that regular frequent practice is necessary to nurture and achieve further skill.

In doing this I have found it is important to realistically assess progress and benefits as it is the positive achievements and outcomes that can provide the motivation to continue each day.

This regular frequent practice is absolutely vital in developing skill and understanding.

Recognising outcomes such as enhanced health management, improved balance and physical mobility, increased skill in partner work such as push hands or greater fluidity in movement such as in practice of forms, coupled with internal power such as expression of power  (fajin ).

On a daily basis these changes can seem imperceptible but by tracking these outcomes over the time span of our practice we can see that month to month and year to year we change positively and with the change comes greater enjoyment of our bodies and of our lives.

Thus, from daily practice we build our skill – the gentle layer upon layer creation of inherent ability we call our accumulated Kung Fu.

Our time as we reflect upon our changes and observe them occurring we naturally gravitate to practice of those things that we enjoy and find useful – in short we find a motivation to carry us through the hard work, the difficulties, the confusion – which all ultimately melt away, leaving us the fun and the rewarding experience of working with our bodies, our minds and our spirit.