Every class begins with a sequence of movements aimed at loosening, opening and warming up the body. This is a time to look inward, feel each joint, muscle and tendon, notice the creaks, any tightness, any soreness or issues that your body is bringing to your attention. Letting the mind focus on the body, we develop better awareness of our physical being.

We take a few minutes in each class to practice Qigong. This helps us to settle into our bodies, regulate our breathing, calm our thoughts. It is a meditation on breath, aligned with gentle movement, giving us time to draw our focus in, bringing our attention to our own state of being. It helps clear our minds to learn Tai Chi…

Qigong is also offered as a class of its own. It is a great meditation without the challenges in learning Tai Chi. It’s wonderful to feel the clarity of a relaxed mind.

After warmups and Qigong, this section of the class is devoted to learning Tai Chi so we will practice last week’s movements, a form, learn details and whole new moves or a drill from the form.

Feet first, then arms and upper body, the combination of these and then we add this complete movement to the sequence. We will spend some time with the martial application of the movement - intent is everything and the meaning helps us understand where and how to perform each movement.

We have two options for cooling down…

My preferred method is to sit down on the floor and stretch. there’s nothing better for increasing flexibility (and reducing muscle fatigue the following day) than a good stretch of warmed muscles.

The second is patting. This is a sequence of patting the body all over in an ordered pattern to stimulate the fascia and invigorate the flow of fluids in our circulatory systems.

Wudang Bamboo Form

Wudang Drills

Yin Water Form

Wudang 28

Wudang 9

Tai He Quan

Wudang Hun Yuan Qigong

Dao Yin Qigong

Swimming Dragon Qigong

Ha Ha Gong

Fu Chen Feng

Wudang Zhang San Feng Sword

Ten Form

Beijing 24

42 International Competition Routine

32 Sword

42 Competition Sword