Delusional

People love to show off their tattoos.
Why? Did they design them? Did they ink them?
Unlikely.
They simply purchased them.
The artist may deserve credit, but not the consumer.

The same would be true if you bought a 'prestige car' - did you design it? Build it?

Commodity culture

We live in a world where people are used to buying things.
If you want a tattoo, you pay someone to ink it for you.
If you want a flashy car, you go out and buy one.

The drawback with this is that people mistakenly believe that buying something means more than it does...

A balanced approach?

For many people, their fitness regime does not take into account agility, mobility, relaxed spontaneous movement, balance, ambidextrous body use, joint health, coordination, emotional wellbeing or psychological flexibility.
Often, injuries arise and bodies are pushed too hard.


Taijiquan is not like this.

How much does Sifu Waller train?

Sifu Waller trains over 2 hours a day of taijiquan, baguazhang & qigong, 365 days a year. He has been practicing since 1975.

Monday - balls & grips, massage, ba duan jin, leg stretches (set 1), psoas exercises, sword forms (2), Long Yang (empty form) (regular & mirrored), pao chui form (regular & mirrored), small san sau (regular & mirrored), silk arms (regular & mirrored), pre-emptive methods (regular & mirrored), knife drills (regular & mirrored), small stick drills (regular & mirrored), pushing peng exercise, chin na applications (solo), sealing the breath (solo), 3-tier wallbag, mother palms, baguazhang palm changes (regular & mirrored), Taoist Yoga (set 1, 2 or 3), constructive rest - ideally two to three times a day, reading, walking or cycling

Tuesday - balls & grips, massage, reeling silk exercises, leg stretches (set 2), sword forms (2), Long Yang (empty form) (regular & mirrored), pao chui form (regular & mirrored), small san sau (regular & mirrored), silk arms (regular & mirrored), pre-emptive methods (regular & mirrored), knife drills (regular & mirrored), small stick drills (regular & mirrored), double pushing hands (solo), chin na applications (solo), dividing the muscle (solo), 3-tier wallbag, direction changes, baguazhang palm changes (regular & mirrored), cardio work (set 1), weight training (set 1), Taoist Yoga (set 1, 2 or 3), constructive rest - ideally two to three times a day, reading, walking or cycling

Wednesday - balls & grips, massage, moving qigong, leg stretches (set 1), core strength (set 1), stick drills (set 1), stick forms (3), Long Yang (empty form) (regular & mirrored), pao chui form (regular & mirrored), small san sau (regular & mirrored), silk arms (regular & mirrored), pre-emptive methods (regular & mirrored), knife drills (regular & mirrored), small stick drills (regular & mirrored), da lu (solo), chin na applications (solo), cavity press (solo), 3-tier wallbag, circle walking, baguazhang palm changes (regular & mirrored), Taoist Yoga (set 1, 2 or 3), constructive rest - ideally two to three times a day, reading, walking or cycling

Thursday - balls & grips, massage, stretches & joint work, leg stretches (set 2), stick drills (set 2), sword forms (2), Long Yang (empty form) (regular & mirrored), pao chui form (regular & mirrored), small san sau (regular & mirrored), silk arms (regular & mirrored), pre-emptive methods (regular & mirrored), knife drills (regular & mirrored), small stick drills (regular & mirrored), penetrating defences, shuai jiao applications (solo), sealing the breath (solo), 3-tier wallbag, figure of 8, baguazhang palm changes (regular & mirrored), cardio work (set 2), weight training (set 2), Taoist Yoga (set 1, 2 or 3), constructive rest - ideally two to three times a day, reading, walking or cycling

Friday - balls & grips, massage, ba duan jin, leg stretches (set 1), core strength (set 2), stick drills (set 3), stick forms (3), Long Yang (empty form) (regular & mirrored), pao chui form (regular & mirrored), small san sau (regular & mirrored), silk arms (regular & mirrored), pre-emptive methods (regular & mirrored), knife drills (regular & mirrored), small stick drills (regular & mirrored), reflex drills, shuai jiao applications (solo), dividing the muscle (solo), 3-tier wallbag, 9 palaces, baguazhang palm changes (regular & mirrored), Taoist Yoga (set 1, 2 or 3), constructive rest - ideally two to three times a day, reading, walking or cycling

Saturday - balls & grips, massage, reeling silk exercises, leg stretches (set 2), sword drills, sword forms (2), Long Yang (empty form) (regular & mirrored), pao chui form (regular & mirrored), small san sau (regular & mirrored), silk arms (regular & mirrored), pre-emptive methods (regular & mirrored), knife drills (regular & mirrored), small stick drills (regular & mirrored), double pushing hands (solo), shuai jiao applications (solo), cavity press (solo), 3-tier wallbag, baguazhang palm changes (regular & mirrored), cardio work (set 1 or 2), weight training (set 3), Taoist Yoga (set 1, 2 or 3), constructive rest - ideally two to three times a day, reading, walking or cycling

Sunday - balls & grips, massage, moving qigong, leg stretches (set 1), core strength (set 3), stick forms (3),Long Yang (empty form) (regular & mirrored), pao chui form (regular & mirrored), small san sau (regular & mirrored), silk arms (regular & mirrored), pre-emptive methods (regular & mirrored), knife drills (regular & mirrored), small stick drills (regular & mirrored), da lu (solo), shuai jiao applications (solo), dividing the muscle (solo), 3-tier wallbag, baguazhang palm changes (regular & mirrored), Taoist Yoga (set 1, 2 or 3), constructive rest - ideally two to three times a day, reading, walking or cycling

Sifu Waller also trains partner work with his wife Rachel (that's me).

We are checking our smartphones on average 221 times a day. Recent research found that 80 percent of millennials look at their phones upon waking; this addiction is a strong one. As a result, our cognitive processing has become shallower and we have become so distracted that we play directly into the hands of the autopilot. Digital devices are the modern day equivalent of tranquillisers. They instil a trance-like state almost immediately as they are anchors for our subconscious to take over. 

 (Chris Barez-Brown)