We have been interfering with a complex system of relationships which we do not understand,
and the more we study its details,
the more it eludes us by revealing still more details to study.
As we try to comprehend and control the world it runs away from us.

 (Alan Watts)

Wu tze

'Wu tze' means to be 'without law and yet orderly'. It is how the Taoist sages regarded nature.
In his book 'Taoism: Way beyond seeing', Alan Watts speaks of how Western culture has adopted a mechanised approach to the perception of nature.
Nature cannot be understood and explained using a particular way, method or perspective. It just is.

Natural body use

Humans have long, powerful legs and weak arms and shoulders. This is because we are bipeds, not monkeys.
Many people pump up their arms and shoulders in order to gain a strong, manly-looking physique. Usually the motive is vanity and as such goes against nature.
We must work mainly on our buttocks and legs, not our arms and shoulders.

Balancing

Balancing is the process of moving in accord with how things are. Tai chi is all about balancing oneself.
Rather than change the world to suit your idea of it, you change how you think so that you can really see.

Strike with chaos.
 
 (Sun Tzu)

Start of the Training Year meal

Natural

Tai chi aims to return the human body to state of natural suppleness and mobility we started life with.
Through careful exercise and an increased degree of awareness, students learn to move in a new way. They cease to be clumsy. Awkward positions such as hunching over feel to be unpleasant and 'wrong'.

A lifetime

Rather than thinking of the short-term, why not acknowledge the fact that you will be using your body for the rest of your life?

Tai chi was designed with this in mind. It keeps you mobile, alert, coordinated, strong, fit and healthy. The sooner you begin, the longer you will benefit and the better you will get at tai chi.

A few other guys were watching a teacher of taijiquan. Never had I witnessed such deceptive power. He performed the art with enormous dignity and force, and I realised I was seeing something which, although I could not understand, I had to respect. Mr Wang was at least fifty, and probably older. His power was fantastic.

 I once asked Nakayama if he thought karate was the best of the unarmed fighting arts. He answered that he thought it was. In that case, I countered, what about taijiquan? Nakayama sensei laughed, and with a smile he said, "For human beings, karate is the best way. But there are some men who are superhuman, and perhaps a few of the taijiquan sensei are just that."

 (C W Nicol)

Thinking long-term

Tai chi training is like saving £1 a day. It does not sound like much but in a year you have £365. In three years you have saved over £1000.

What if you saved £5 a day?
Although the exercise is moderate, it is effective. The results are consistent, gradual and on-going. There are no set-backs or injuries.

In the Western world, we seek the answers to life with our rational minds, using science and technology to gather information and to adapt the environment so that it suits us.
The other creatures of the world are at one with nature.
Instead of seeking to adapt the universe to suit them, they live in harmony with their surroundings.
(John Lash)

Spontaneous

A cat can go from complete passivity to combat readiness instantaneously. It does not tense muscles and prepare. It just moves.
The cat does not psyche itself up, rock, dither or demonstrate any of the characteristics you often see demonstrated by human fighters.
Only a skilled student tends to move smoothly and calmly in response to threat. Beginners are jerky and tense.

The difference between experienced fighters and beginners is the speed of muscle relaxation, which is 8 times faster in champion fighters. For an inexperienced fighter, the speed of muscle relaxation is too slow for the leg or the fist to gain enough speed when striking a blow. Keeping the antagonistic muscles contracted automatically slows down the movement.

 (Frederic Delavier)

The world has music for those who listen.
(William Shakespeare)

Most people come to our classes because they are seeking to learn tai chi properly and recognise that this is by far the best tai chi in the North East.
(Patricia)

Invest in your wellbeing

The benefits of tai chi are medically proven and long-lasting:

1. Chill out and have a laugh
2. Acquire a more light-hearted way of looking at life
3. Cultivate an unusual form of strength
4. Boost energy
5. Increased brain activity
6. Make friends
7. Stay calm
8. Develop your memory skills
9. Mindfulness
10. Better focus/concentration
11. Improved joint function
12. Feel balanced
13. Increased stamina and endurance
14. Release deeply-held muscular tension
15. Improved circulation
16. Meditation & awareness
17. Increased flexibility
18. Coordination
19. Learn to relax naturally
20. Improved poise and posture
21. Avoid strain, exertion and exaggeration
22. 'Motor learning' - how we use our bodies, the way in which we move, the processes involved
23. Age with dignity and grace

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

(William Butler Yeats)

Agile & responsive

Have you ever watched how a cat responds to perceived danger? The entire body moves as one, drawing away from the threat, coiling and expanding.
This is akin to the amoeba-like movement students acquire from reeling silk exercises if they take their training far enough. The cat evades and counters without hesitation or doubt. It moves.

What is natural order?

Natural order is the Way things are when nobody interferes. Before human society developed, the universe existed. When humans are long gone, the universe will continue.
There is a harmony to existence, and humans are yet to live in balance with everything else.

Not all tai chi is equal. Just as there are different models of cars, makes of computers and universities of varying calibres, so too are there different kinds of tai chi.

(Bruce Frantzis)

We had been wanting to start a martial arts class for a while and finally found Newcastle Tai Chi and figured we'd give it a go. Our only grievance is that we didn't find it sooner!
 Honestly one of the most informative, realistic and enjoyable classes I've ever been to. Most self-defence or martial-arts classes focus on patterns & sequences. In teaching Tai Chi, Sifu Waller understands and acknowledges that real life isn't like that - you don't patiently wait to get hit in the face before returning fire! Nor are fights purely about strength; with aspects of the syllabus requiring reading and completing (short) written assignments you get both a full body, and mind workout in one. The accompanying website is an absolute goldmine of information (both for the class and for general day-to-day living).
 Very friendly and welcoming, can't recommend them enough.

 (Alex)