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Your first lesson If you have never been to the school before, or
have never attended a Tai Chi classes, then this is for
you. Often people hear about Tai Chi for years before
they finally take a class. Nobody is that clear at first what Tai Chi
is all about. But you are going to have a go. Groups are made up of beginners like yourself and others who have trained for a while. Naturally you will feel that everyone else knows what is going on. They don’t ! If you have any concerns about your fitness level or general state of health, then do talk with your doctor first. Dress code at the school is informal, you need to wear something which will not restrict your movement. Loose and comfortable. Something on your feet, trainers, plimsoles. Every class is made up of some instruction and some practice. Generally the class will begin with warming up exercises, to prepare your body for the Tai Chi form ahead. A warm up will generally take about ten minutes and will cover all major joints and muscle groups in the body. The structure of the training at the Bristol School of Tai Chi is divided into the following four types of classes:-
In general new students can start join any of the Tai Chi basics classes at any time during the term. The terms start in January, just after Easter and after the Summer holidays. If you would like to visit a class and just watch then please give us a call and we can make the arrangements. Whilst performing the movements of Tai Chi it is worth noting and observing the following points.
With practice these points will become second nature. Chen style is the oldest of the many styles of Taijiquan in existence today. It is very different in appearance from other more widely known styles, being characterised by its' combination of fast and slow, and soft and hard movements. Chen style practice is characterised by low, powerful stances, by supple whole-body twining and coiling movements, and by explosive releases of power termed fajing. It can be readily recognised by powerful stomping and shaking, or shuddering, motions that are mostly absent from the practice of other styles of Taijiquan. It takes its' name from the Chen family, a clan living in Chenjiagou (Chen family village)- a small farming community in Wen county, Henan province, where the art was first developed. The Xin Jia ("new" frame ) style of Chen family Taijiquan was created by Chen Fa Ke, based on the movements of the Lao Jia style (‘old frame’). Xin Jia added actions such as winding the wrists and shoulders folding the waist and chest, springing and leaping, and emphasising Chan Si Jing. These changes make Xin Jia appear more dynamic and explosive than Lao Jia. It is said that in Lao Jia, the Chan Si Jing is internal, and not shown externally. In Xin Jia, it is obviously manifested. The Xin Jia and Lao Jia systems both contain two bare hand solo routines called Yi lu ("first road") and Er lu ("second road"). This site was last updated 01/18/05 |
