We teach Yang-style Tai-Chi, which is a popular traditional form of Tai-Chi: the form most commonly shown on tv with people in parks in China. Our school is the Yang-Ming-Shi School of Tai Chi. Although most people associate tai chi only with slow, gentle movement and healthy exercise, it is a very effective martial art. We only teach tai chi to adults (over 18s), mostly because children tend not to have the patience for the slow movements.
However, slow controlled movement is quite difficult and is very good for building long-term health and fitness. Tai Chi is a very old and effective martial art, though most people nowadays practice it purely for the health benefits, of which there are many.
We focus on breathing exercises from a system called Ba Duan Jin, with each breathing exercise focusing on different parts of the body and different types of breathing.
We then focus on teaching Tai Chi forms, with the main form we teach being the Yang-style Short Form. This is the most widely practiced Tai Chi form in China. Although it is the “Short Form”, it takes between six and twelve minutes to execute, and takes up to a year to learn the movements. We teach it in sections in a structured manner, so students start to get the benefit of the form very early.
We also teach supplementary forms, including a form that can entirely be done while standing in one spot, or even while seated.
While we do focus on the health benefits of Tai Chi, we do explain and demonstrate some of the applications of the movements, and it is very clear to students how effective Tai Chi can really be.
Stamullen Martial Arts 