I started what I would call my committed martial arts training around 20 years ago. Within those two decades are two distinct paths. After initially playing around with different kung fu and kickboxing styles, I settled on White Crane, which I trained with my old instructor. The other 'branch' of my training and teaching is … Continue reading China ’24 Blog. Part Three: Training
Category: Lifestyle
After two days of sightseeing and adjusting to the time zone and temperature in Hong Kong, it was time to venture over the border to Shenzhen. Then take the high speed train to our final destination of Ping’s new school on the outskirts of Jieyang. Filling up for morning at the very tasty breakfast buffet, … Continue reading China ’24 Blog. Part Two: Arrival in Jieyang
Mark's China Travelogue: Part 3 As students of mine will well know, it is important to sink your weight when practising tai chi. This becomes easier when training in China, as the deliciousness of the food ensures that there is more weight to sink! Like most places in China that I have been fortunate enough … Continue reading Eating, Training… and a bit (a lot) more Eating….
In the realm of qigong, a practice rooted in Chinese culture and aimed at cultivating energy and vitality, the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) form stands out as a potent and transformative exercise. Yi translates as change/transform, Jin refers to the muscles/tendons/sinews, and Jing means classic or sutra. Originating from the Shaolin temple, Yi … Continue reading The Transformative Power of Yi Jin Jing Qigong: A Journey to Inner Strength
Almost weekly I’m finding new articles online which outline the incredible benefits - and utmost importance - of being strong as we mature. I speak to my tai chi students in the 60+ age range about this quite a lot and the general consensus is that they would love to be stronger but either have … Continue reading Building Strength for the Older Student
My personal training clients will know well that I am an ardent fan of kettlebell training and the striking improvements to overall strength and fitness that you can attain with regular practice. Always a lover of the unconventional and slightly strange (hope my partner doesn’t read this!), when I first encountered the kettlebell almost two … Continue reading Three Reasons I Love Training with Kettlebells
套路 - tàolù Taolu is the pinyin romanisation of 套路. In this context 'tào' is a classifying word for anything regarding sets or collections of things, 'lù' is a journey, road, path. In English we speak of martial arts forms, sets, routines. The Japanese term 'kata' is often used also. Plato was of course the … Continue reading Tào Lù and the Platonic World of Forms
The school holidays are here and with the amazing weather here in the UK, the parks are full of families. This week just gone, I spent a day by the coast in Brighton and some of which was at a playground with climbing frames, slides, seesaws, etc… As soon as we entered the area, my … Continue reading New Blog Post: Learn How To Play!
Can’t make it to as many classes as you’d like to? Need some motivation to train and practice at home? Want to get into great shape in 2017? It’s not always easy to fit in training into a busy schedule and quite often days just slip by and you realise that since your last class … Continue reading Online Training Plans