Push Hand Workshop April 2006.


Beginners 5 Element Workshop April 2006.


At the Houghton Vineyard.


Doing some wine tasting.


Enjoying a home-cooked meal by Grandmaster Zhu.


Click here to view a short snippet of the Workshop - Enjoy! Please be patient as it takes a while to load.

THANK YOU!

A deep thank you to all who have attended the Workshop and Push Hand course. For those who have not been able to attend, we do hope to see you next year.

What a whirlwind round of training it has been! It has been a very tough training for some! But our teacher, Grandmaster Zhu has commented that he is impressed and happy that everyone has stuck it out so well and with so much spirit despite the intensity of the training sessions. Don't stop. Keep up the practice as it will resolve all the muscle cramps and aches, painful as it may be.

We hope that everyone has enjoyed the training with Grandmaster Zhu and have gained a deeper insight into Taijiquan.

2007 SEMINAR/WORKSHOP

Grandmaster Zhu is pleased with the spirit that everyone has displayed and has told us that he wants to teach the Taiji San Shou or 42 Fa Jing next year. That is going to be pretty intense as you will have to execute explosive bursts of force 42 times!

So, for his intended trip back here in Perth next year, we hope that we can continue to have your support.

Beginners Program

The goal is to insure proper body mechanics and the maintenance of the prerequisite relaxation. This foundation level covers postural requirements known as Shen Fa, the structure of the forms which is Jia Shi and learning the routine patterns or Tao Lu.

Date : 1st - 2nd April 2006

Time : 1 - 5 pm

Venue : Queens Park Recreation Centre, Centre Street, Queens Park, Western Australia

Kindly email us for registration and confirmation.

Objective

The goal is to insure proper body mechanics and the maintenance of the prerequisite relaxation. This foundation level covers postural requirements known as Shen Fa, the structure of the forms which is Jia Shi and learning the routine patterns or Tao Lu.

We will begin with very basic, standing exercises called Zhan Zhuang to teach you Shen Fa, good body posture that is essentially the foundation of your body balance. Each movement trains you to move specific parts of your body in a more natural way. As you practice, you will be more conscious of your weight shifts, so you know how to adjust your body centering for better balance. The movements also engages all the joints in your body; shoulder joints, elbow joints, wrist joints, knee joints and ankle joints, so that you expand the range of flexibility in them. You will build up your leg strength as you will learn to hold a specific posture for an extended period of time. It requires you to build your mental concentration as you will learn to coordinate your limbs, torso and head in an optimal alignment. You will learn to relax and learn to feel the beginnings of Qi.

Building upon the standing exercises in Zhan Zhuang where you have developed initial Qi circulation, we will lead you into the next stage of learning called Chan Si Gong. This is a series of repeated, single movement patterns which is meant to develop silk reeling energy and further develop postural alignment. At this point, you will also be taught Stepping techniques called Bu Fa to train up leg power, and impart basic footwork strategies. These single patterns are graduated so that you are progressively training up each set of muscles required for the next group of movements. It is an extremely useful routine in that it eventually trains you to initiate movement and generate power naturally from your body frame and abdomen.

(III) Applying and Internalising the use of Qi and Silk Reeling energy into a Form

This the part which you been preparing yourself for. You will now be taught a specially choreographed routine by Grandmaster Zhu, called the 13 Movements which actually covers all the fundamental techniques of peng, lu, ji, an, cai, lie, zhou, kao, zhuo gu, you pan, qian jin, hou tui, and zhong ding. You will learn how to use your relaxation and breathing to integrate Qi into each movement. More fascinatingly, you will be able to actually see how the characteristic Chen style Silk Reeling technique is uniquely applied into a movement. As you practice, you will begin to understand the interplay of Internal and External forces, the contrasting fast and slow movements, and why maintaining an unbroken body line is so important. Notice the contrastive terms used, and this is what is meant by the Yin-Yang in Tai Chi!

Follow-up Training
There will be a 1-month reinforcement training session at $2 per pax for Workshop participants. Further development into the Lao Jia Yi Lu (Parts 1, 2 and 3) is also recommended which will be taught in 2-month training blocks for each section.

Click here to find out how Grandmaster Zhu fit into the history of Taijiquan.