Tai Chi

AL][EN

Hey I'm looking for anywhere in dublin where i can get information, books, video's etc. (or at best) find classes for Tai Chi. im going to put aside the fact for the moment that you can use it for self defence thats not what im interested in for the moment ive been doing some googling on the internet read up allot about it and it looks very interesting.

Any help would be grateful
Thanks.

Puck

I've been doing Yang style taiji now for about 5 or 6 months. The great thing about taiji in my opinion (and this is especially true if you find a good down-to-earth teacher) is that you can take from it whatever you want. In my class there are older people who need light excercise and stretching and taiji is excellent for that; there are also people who need relief from stress and taiji, with it's slow movements and deep breathing is excellent for that; there are also new-agey sorts who believe that there is some spiritual or mystical cause for taiji's benefits and... well I'll keep an open mind I guess but I think that the benefits can be explained more rationally. And there's me - taiji has strengthened my previously week and frequently ill lungs, it has greatly improved my balance, flexibility and stability (which helps my karate a great deal), it de-stresses me (though I'm fairly relaxed anyway) and has helped turn me from a clumsy person into a fairly well co-ordinated one. My teacher is also my karate teacher and he shows me some of the martial applications of taiji, which are pretty nifty. So I'd definately recommend you try it.

Sorry... I've rambled on for a bit. I'm afraid my class is in Clonmel and not Dublin, however I was introduced to taiji by reading a book I bought on impulse. The book is called "The Dao of Taijiquan: Way to Rejuvenation" by Jou, Tsung Hwa and has been described as the "Taiji Bible" and I'd agree with that description because it's an excellent source of information. However the only drawback I'd see about the book is that the diagrams are quite poor if you're hoping to learn the taiji forms from them. They can be a useful memory aid to you if you are learning the form from a teacher. To get good diagrams of the form you have to first decide what form and style of taiji you are doing so books with those diagrams would be best bought after you start taking classes.

AL][EN

Thanks Puck well its a start anyway I'm greatful, ideally i'd like classroom based lessons but in the absence of a good tai chi teacher i'll go for the book i'll keep my eye out around town for that book

the reason i want to start Tai chi is exactly for the reasons you listed i doubt there's any spiritual or mystical abilities to it i mean i dont see myself being able to flip cars with my mind or being beaten with large planks of wood and not feel a thing, i'll admit im lazy unhealthy and unfit i need a bit of focus in my life and i reckon tai chi is the way to go.

from what i've read online what you described happened to you also happened to other people doing the matrial art so its something id look forward to

again thx for the info i'll keep my eye out for that book.

Puck

Just another bit of advice - I used that book to learn about taiji, not to learn the movements though. Learning the form on your own, especially from a book and even more especially from that book would be extremely difficult if not impossible.

Oh and I've never really tried another style but Yang style is supposed to be the most common and the easiest to learn. Just in case you're trying to decide which style to do.

luckat

If people are still looking, try www.dengtaichi.com. Classes by Master Deng in Blackrock, Rathfarnham, Terenure, Synge Street, maybe more, on various nights of the week. For tough guys, Master Deng also does a Saturday morning class in martial arts type Tai Chi. The classes also include acupressure points and so on.

There's a three-DVD set that's highly recommended by various people: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005QB8Q/qid=1107627673/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_11_2/202-1211965-9616640

Cousin it

YMAA ireland do some in Newpark on a tuesday I think

Gyck

YMAA ireland do some in Newpark on a tuesday I think

Yes, they do, from 7.00pm to 8.30pm, followed by pushing hands for a further hour. Check out the YMAA site or info@ymaa.ie for details.

Millionaire

is there any combat orientated tai chi?

pwd

marshall ho'o's book and video are also recommended. they teach the whole short form. I bought this howvere unfortunaely the bvideo did not work for me and it is difficult to understand exactly how the exercises are done from the book alone, dispite plety of photos. the video mayhave been in american format, my player only works with PAL ones.

edit: Thanks just ordered a copy of that dvd set. it looks excellent.

pwd

Millionaire wrote:

is there any combat orientated tai chi?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000BV1JX/ref=pd_sim_d_dp_1/202-2279365-3566249

looks interesting. maybe post a thread on how you find it if you decide to buy it.

Gyck

is there any combat orientated tai chi?

YMAA teach Tai Chi with a focus on it’s martial applications. I've not seen it applied in a fighting situation, but I can certainly see how applications could work.

bambam

I've been learning Wu Style (short, now long form) with Tai Chi Ireland for over a year now and can heartily recommend it. Our teacher is a guy called Jan Golden. Cool bloke with a great passion/knowledge of Tai Chi. He runs courses in Baggot Street & Rathmines. He also teaches Bagua and Chi Gung if you're interested.
He was taught by Bruce Frantzis and John Ding. BTW If you're after a good book try Frantzis' book 'The big book of Tai Chi'. You'll find it in most book stores in Town.

Jan Golden - http://www.taichi-ireland.com/taichi.html
Bruce Frantzis - http://www.energyarts.com/ . His book is advertised there.

pma-ire

Ya! John Ding is Cool :cool:

Puck

pwd wrote:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000BV1JX/ref=pd_sim_d_dp_1/202-2279365-3566249

looks interesting. maybe post a thread on how you find it if you decide to buy it.

I have this DVD. It's ****, don't bother with it.

That's about the most effort I'm prepared to put into a review of this DVD, it doesn't deserve any more in my opinion.

Dyr

some of the lads i train with do CMA and they highly rate a chinese tai chi dude who teaches in Trinity.

Clive

John Ding, if he knows anything about fighting, certainly doesn't show it in demonstrations, and his students don't seem to know it either. They can't even seem to stand up straight when he gets anywhere near them.

Plenty of t'ai chi fighters take part in MMA and/or sanshou events.
Neil Rosiak and Semi Berick in England, Irishmen Niall Keane and Paul Mitchell (retired from comps I think) and plenty others.

john kavanagh

Plenty of t'ai chi fighters take part in MMA...

be cool to see some in RoT3

pwd

got that first dvd and it seems good, even if the introduiction is a little offputting.
My right leg is maybe an inch longer than my left. This seems to make it harder for me to maintain the tai chi postures without flexing muscles, and to stay correctly balanced during the exercises.
Does anybody do tai chi who has legs of uneven lengths? Did they find this to be an obstacle and if so how did they overcome it?

luckat

Master Deng Er Li (dengtaichi.com) teaches combat form on Saturday mornings, and non-combat on various evenings and one morning. He also teaches a Chinese medicine class once a month.

By the way, take a look at the Dublin Libraries catalogue http://www.iol.ie/dublincitylibrary/catalogue_frame.htm - they seem to have about a million books on tai chi. They'll often order stuff, too; I was thinking of asking them to get a couple of good tai chi videos. Maybe this: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1583500197/102-2092786-8675342?v=glance

I like Bill Douglas's DVD, and he also has a good book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Tai Chi...

dave107

Just wondering dose anybody know of any TAI CHI clubs, or lessons Dublin North side ?

Dyr

try 7 topics down, similar question- numerous replies :eek:

spiral

www.whitemountain-tao.com

www.taichichuan.co.uk

http://www.atlascomputers.ie/taichi/

All worth checking out if your serious about being able to use tai chi to defend yourself.


www.fightingtaichi.com
has some great clips as well.

dave107

Cheers Bambi will check it out

pma-ire

spiral wrote:

www.whitemountain-tao.com

www.taichichuan.co.uk

http://www.atlascomputers.ie/taichi/

All worth checking out if your serious about being able to use tai chi to defend yourself.


www.fightingtaichi.com
has some great clips as well.

interesting links there sprial especially the fighting tai chi one

memphis

Mods, why not merge this thread with the thread above of the same title name?

Just a suggestion, thats all!!

luckat

The video clips wouldn't play for me, drat it. The page's maker said it might be because I'm using a Mac and they're for Windows Media Player, but I watch Windows Media Player stuff all the time using the Mac version.

What a pity - it would be nice to have video clips of things like Cloud Hands and Catching the Bird by the Tail so I could see in slow motion how the hands and feet are disposed exactly.

luckat

www.dengtaichi.com - classes in Glasnevin, among other places.

luckat

Tried playing the fightingtaichi on a PC now, and it wouldn't work either.

pma-ire

luckat wrote:

The video clips wouldn't play for me, drat it. The page's maker said it might be because I'm using a Mac and they're for Windows Media Player, but I watch Windows Media Player stuff all the time using the Mac version.

I have a Mac and it played no probs?

But I have found that some WMP movies don't play for me. Not this one though?

spiral

try right clicking and saving as .wmv files on your pc instead of playing them straight away.

pma-ire

spiral wrote:

try right clicking and saving as .wmv files on your pc instead of playing them straight away.

Macs don't have right clicks

click and drag might work