Fitness, Flexibility, Mindfulness, Relaxation, Self Defence, Swords AND Tea? There’s more to Tai Chi than just waving your arms around
Dragon River Tai Chi Chuan
Chen style classes in Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire
Fitness – OK, you’re not running a marathon, but Chen style Tai Chi is more than just waving your arms around. If you want to take it easy, you can, but if you want to get a bit of a glow on, you can do that too.
Flexibility – There’s an emphasis on loosening the joints – letting go of tightness to be able to move more easily.
Mindfulness – Tai Chi is all about becoming more aware of your body and what it’s doing, improving balance, posture, and being in the moment.
Relaxation – You might come in stressed, but be concentrating so much you suddenly realise you’re now relaxed. We do the odd meditation too.
Self Defence – Most don’t come to learn the martial art side, but almost everyone enjoys the occaisional 20 minutes playing with classmates, and the safe, slow drills exploring what the movements were originally used for. It’s not compulsory though, if that really isn’t your thing.
Swords – To be fair, they’re mainly wooden, and we don’t get them out often. Weapons serve functions like improving wrist and arm strength, nimble footwork, spatial awareness and co-ordination, and most importantly, you get to wave swords around!
Tea – Yes – remember you’re British! Almost all classes stop for a brew and a chat at half time.
Current Classes
Regular sessions in Mansfield, Daybrook and Alfreton – daytime and evenings, all with an emphasis on enjoying learning and exploring the variety of different activities that makes up Chen style Tai Chi Chuan.
Upcoming Events
The next weekend sword session:
Date & Time: Sunday 28th April, 2-4pm
Location: Mansfield St Peter’s Centre, NG18 1AP
Cost: £15 (includes tea and lots of ‘One more times’)
And here’s a taster of what you’ll be missing if you can’t get https://youtu.be/W0eIzAveBrk
One of the Chen style short forms
What Tai Chi isn’t – just so you know
• Mystical and Esoteric – at least not my classes. Everything we do is explained in practical terms and basic mechanics – no magic or woo here!
• Simple – well, the basic ideas are simple, but there’s a lot more to learn if you want to
• Something you can learn in a weekend – Tai Chi is something you can keep improving throughout your life
• Overly serious and po faced – Some classes are very serious and formal, but it’s not really my style
• Just about waving your arms about – There’s MUCH more to Tai Chi than just striking a mystical pose on the beach – although that’s definitely one of the benefits!
But overall,
You’ll meet a lovely bunch of interesting people who have a similar sense of curiosity and sense of humour, it’s fun to learn and practice, and since I started this journey, I can honestly say I always feel better after a training session, no matter how tired, stressed, or generally rough I felt beforehand. Hopefully you will too!
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Dragon River Tai Chi Chuan 