I will be running classes in my garden in Ash Green, near Aldershot, every weekday morning in from Monday 05 June to Friday 25 August at 07:00-08:00. The idea is to give you an energy boost to start your day. To be honest, it’s also a technique for getting me up and doing my own exercise!

After learning the ‘Short’ form (after Cheng Man-ch'ing), in both right and left directions, Wutan students may progress to the ‘Long Yang’ form. Perhaps you will see it called the ‘Yang traditional form’, or the ‘Old Yang form’. We describe it as having 108 postures and this matches content you will find on-line.

Pushing hands is said to be the gateway for students to experientially understand the martial aspects of the internal martial arts (內家 nèijiā): leverage, reflex, sensitivity, timing, coordination and positioning. Pushing hands works to undo a person's natural instinct to resist force with force, teaching the body to yield to force and redirect it. Some t'ai chi schools teach push hands to complement the physical conditioning of performing solo routines. Push hands allows students to learn how to respond to external stimuli using techniques from their forms practice. Among other things, training with a partner allows a student to develop ting jing (listening power), the sensitivity to feel the direction and strength of a partner's intention. In that sense pushing hands is a contract between students to train in the defensive and offensive movement principles of their martial art: learning to generate, coordinate and deliver power to another and also how to effectively neutralize incoming forces in a safe environment.