Taiji Quan

The full name of this incredibly rare style (only taught by a handful of practitioners in the UK) is ‘Old Yang Style Taiji Quan’, but it is also referred to as ‘Old Wu Style Taiji Quan’.

It traces it’s origins back to feudal China, when it’s founder Yang Luchan moved to Beijing in search of employment as a martial arts instructor, and was given the position of teacher of the Imperial Guards and the Court, by the powerful Wu family.

This form is a fluid movement meditation, providing restorative and gentle exercise, allowing you the time to hone the subtleties of every movement, from breath work, to complex energy patterns, and physical coordination.

The form extends into Tui Shou, or Push-Hands, where you learn to apply the techniques to a resisting partner in a contained environment, whilst developing key physical and psychological attributes of sensitivity and responsiveness.

This style reflects it’s early period of development in the open training grounds of the Imperial Court, which led towards more emphasis on striking, and simpler locks (qin’na) and throws than in later styles.