Humans are violent because other people conflict with their desires.
Sometimes they are simply bored.
This is very different to 'nature violence'.

In nature, violence is not the consequence of boredom or petulance.
Survival prompts the violence, rather than thought.

How do you know if you are doing it correctly?

It works.
It feels easy.
It is very effective.
The attacker should be incapable of mounting an effective counter-attack.

People follow conventions because they are familiar. They see no need to 're-invent the wheel'.
However, not everything we have in modern society is viable.
Look around you.

The legal system, education, politics... does any of it really work? Be honest.
Computers are useful. But are they really all that good? Have we achieved the paperless office?
Do they really save us any time?

There may be an accepted way of doing things, but that is not the only way.
If you are smart, you will consider the nature, character, purpose, essence of what you are undertaking.
You will re-assess its validity.
Explore options, variables, alternatives. Adapt, change, improvise.
Take nothing for granted. Re-invent the wheel. Only this time, improve it.

Valentine's Day

Many aspects of modern life are warped.
The original meaning and purpose has been lost and only a parody remains.
People merely 'go through the motions' and the sincerity is forgotten...

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is for boring people who have no imagination.

Instead of making your day-to-day relationship fun and vibrant, you go through the motions once a year with a meal, flowers, a teddy bear and chocolate.
Yawn...

Is this truly how much you think of your loved one?
You are only prepared to show them token affection?

Our lives are based on certain assumptions. We take things for granted without proof. We treat things as a given.
Ideas such as 'religion' and 'monarchy' are widely accepted. And unchallenged.

There is a certain arrogance implicit within an assumption; the idea is treated as reality, regardless of fact.
People often believe that they have a right to do things a certain way. They assume authority.

They sometimes think that their way is the only way to do things.
Consider 'Windows' on your computer...
There are different ways to open and close a window. Different ways to save data.
Each of these methods is equally valid.
We cannot assert that there is just one correct approach. We would be incorrect to make such an assumption.

A tradition involves the passing-down of information from one generation to the next.
The knowledge is treated as a time-honoured, unchanging standard. 
With kung fu, people have passed-down the art for centuries. But it has not remained static.
To a certain extent, it has evolved with the times.

Is this a bad thing?

Consider: if a 21st Century person was given a 16th Century martial art, would it have any real world value?
If you are honest, some aspects of the art would still be viable, but other material may be hopelessly antiquated.

Combat sets require the student to apply tai chi skills effectively.
You cannot simply use force and expect success.

The sets are ruthless in their ability to expose faults in your practice.
Only by adhering to their lessons and requirements can the student apply tai chi correctly in combat.

Yes, people are roughed up a little. People are struck. People are taken to the floor.
Martial arts cannot be practiced without physical contact taking place.
Yet, no one takes offence. No one bullies. And no one is embarrassed, hurt or made to feel useless.

The mood of the class is one of fun and exploration.

Instead of strutting around pretending to be Bruce Lee, our students are like scientists; amazed by how the art enables them to evade and counter with such seeming ease.

The simplicity and the wider implications of the kung fu cause wonder, not fear.

Students should appreciate their true relationship with tai chi.
The art is manifested by you.
Hence, the quality of the art is your responsibility.

You cannot expect amazing skills when your body has not been trained, conditioned and honed.
Only you can do the work.
We offer the material and the practice partners, but you must make the effort.

How can the tai chi be anything other than what you make it?

You cannot force progress in kung fu. To even try is self-defeating. 
Remember what you can. Practice as little or as often as you want to. Decide for yourself.
Let it unfold as it will.

Give up trying to master anything. Drop the images and fantasies you harbour.
Perfection is a condition of untouched naturalness. 
It cannot be achieved through any form of trying or doing. 
Let-go of your ambitions and relax.

Students are taught according to their ability to understand.

If the advanced level of practice were offered to a student of a lesser grade, it would be entirely meaningless and confusing.
The student lacks the cognitive skills and the physical awareness and sensitivity to understand what they are being shown.

Therefore, students are shown what is necessary. They are offered a pared-down, crude outline of the real thing.
As the student proceeds through the grades, they unlearn, dismantle, reconsider...
The material slowly becomes more accurate and internal.

The danger lies in quitting at any point during this learning process, for the student leaves with what they have learned to date and mistakenly believes this to be the end product,

We were working on the psoas muscle around 2005 after my Pilates teacher had introduced me to the work of Liz Koch.
It had a passing relevance to the kung fu but was overall just something of interest rather than a key element.

Years later, I was told that an ex-student (a beginner) of that time was now teaching tai chi and that his website predominantly mentioned psoas and Liz Koch.

There is an Indian folk tale about six blind men inspecting an elephant:

The first man encounters the side of the animal and believes it to be a wall.
The second man imagines the tusk to be a spear.
The third man thinks that the trunk is a snake.
The fourth man considers the leg to be a tree.
The fifth man feels an ear and believes it to be a fan.
The sixth man finds the tail and is certain it is a rope.

This ex-student appears to have based his understanding of tai chi on those few lessons from 2005.
Unfortunately, he still thinks that the tusk is a spear and does not yet see the elephant.

What is pain? Surely pain is a warning. Pain is your body suffering damage.
In kung fu you do not ignore your body and impose force.
If you are in pain, you are doing something incorrectly.

If you damage your body through exercise, you may have to live with it for the rest of your life.

The slogan 'no pain, no gain' is often used in conjunction with exercise.
Being healthy sounds like an ordeal.
But not everybody wants to sweat and strain their way to fitness.

A beginner must set aside conceit, competition and violence.
You focus upon play. You lighten-up. You realise that the class is a fun place to be.
You cease to be fearful and uptight. You begin to let-go and relax. You start to behave more like yourself.

This process of letting-go usually takes people a few weeks. 

We believe that self defence should be taught in an environment of fun and mutual respect.
People are more likely to be laughing than wincing in pain. They are too busy enjoying the cleverness of taoism and kung fu.

Nobody is paying to get beaten up.