​Hi everyone,

I hope you have enjoyed practising through the winter months and are looking forward to spring. The nature of Winter with its shorter days, cooler temperatures and how it effects our mood is coming to an end.

The spring changes from storing to growth and expansion. Through practising Martial & Energy Arts our bodies can attune and harmonise with the changing seasons, often bringing about better physical, mental & emotional health.
 
With Spring almost here, I'm pleased to announce I am ready to launch a new training course to enhance everyday practise away from class. Martial Arts is a way of life for me: a way to maintain my mental, emotional and physical health whilst remaining fit and confident that I can defend myself or my loved ones if required.

After 37 years of training and 30 years of teaching, I am still fascinated by what I learn and teach. The benefits people of all ages gain is immense and seeing people progress is what drives me each day.

However Over the last 30 years of teaching Martial Arts, I have seen many people struggle to learn and remember sequences of forms and become anxious about how to 'do' a form, set, combination or exercise. I want to change that NOW!
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We often initially focus on the external physical movements and see progress as simply doing more individual forms until eventually completing a full sequence.
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Longer sequences and sets (whole 'forms') found in all traditional Chinese Arts are indeed exciting, challenging and rewarding to learn, however what we must not lose sight of is the deeper applications and body mechanics contained more subtly within them.

I was looking for an image that shows something sinking through water, when I googled sinking and looked through the images the vast majority of them were of ships or people sinking into water. I settled with the image above of stones sinking through water which is neither a bad or a good thing, just a rather beautiful image. The practice of sinking I am writing about here is a good thing and is a very important quality required for learning Tai Chi, Qigong, Mediation and Martial Arts.

If we consider that we are made up of around 60% water and that water will always find the lowest point, it is not a huge step to then consider this within your practise and how this effects the way we feel on so many levels. Learning to sink through your body whilst standing, moving or even resting will help you let go of tension, release stress, reduce anxiety and create a much better internal environment for mind/body balance. For a Martial Artist the skill of sinking helps with grounding and establishing a strong root from which power can be sourced.
Emotions such as fear and anger can rise quickly and cause us many problems and having the skill to internally sink can help balance this upward flow.
One of the greatest gifts you receive when you learn to sink your mind through your body is the quietening of the internal dialogue that goes on in our mind. We can have anywhere between 50,000 and 80,000 thoughts a day, so it's easy to see how the constant chatter can easily clutter our minds and contribute to mental health issues, lack of focus and stress.

There will be 4 parts to this blog
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Part 1: Close eyes and meditate grasshopper
I give some background on my experiences learning meditation techniques from a young age.
Part 2: Getting out of our heads
This will focus on awareness of posture and gradually not forcibly letting go from the crown of your head down.
Part 3: Opening up
As you release what is bound you can open up the body to allow sinking to occur.
Part 4: Be like water my friend
Water, gravity plus the water element within traditional Chinese Medicine and its relationship with our kidneys

As an 8 year old boy I was first exposed to meditative practises in Kempo Karate classes. At the beginning and end of each class we would sit in a kneeling position known as 'Seiza' on a hard wooden floor. Once in position we were told abruptly to 'close eyes and meditate!'. I found this process difficult as the hard wooden floors and posture was uncomfortable for me at first. As a young boy I didn't even know what mediation was, it wasn't really part of my culture or talked about in my family. So I asked a senior grade, 'what is meditation?'.  He replied 'It's about clearing your mind'. To me at that age, the very notion of closing eyes and clearing your mind was pretty out there. 

The instructions were 'Mokuso' ('close eyes - meditate') and 'Akete' ('open eyes') and that was it! However after a while I began to understand a little bit more about what these instructions meant and what happened in between them. The first challenge was learning to deal with the uncomfortable feeling within my body and the awkward silence that occurred during the practise. Learning to align my posture better made the process easier to maintain - if I felt more comfortable I could then begin to focus on my mind.

I learned that there was an energetic centre within us all and if we focused on it we could become more powerful, attain clarity and be able to achieve great things. As a young boy impressed with the displays of power within the martial arts, this was appealing - so I set out to understand this practise and apply it to my own Martial Arts training - who dosen't want to feel more powerful? Bits of the jigsaw began to become a little clearer as I learnt various breathing techniques that encouraged me to focus on the belly and how it moved in and out with each light or heavy breath. Learning these breathing techniques helped me sustain the intense physical workouts and hard discipline that came with the classes in my early days. When you're told to face the wall for half and hour because you are not allowed to view the more advanced techniques on the floor, you have to turn your attentions inward or go a little crazy. 

My first significant breakthrough came when we took our training outside. Beach training was something I looked forward as it made me feel free from the four walls of the Dojo. I remember being told we would do an extended period of mediation for 30 minutes at a beach training at Cornwallis on the edge of the Manukau Harbour. I had never done half an hour in the kneeling position, the longest was maybe 10-15 minutes  at that stage in my training. I remember the sound of the water and birds helped put my mind at ease, the soft sand made kneeling easier and the fresh clean air made a welcome change to the dusty old halls we would train in. For the first time in my life I felt comfortable in the kneeling position and I remember being disappointed when we were told to open eyes and stand up. I wanted to stay there, something shifted in me that I couldn't explain but that memory and experience was profound and would provide a foundation for everything that follows.
 
As time went on I attended my first live-in seminar at Lake Taupo. I was 12 and preparing for my Black Belt grading. This would be the first time I would endure the extreme cold of a Taupo winter in June. It was certainly not going to be quite the same as training at West Coast and harbour beaches in sub-tropical Auckland - I had heard stories of people training in the lake and getting hypothermia! Wearing only our cotton Gi (uniform) we were told to adopt the seiza position and meditate on the lake front. Children under 12 were not allowed to participate but strangely part of me was glad  I was 12 as I headed to the lake front with the adults. We settled on the lake front in long lines. 

My bare feet registered the cold yet surprisingly, the tiny pebbles, stones and pumice invigorated them. Even so, that first shock of cold made me fear I would end up in the local hospital!  The real cold hadn't set in yet however, as my emotions and fears amplified the physical sensation. This anxiety caused my energy to rise filling my head with chatter and a screaming desire to stand up and walk away - but giving up and stopping was not an option. The conflict between those external and my internal conditions was a gateway through which I had to pass. Memories of being back home at Cornwallis became increasingly distant. I had to capture that rising fear energy and bring it back down into my core where I could dissolve it. At that young age, I didn't think of it like that but through the process of overcoming my fear and discomfort, this is what I did.  

It felt like an eternity but after only 10 minutes or so I reached a point where the extreme cold began to pass and I felt warmer and I realised I wouldn't end up with hypothermia. I had processed the physical hardship of the temperature, sunk into myself and I found I could turn on the internal fire necessary to deal with it. Turning this corner made we understand for the first time what it meant to experience 'mind over matter'. Just as I had managed the extreme cold on a physical level, emotionally it left me feeling stronger and more capable of conquering my challenges. The two processes were synonymous. I wore this like a badge of honour - like getting your first black eye or adding to your scar collection. We didn't have badges for acquiring skills like the scouts but I knew that I had climbed a little mountain. At 12 years of age many of my friends and peers hadn't experienced this so it wasn't something I talked about or shared for a few years. The feeling of warmth and inner peace I felt on that lake front gave me a glimpse of what I could learn and achieve through the process of sinking and entering into a more relaxed mediative state.

A few years later Lake Taupo would again be the place for discovery and advancement of my learning. This time it was Qigong and Tai Chi that would challenge me to go beyond what I had already learnt as a young boy. Grandmaster Robert Gemmell introduced me to the internal Arts which would eventually provide a bridge to deeper forms of meditation, awareness and inner growth. This time we were instructed to stand and close our eyes. I had got to the point where I felt comfortable in the kneeling posture - and now the standing position felt difficult! The seiza kneeling position was close to the earth and once you got comfortable it was quite easy to move towards a relaxed state. To me, the standing natural stance meant ready for action. We were told the standing practises were part of the preparation for learning Tai Chi and that first we must align our posture, get in touch with our breathing and quieten our minds. Sounds easy enough - but it wasn't! I was young and still very impressed with the physical power of my training. Standing still and learning to 'soften' didn't make much sense. It took some time before I valued the standing practises and began to experience some of the periods of stillness, grounding and clarity that I felt earlier in my training. The soft and circular motions of Tai Chi allowed me to gain an understanding of the relationship between movement and stillness. Learning to have a mind that was still and calm whilst engaging in difficult and challenging movements was a skill I would later appreciate in adult life.

Once again practising outside provided the environment for me to go beyond the early stages and challenges of learning to relax and let go. The theory became a real, felt experience - like water trickling down my back - and I had that sense of sinking through my body. The sensation was relaxing and I was in touch with my breath. There it was, energy flowing and pulsing through my body. At this point I could identify how tense or bound my body and mind can become and I was - and still am - reminded to seek to restore that natural feeling of relaxation, grounding and stillness.
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I started out a young boy struggling to kneel on a hard wooden floor and close my eyes. I could only register the physical difficulty and mental suffering of my task. Over a period of a few years I could now stand on the edge of lake Taupo and transcend the physical environment, tame my mental state. For though my eyes were outwardly shut, behind them I was now wide open to my consciousness and the place within where those distractions cannot reach.  These skills and practises have helped me deal with the pressure and stress of living and what we feel during our time on earth. Beyond these skills and practises lies something deeper and more profound as we connect with our spiritual self and the universe.


In part 2 I will provide some guidance about creating a better environment for your mind to let go and how posture alignment is an important part of supporting you to learn to sink through your body.

What is stretching? Well, it depends. There's the end of a stretch and then there's the process of stretching. We all know how to stretch, indeed we have done naturally since we were born, but when the term stretch is applied to exercise, it has taken on new meaning. When a teacher or trainer asks us to stretch, we think we must stretch AS FAR AS WE CAN - that we must push ourselves to an extreme. This is, of course, pointless and can only lead to damage if we continually overstretch. What we can learn from the ancient practises of Qigong, Tai Chi and Ba Gua Zhang, is that the important stuff all lies in the PROCESS of the stretch.  The point of a stretch is to let go of bound tension in the muscles, ligaments and all the tissue binding them. Any exercise asking you to overstretch, tightens and damages your body instead of releasing and softening. This will lead to inflamation, reduced flow of fluids and pain.  It is like pulling on a knot - you will only tighten it.  Again, many modern exercise routines focus on the promise of stronger muscles.
​Muscles are the LAST thing that the internal methods of Martial Arts focus on. We know the muscles will come! Instead, we focus on what allows the muscle to move. It's the tissue around the muscle, lubricated with fluids including blood that transport the electrical impulses to move the muscle. In other words, we want to oprimise flow in these areas to move energy through to work the muscle. If the tissues are tight the smooth flow of these body fluids is restricted. Learning to move ones fluids, connective tissue and ligaments comes first, the actual muscles are last in this hierarchy. Many people who go to the gym focus on muscle building and toning because a well toned body is visually desirable. However, pulling all those knots tighter is going to cause problems sooner or later. We all hear about marathon runners who eventually injure knees, hips and achilles tendons.

First undo your knots, then focus on toning and strenghthening

Tai Chi & Qigong postures have often been thought of as a form of exercise. But from an ancient perspective, they are not merely exercises, but techniques that place the physical body in positions that cultivate awareness, relaxation, concentration, and provide a foundation for meditation. The principle of learning to relax ones muscles in combination with slow motion movement and deep breathing works extremely well for those who are patient and after more than simply "feeling the burn" of hard physical exercise or aggressive stretching methods. With over 600 muscles in our bodies it's easy to focus on the larger most obvious muscles groups of the legs, arms and back. What is unique to Tai Chi and many Qigong exercises is their ability to target the hundreds of smaller muscles which most other stretching exercises rarely target.

Here are some of the efficient ways or methods that Tai Chi, Ba Gua and Qigong stretch the entire body:

- Smooth Circular Motions
Take for example the waist turning employed in Tai chi or Ba Gua, these motions are repeated many times throughout a practise session or form. The turning motions stretch all the muscles of the hip sockets, pelvis and buttocks which connect to the spine for body alignment and improved function of the spine. 

- Understanding gravity
From the moment we are born to the day we die we develop a strong relationship with gravity. Basically posture refers to the body's alignment and positioning with respect to the ever-present force of gravity. Whether we are standing, sitting or lying down gravity exerts a force on our joints, ligaments and muscles. Good posture entails distributing the force of gravity through our body so no one structure is overstressed. We all need the major segments of the body (pelvis on legs, torso on pelvis, shoulders and neck on torso)  sitting comfortably, one above the other for good posture to be present. If this isn’t happening then the body is in conflict with gravity – a relentless force that is present 24 hours a day. 
An example of how we can use gravity as an ally is the process of quiet standing or holding a posture. The focus of stationary posture work is to establish the process of letting go and sinking whilst maintaining good posture. Correct alignment of your posture helps you to naturally and non-forcefully pull the muscles and connective tissues gently apart. The principle of lifting the crown of your head and sinking your tailbone helps to stretch and lengthen the longitudinal ligaments of the spine. Sinking the hips whilst keeping the ribcage open and not compressed takes pressure of your lower spine and helps the diaphragm function for breathing. As you can see these are all forms of stretching that help develop a great foundation for more advanced practises.


- Bending and stretching
 To move away from your spine and core - then to move back towards it - helps open and stretch the limbs and spine in a coordinated way. Moving the arms all the way to the finger tips and legs all the way to the toes connects to the spine and core and the produces greater benefits for health, energy flow and physical performance. Our core or abdominal cavity which houses many of our internal organs connects with the motions via the connective tissues. This can directly improve the function of the diaphragm and vital organs.

- Mentally letting go
Our ability to slow down and allow our nervous system to release tension helps to soften the mind and makes it quieter and more still.
Developing this skill allows the body to enjoy a more relaxed state. This creates an environment to open up, stretch and let go.


The Dangers of over stretching
When practisied properly one of Tai Chi's great gifts is the increased ability to understand and listen to our own body - however this mind/body awareness takes time.
 
When practising, we must bear in mind that when a muscle is lengthened it's not just the muscle cells stretching out. Our connective tissues allow the stretch to happen, when too much of a stretch happens, the tissues will lose elasticity and become less functional. 
This means the muscle may not return to its original shape once it is overstretched. Over time, this will lead to muscle weakness. The good news is our connective tissues have good blood circulation that can facilitate recovery. However repetitive stress through over stretching can cause micro-tears to the tissues. Small tears in the soft tissues surrounding the muscle, including tendons and ligaments could become larger tears leading to more serious injuries.


Tips to prevent injuries 
- Discuss any known illness or injury with your instructor prior to class so he or she can recommend modifications. Serious muscle damage and injuries can result if proper precautions are not taken, especially for people with pre-existing musculoskeletal conditions.
- There is no such thing as a perfect looking posture. With guidance from an trained instructor, learn to know what your own best possible posture feels like. Be patient and work to what fits your body type, age, experience and be governed more by how you feel and not about how you look .In larger classes it may be difficult for your teacher to make personal adjustments to your posture, but don't hesitate to ask after class.
- Regardless of whether our bodies are tight or flexible, during practice, it is easy to go beyond our means so always moderate your movements and apply the 70% rule.
- Invest in a private session or two. You can refine your practice, learn your strengths and weaknesses, get feedback, and work on challenging postures or forms.

Kempo students have the opportunity to learn ancient weaponry skills as they progress. The linear long staff form contains H'Sing I (Heart/Will fist) techniques and classic Shaolin staff.

Below are 2 video clips of myself and Junior Kempo instructors Travis Hassell and Tyron Wood demonstrating the form at a slower pace.

I selected this ancient breathing and stretching exercise to teach people for one simple reason. 

It works!
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When we consider exercise fads that have come and gone, it's hard to look past something that has been practised for thousands of years by millions of people.
Lift the sky is a wonderful exercise to gently stretch the spine, open up your lungs and activate the shoulder blades (scapula). 
I have taught this exercise to thousands of people and know many people start their day with this exercise. Having less back, shoulder and neck pain, plus feeling mentally and emotionally uplifted and energised is a motivating factor to practise Lift the Sky. Our spine is a vital part of our skeleton, not only because it is the main pillar that supports the body, but also because the spinal cord is contained in it, and there are hundreds of nerves that branch out from the cord to serve the various body parts and organs. At home and work, many of us are locked in unhealthy postures facing the computers or TV for hours.

Often the upper spine is incorrectly bent (causing kyphosis - exaggerated rounding of the back). At the same time, the lumbar (lower) spine is often incorrectly bent inwards (lordosis - sway back) due to incorrect sitting posture. Lack of stretching and flexibility exercises cause stiffness over time. Lift the sky activates the bending and stretching of our ligaments, tendons and connective tissues.

Tight muscles and tissue around the shoulders can cause shallow breathing and neck pain. Lift the sky gently lifts and sinks the shoulders, tissues and muscles whilst rounding them and pulling them towards the middle of the spine. The action of opening and closing creates a gentle pressure that massage the heart and lungs with each exercise.

The actual movement is very similar to what we do when we wake up and have a stretch. 
The lifting of the arms and opening of the lungs seems to be a very primal action us humans do. When you break this exercise down it has 3 main benefits and functions:

1) Awakens the nervous system through elongating your spine

As the name suggests the focus is on pressing up towards the sky. The lifting action when practised correctly starts at the ankles and extends all the way through the body to the finger tips and crown of the head. Powering the lower body starts with the squat and engages the legs, pelvis and spine. The stretching of the arms helps to lift the spine and recruits the core muscles and organs. 

2) Releases tension and pressure

Anxiety, depression caused by stress and tension degrade our health and general happiness, learning to recognise and deal with these challenges is why these exercises were created and practised on a daily basis. The first part of this exercise aims to round the body from the shoulders down to the hips. This process drops the shoulders and helps develop diaphragmatic breathing - tight shoulders cause our breathing to become shallow and compromises health.

3) Increase blood circulation

As your body releases tension and softens, blood begins to flow more freely and circulation improves. Our joints such as the shoulders, hips, knees and elbows act as gateways within the body and as they begin to coordinate with each other we increase the flow of vital fluids in the body. The underlying concept of this exercise is that you learn to relax to stretch. 

In the longer forms of Tai Chi this form features later in the form. In the modern simplified 24 step Yang form is features right at the beginning. I'm a fan of teaching people this form early on as it does wonders for your lungs, nervous system and core stability.
Check out the video where I demonstrate the form and theres also a video showing the movement of the diaphragm which is useful to understand as this form really helps you to open and stretch your diaphragm in all directions.

6 key benefits
1. The action of the form increases all round expansion of the diaphragm which opens and closes the ribs, increases lung capacity and massages the internal organs.
2. The diaphragm connects to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd vertebrae of the lower spine, which each deep breath and motion the lower spine is mobilsed
3. The motion massages the lungs and internal organs in the torso
4. Improves core stablisation for postural stability
5. Calms the nervous system
6. Great self defence applications for close range combat

​Here's a great breakfast time Qigong exercise to start your day:
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This exercise is said to benefit the stomach and spleen and has been practised for thousands of years. Here are a couple of benefits you can gain from practising Separate between Heaven & Earth.

1. Opens up the spine through the gentle stretching that releases tightness and tension housed in the connective tissue and muscles that support your spine.

2. Massages the digestive organs, the ascending action of one arm coupled with the descending action of the other arm creates a splitting action that works both sides of your torso. The pushing and pulling action of the arms assists the movement of the digestive organ walls that propels food and liquid and mixes the contents within each digestive organ. This action is called peristalsis and looks like an ocean wave moving through the muscle.

Practise recommendation:
Try practising this exercise a few minutes before eating breakfast and 30 minutes after eating. Here is a short video clip with some basic instructions to follow.

In this series of pictures I demonstrate the key openings and closings of Tai Chi vertical circling hands, which is a great technique for exploring bending & stretching plus the opening & closing of the joints. This exercise also serves as the foundation for the medical Qigong set Marriage of Heaven & Earth. 
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The better we can co-ordinate the opening and closing of the joints the more we can circulate the vital fluids of the body and Qi. The joints act like gates and connect with each other like power transformers, allowing electricity to flow. Blockages cause the flow to become sluggish and slow. What I like about this exercise is that it is easy to learn and people can begin the process of unbinding tension through the movements to get the juices moving more freely.

​Heaven & Earth Qigong works directly with our liver and can have a great influence on your blood pressure and general circulation of fluids within the body. When high blood pressure is evident, traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recognises and treats the related symptoms of this including headaches, stiff neck and dizziness. Other related symptoms may include irritability, excess body heat, red eyes and face, insomnia and high pitched ringing in the ears. Within TCM of which Qigong is a branch of, these symptoms are recognised as a dysfunction in liver energy (Liver Qi).
 
Liver Qi functions to facilitate a free and smooth flow of body energy to normalise the function of our body organs. In the case of high blood pressure (hypertension), the flow of the liver Qi is reversed upward and stuck in the upper part of the body (head & chest). As a result, liver heat is created constantly. Heat has the nature of "Yang" energy, in the terms of TCM and consequently, the rise of Liver Qi (heat) is termed "LIver Yang ascending". Because the rise of blood pressure coincides with the Liver Yang ascending, Liver Yang ascending is regarded as one of the direct causes of high blood pressure and is treated accordingly. Within Qigong and more specifically the Marriage of Heaven & Earth set, healing is achieved by reversing the Liver Yang ascending direction and bringing it back into balance through regular practice of this 3000 year old exercise.