I am 64 years old and have been on long-term disability for over 10 years due to a form of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). I previously studied and practiced several external martial arts and they all eventually made my AS symptoms worse. I have had the disease my whole life but only diagnosed in the ’80’s. It became so bad at one point I was bed ridden for almost 2 years. It causes difficult symptoms in multiple body systems. I have had to get steroids injected into my eyes a few times to bring down inflammation. The disease primarily fuses the spinal vertebrae together, which of course reduces, restricts and eventually collapses the vertebral separations so they cannot move normally, or at all. I have tried physio, multiple drug therapies, meditation and exercise all with no or next to no improvement in my symptoms. Read more
My spine structure shows major lordosis and kyphosis with forward head posture. The years of practice improved it maybe a little, but it seems that my spine would be able to be improved up to a point.
A straight spine is crucial for Tai chi capability… and every once in a while I get discouraged. I practice everyday, and it is a major part in my life, so I´m sure I would never stop.
Please shed some light, about the importance of spine alignment.
I am teaching Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method at Martial Arts Club @ York University. This is an introductory course, which will cover a taste of foundations, form, application drills and push hands.
Class Info:
Date: Wednesdays, June 5-26, 2019
Time: 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Location: Room 202 of Vanier College (#56 on the map)
If you are interested, please contact Huy Huynh at huynh.h@live.com.
As a mechanical engineer and athlete who has been practicing Taijiquan (Yang Style 85 form) for several years, I was happy to discover Master Chen ZhongHua’s “Practical Method” on the Internet. I’m just thrilled about his martial art, humanity and kind to teach Taiji. Read more
My name is Niko Papadakis.I have been practicing Chen style Tai Ji Chuan PM since Oct. 2015 .3 1/2 years of consistent practice.
I started with John Dahms & Brennan Toh in Ottawa.From there I began my journey in PM as I attended my first workshop with Chen Shifu. I continue to attend workshops 2-3 times per year. Read more
While I was still living in Hong Kong, I have started with 300 a day. John Upshaw and I have been exchanging and we decided 3 months ago to increase it to 600 a day – 3oo per leg, and log our sets on Facebook. We promised to do this until July 24. This is when Master Chen will visit Iowa for their workshop. Since then, the likes of Kelvin Ho, Tinh Thai, and Winston Wang have joined. Even my student Simon Yau has jumped in on the action! Every day, I look forward to my brothers giving me the thumbs up next to my “done”. Read more
The Zurich workshop is for Tuesday and Wednesday evening only as there aren’t enough weekend on my European tour this year. 13 people came to the workshop of which 7 came from Germany. This is expected for a first workshop. Read more
This week, I found myself able to drill the opponent down causing him to eventually fall vertically to the ground. 
