My name is Matthew Berry I am
the founder of West Wales Tai Chi.
I have
been studying Chinese Internal Martial Arts and
Health Practises since 1997 and been teaching weekly
classes since 2002.
I can safely say that Martial
Arts are my main passion in life, having trained in various systems
for over 30 years. I started my first Judo class at the age of 5
and from there went on to spend various amounts of time studying
Karate, Aikido, Jujitsu, Boxing, Kung Fu, Hsing Yi, Bagua Zhang,
Kyusho Jitsu and more...with some great teachers and exponents of
their arts but although having trained in so many different arts I
always found that something was missing for me. I was still
searching for something?
I started learning about and
studying Qigong in 1997 and then shortly after I started my Journey
with Tai Chi Chuan. I can safely say that I was hooked from day one
and I never expected to be! Shamefully I went to my first Tai Chi
Class as a complete skeptic I was 20 years old with an average
sized ego as to my own martial ability, I thought this Tai Chi
stuff was just for old people because it was so slow!
But still there I was, standing
in a class as the youngest person by far wondering what it was all
about I guess I learnt the hard way because as they say 'My cup was
already full!' I left my first class still wondering what it was
all about and what had actually happened?! I hadnt learnt any
special or secret Martial techniques I didnt even know what I was
doing, but as my brain started to let go of all the questions it
just couldnt answer I realised something else, how i felt! I was
buzzing I still didnt know why because in my mind we hadnt really
done anything? I had loads of energy and I felt peaceful at the
same time.
I still remember that
feeling after that first class to this day as it blew my mind and
my preconceptions to bits! That feeling kept me going for at least
the next two years, I was hooked by this strange Art and I wanted
to unravel its mysteries and find out what it was all about, My
teacher at the time concentrated on teaching us Warm up/Stretching
Exercises and various Qigong (Energy work) forms/patterns and the
Standard Yang style Tai Chi form, we did various partner work
exercises and everyrhing we did was centred around Relaxing the
muscles through correct body alignment, proper breathing, and Mind
Intention. after at least two years I can say I was starting to get
a feeling of it, I hadnt learnt anything of Martial value so i
thought, but by that time I wasnt so interested and had almost
forgot that it was a Martial art at all!
But what I did gain was alot
more energy, better focus for my other practises, I was alot more
relaxed in mind and body and I healed old injuries that plagued me
for many years. The most notable being hip and back pain from an
injury I sustained when I was 13yrs old, I had broken my hip and my
pelvis in two places and nearly broken my spine and suffered in my
late teens with pain in my hip and back. I also suffered from
asthma when I was young and still relied on the use of an inhaler
from time to time.
After about two years of Qigong
and Tai Chi training 3/4 times a week. The asthma Inhaler was never
needed again and the pain in my hip/pelvis area and spine was gone
completely! I was convinced too that i had grown at least 2 inches
in that time! I was starting to realise that Tai Chi and Qigong
were teaching me more about myself than what i was learning about
them? I asked my teacher about the martial side of Tai Chi Chuan as
the translation literally means Grand Ultimate Fist/Boxing and why
we werent learning that side of it all and he just said you are!
Which confused me to say the least.
......
Luckily for me he started
showing me some of the applications of Tai Chi Chuan and the
movements that I had been doing for two years like 'Waving Hands
Like Clouds' 'Single Whip' 'Bird spread Wings' etc and then slowly
the Form i had been learning took on a completely different meaning
and started to get deeper and deeper and still does to this
day!
I can safely say that Tai
Chi Chuan is a very effective and complete Martial Art which
utilises in its arsenal Traditional Chinese Medicine theory and how
energy circulates through the body and how to promote or hinder
that flow for healing or self defence purposes, it has joint locks,
throws, punches, kicks, slaps, strikes using fingers elbows, knees
you name it and its there hidden within the forms all you need to
extract them is pateince, hard work(gongfu) and a generous teacher
free of ego restraints that will pass on the knoweledge
directly.
I have been lucky and
trained with various teachers he could demonstrate the martial side
of Tai Chi but unfortunately there arent that many teachers that
can demonstrate the Martial side of Tai Chi, which is why it is
often over looked as a practical martial art, and referred to as a
low impact health dance by many! The truth is Tai Chi was never
primarily a health art it was a combat martial art used on the
battle field and to protect China's Elite. The health side came as
a direct after product of the training. Tai Chi principles,
training and philosophy were kept as a treasured secret, being
passed down strictly to family members over 100's of years. The
only problem with keeping secrets was that masters would often pass
away without passing on their art to worthy students or family
members and unfortunately alot of information has been lost with
them.
The truth is that most people
take up Tai Chi for its health benefits and that is fine, but to
truly benefit from all of its health giving properties the Martial
side should never be totally overlooked!
Whatever your reason for wanting
to take up this Art the most important thing is to Start! to relax,
and with patience and perseverance learn
the philsophy of yin and yang in your movements and
your stillness and let them become a part of your everyday life,
then the Mind, Body and spiritual benefits wont be far behind! Just
remember to take your time, to Breathe - Smile - and enjoy
the journey!
