Applied Tai Chi and Qi Gong

27/10/2025

Tai Chi Form Videos

Many beginner Tai Chi students seek to support their learning by finding videos of the Tai Chi form online. As there are many ways to practice the Long Form, students often become confused because the form in online videos is different from what they are learning in class.

To help with this, we've compiled the best demonstration and teaching videos of the first part of the Yang Cheng Fu Long Form. These are closest to the version of the Yang Cheng Fu Long Form taught at Applied Tai Chi. These are available in the Blog section of the Applied Tai Chi website at:

https://www.appliedtaichi.co.uk/blog/yang-cheng-fu-long-form-part-1-video.

Training and teaching videos of Part 1 of the Yang Cheng Fu Long Form. At Applied Tai Chi and Qi Gong, we teach our students the traditional Yang style Tai Chi long form, also known as the Yang Cheng Fu long form after its creator, Yang Cheng Fu. Beginners learning Part 1 of the form often ask whet

27/10/2025

The Yang Cheng Fu Long Form: Part 1 - List of Movements

1. Preparation
2. Raising the Qi
3. Grasp Bird’s Tail
4. Single Whip
5. Lift Hands
6. White Crane Spreads Wings
7. Left Brush Knee and Twist Step
8. Strum P**a
9. Left Brush Knee and Twist Step
10. Right Brush Knee and Twist Step
11. Left Brush Knee and Twist Step
12. Strum P**a
13. Left Brush Knee and Twist Step
14. Deflect, Parry, Punch
15. Seal as if Closing
16. Cross Hands

These are the names of the movements we use in our Tai Chi school. Different schools and teachers use different names. That's OK.

Many 'transitional movements' are not in the list, just the main 'end postures' are included, otherwise the list would get long.

Many of the postures are in fact sequences of movements. For example, Grasp Birds Tail includes several fundamental Tai Chi movements including Ward Off, Roll Back, Squeeze and Press.

11/10/2025

Learn the ancient Chinese martial art of Tai Chi Chuan with Applied Tai Chi.

Beginner's classes now running in Blackburn:

- Monday 7pm St Wilfrids High School
- Thursday 7pm Pleckgate High School.

Find out more and book online at https://www.appliedtaichi.co.uk.

03/10/2025

Learn classical Yang Style Tai Chi:

- Yang Cheng Fu 108 Long Form.
- Pushing hands.
- Martial Applications.
- Qi Gong.

https://www.appliedtaichi.co.uk

18/09/2025

Tonight's class is pushing hands practice.

The class that is held on the third Thursday of the month is always a pushing hands class. The session is extended by an extra half an hour to give us plenty of time to develop this important but often overlooked aspect of our Tai Chi Chuan.

Pushing hands is one of the pillars of Tai Chi Chuan practice and it's as important as your form practice. So, if you aren't learning pushing hands, your Tai Chi is incomplete.

18/09/2025

80 TODAY! Happy Birthday to our oldest Tai Chi student.

Pauline took up Tai Chi last year and has been consistently working hard learning the Yang Cheng Fu 108 Long Form, improving her Qi Gong and testing herself with pushing hands practice.

She often says it’s harder for her to learn Tai Chi than younger students, and I keep reminding her that she has lots of time to practice and that she’s doing great.

It’s been a privilege teaching Pauline over the last 12 months, and the benefits of Tai Chi and Qi Gong practice are clear to see. Her balance has improved, she is more mobile and flexible, fitter, healthier and more confident.

Keep up the good work Pauline. You’re a great example to all our students and you’re showing everyone that age is not a barrier to being great at Tai Chi.

17/09/2025

WE LIVE IN QI

We live in an ocean of qi, just as fish live in oceans.

Fish breathe by taking water into their mouths and passing it over their gills, which extract dissolved oxygen and release carbon dioxide back into the waters.

When a human being breathes, they draw air into their lungs through their noses and mouths. Air travels into millions of tiny air sacs, where oxygen is absorbed into the bloodstream. During exhalation, carbon dioxide-rich air is expelled back into the atmosphere.

When a fish is taken from the water, it will quickly die. When a person is deprived of air, they will quickly die too. But we need the air for more than just breathing:

We need the air to regulate our body temperature. Air is the primary medium for sound waves and scent. Atmospheric pressure keeps bodily fluids from turning into gas and helps maintain the structure of our tissues. Air helps regulate circadian rhythms. Exposure to fresh air reduces stress, improves moods, and increases feelings of vitality.

In addition, we need food, water, light, and warmth. Gravity plays a vital and constant role in maintaining human health; it provides the necessary resistance to build and sustain bone density, muscle strength, and cardiovascular function. We are dependent on heaven and earth during every moment of our lives.

Is there anything we do in return? We give off our wastes. We trample the earth. We add to global warming. So let’s admit that we need heaven and earth and that we are not indispensable to the world.

If you practice qigong, you are acknowledging a major source of energy and you are integrating yourself with it. Fish swim in the oceans and seek their lives. We swim in qi and seek our lives. To engage with qi is to engage with life itself.

15/09/2025

"Short-Term Benefits of Qigong and Taijiquan"
Although Taijiquan and Qigong are often described as "lifetime" practices, it is a mistake to assume that nothing worthwhile can be gained in the short term. Even within the first weeks or months of practice, meaningful benefits can be felt.

Article at: www.qi-journal.com/3463

12/09/2025

Our Ba Duan Jin Qi Gong seminar takes place tomorrow between 10am and 1pm.

The session is suitable for beginners and those with some Qi Gong or Tai Chi experience.

If you'd like to attend, please book your place online at https://www.appliedtaichi.co.uk/booknow

For those already booked, the session is at Pleckgate High School in Blackburn. Parking is available (please check the car park signs when you park) and access is via the Lettings Entrance at the side of the school. We will start at 10am and finish by 1pm, with a short break at 11.30am. Please bring a drink and a snack.

We will be developing the Ba Duan Jin over the next 12 months in our weekly classes, so tomorrow's session is a fantastic way to begin your practice.

10/09/2025

Tai Chi for the visually impaired.

With its slow, graceful movements, Tai Chi is a great option for people who are blind or visually impaired. As an internal martial art, Tai Chi focuses on how you feel on the inside rather than what you look like on the outside.

Tai Chi has a huge number of proven health benefits including, improved balance, better posture, increased mobility and flexibility, reduced blood pressure, good sleep, reduced anxiety and depression, and much more.

If you are blind or visually impaired, you can try Tai Chi at the Lancashire Sight Loss Council’s Let’s Get Active day in Blackburn on the 18th October 2025. To find out more and to reserve a place at the event visit the event website at:

https://www.sightlosscouncils.org.uk/events/lancashire-sight-loss-councils-lets-get-active/.

14/04/2025

Bank Holiday Classes Are On!

Classes at St Wilfrid’s will be running on the bank holiday Mondays in April (21st) and May (5th & 26th).

Easter Closure

There will be no class at Pleckgate on Thursday 24th April and no class at St Wilfrid’s on Monday 28th April.

Otherwise, classes will be running as normal throughout April and May.

Book classes on the Applied Tai Chi Website at https://www.appliedtaichi.co.uk/booknow