You have no doubt heard the sad news that one of the worlds most charismatic and loved leaders Nelson Mandela has sadly passed over, our thoughts go to his family and a whole country in mourning for a father figure.  Mandela faced more difficulty than most because of his chosen stand against apartheid, and campaign for democracy, no doubt his 27 year internment and subsequent role as president was not lacking in difficulty either. So how did the great man manage his doubts and trepidations, how did he martial his energy, and keep the clarity of his vision?

"In judging our progress as individuals we tend to concentrate on external factors
such as one's social position, influence and popularity, wealth and standard of
education ... but internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing one's
development as a human being: honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, purity, generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve your fellow men - qualities within the reach of every soul - are the foundation of one's spiritual life ... Regular meditation, say of about 15 minutes a day before you turn in, can be fruitful in this regard. You may find it difficult at first to pinpoint the negative factors in your life, but the tenth attempt may reap rich rewards.  Never forget that a saint is a sinner
that keeps on trying."
- Nelson Mandela, excerpt from Mandela The Authorised Biography by Anthony Sampson - Thanks to Bill Douglas at World Tai Chi Day for drawing my attention to this.

  Meditation 
Find a comfortable position sitting or lying down. Begin with a few deep breaths, breathing deep into the belly, to help you relax and bring you to the present moment. Now close your eyes and simply be present . Notice how your body feels, as well as the activity of your mind and emotions. Experience  without resisting or trying to change anything. Continue this for  a minute or two.

Next,  expand your awareness to everything  in your surroundings. Feel the ebb and flow of the breeze, the warmth of the sun on your skin.  Notice the sounds around you — bees,  birds,  grasshoppers, the sound of  water flowing. . , For the rest of the meditation,  continue to experience these feelings and sounds. Whenever your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the experience of nature.
 
When you are ready to stop, simply rub your hands together until they are warm, then place your palms over your eyes for a few seconds, gently open your eyes and look at your palms, as you slowly move them away from you. take a few quick breaths, stamp your feet and rub or gently pat yourself on the arms and legs to ground and be fully aware again. 

Mandela used meditation as a tool 
to achieve great things, 
what will you do?

Today is one of those days where deadlines are looming, the pressure is building and time is precious. At  times like this, it is easy to loose focus, fall behind and begin to fret.
This is when, a simple technique we teach  to new students, can offer space, composure, and clarity.  
Read more...

As I walked through the swing doors into the large school hall I was surprised to find it relatively silent, silent except for the sound of deep, prolonged breathing, immediately I recognised from my training in Raja Yoga, the importance of this practice. I made my way as unobtrusively as possible to a bench where a few other observers waited. Observing the lesson, I recognised several people as former classmates from Judo and Karate. Before long I was treated to the spectacle of 4 of the senior student sparring first one to one, then one to three etc. while the other 30 or so members practised techniques at the other end of the hall. Shortly the Master joined the sparring seniors, they stopped immediately and bowed, he took a relaxed stance in the centre of the space and they surrounded him, all was still. Watching the seniors spar I had been impressed at their agility, the speed and sheer variety of techniques. The Master nodded his head and his protagonists exploded into action, they moved fast, their limbs blurred, the Master seemed to move slowly, calmly, without hurry, yet he ran rings round them. Where they kicked, he span, they punched he was gone, yet his hand passed across a face softly without harm, a deft sweep of an arm would send one into another, he had all the time in the world. This was my first live exposure to the Chinese internal arts, I had read about them, but this was real, this was great and I was hooked. I joined the Thetford Wu Shu Club under that Master, Ted Bird and thrived on it.

As my training progressed and I showed some ability (read ’put in more practice’) I was invited to the student section of the central training school in Dunstable, there we would be coached by the Grand-master, Chee Soo. The price of missing these sessions was driven home to me on one practice night when a fellow student with whom I shared a friendly rivalry, returned from a session I had been unable to attend. We had shared many hard battles without clear victory being established, In one session he had been transformed from being my equal in sparring; to someone I could not even touch. My kicks were intercepted half way, my hand strikes never landed and not a single technique of my fiendishly contrived combinations got through. Astonished and somewhat demoralised, I questioned my now superior and very pleased training buddy as to how this dramatic improvement was accomplished, generously he shared the secret and at the next session we were back at it hard as ever and even in skill once more.

Perhaps what was so surprising about Chee Soo was his ability to do so little and achieve so much. While senior level master’s flailed away, looking as cumbersome and uncoordinated as they made their own students seem, he stood comparatively still, a twist here, a shift of weight there, occasionally a step. His arms appeared magnetic, wherever you aimed, whatever devious angle or cunning combination you conceived, there they were sliding past you sending you into nothing, or a partner, trapping you without gripping, and yet you could not escape, or sometimes seizing you with a paralysing grip and an accompanying grin. This truly was mastery of ‘stillness in motion’.

To put this into perspective, as Master Grade teachers we had all acquired the ability to deal with up to five assailants in mass attacks, whether they were unarmed or armed with a variety of Chinese weapons we would spin in and out, throwing, tripping, locking and controlling, all without harming or being harmed, if you were hit in these tests you failed. So to see people with this level of skill handled like novices, made to look inept and inexperienced was somewhat awe inspiring, to be directly on the receiving end humbling.

 Chee Soo could judge distance with the precision of a micrometer, timing to perfection, furthermore he understood and could exploit every angle or change of alignment with uncanny precision. This was the stuff he clearly enjoyed, even when well past retirement age.

Yet the other side to this was his encyclopaedic knowledge of how movement healed, how breath, intention and posture could affect the state of your body, or someone else’s. He happily modified the traditional postures of Tai Chi forms to make them significantly more beneficial to health, differences that you can feel physically and energetically.                                                    

Grand master Chee Soo, gave me a fantastic foundation in the Chinese internal arts. Thanks to his knowledge, tireless work and generosity over the 18 years I ‘Took from him’ I was inspired to continue my studies for a further 18, with other great teachers. Through constant research and practice, I have learned to see the connections between the martial arts and the therapeutic, the spiritual and the practical. I have observed that the gentlest of activities can be of tremendous benefit to those with reduced health, and yet those same movements can become vigorous and challenging, demanding the skill and stamina of an Olympic gymnast. Yet the combination of passive and active phases of the Chinese internal arts can also become a catalyst in the search for peace of mind, strong focus and balance in the fast paced world of today. Based upon Daoist precepts, stretching back through the millennia, they inevitably lead one to ponder the nature of life and our place within it, and almost as inevitably to appreciate the true nature of ourselves.

I am proud to be able to pass on this legacy.

Keith Roost

Grandmaster Clifford Chee Soo (1919 – 1994) presided over the International Wu Shu Association, Chinese Cultural Arts Association and International Taoist Arts Society until his demise in 1994. He was taught by Chan Kam Lee,  a dealer in precious stones and gatekeeper of the Lee family martial and health arts from 1934 until his death in 1953.

Keith Roost studied under Chee Soo from 1976 to 1994, receiving his Masters degree in 1986 from the IWSA. Keith is a senior level (30 years +) instructor with the Tai Chi Union of Great Britain, and Technical head of the Golden Rooster School (UK) and Institute (Portugal) he has recently returned to England after teaching Tai Chi Chuan and Daoist Qigong (pronounced Chee Gong) at Coimbra University Hospital and other institutions of higher education in Portugal.

One of the marvellous benefits of Chinese Internal Arts is the development of conscious awareness, Indeed it is impossible to practise these arts effectively without developing awareness. The whole point of the Internal Arts is developing your self and your skills consciously. By becoming aware of our body and how we use it,  we increase our ability to tune in to the subtle messages that are always there, reflecting our physical discomfort, stemming from unsympathetic body mechanics, or more simply poor posture. Whether you realise it or not your posture reflects your current psychological state:- 

• We slump when we are tired or depressed, 
  
• Stiffen when threatened
  
• Shrink when frightened
• Expand and Open when feeling good

The Last of these posturers is the one, which at least in Traditional Chinese Medicine, is the most beneficial state for us. When we are open our energy can flow more clearly, Our breathing improves, and we live more fully. It is in the state of 'openess' that we are more receptive to ourselves, our surroundings, and to those we are interacting with, we literally become more conscious of life.

Our internal arts practice teaches us to become aware of ourselves,  observing our posture is one of the keys to a richer life.

Happy practising.
Keith