So Many Choices at Five Bows Tai Chi & Qi Gong!
Explore diverse Tai Chi & Qi Gong styles at Five Bows, enhancing your wellness and balance through expert-led classes.
A Bit About What We Teach....
Here at Five Bows Tai Chi and Qi Gong we offer Yang and Sun styles of Tai Chi. We also teach Health Qi Gong.
The two styles of Tai Chi differ mainly in their footwork, stances, and pace: Yang uses deep, wide stances with distinct steps and a full bow stance for its powerful, grounded feel.
In contrast, Sun features a unique half-step (one foot following the other), higher stances, and a smoother, faster, more integrated pace, incorporating Bagua elements.
Qigong (pronounced "chee gong") is an ancient Chinese practice combining gentle, flowing movements, deep breathing, and focused intention to cultivate and balance the body's vital life energy (qi) for improved health, relaxation, and spiritual well-being. Often called "meditation in motion," it involves slow, fluid sequences, stretching, and breathwork, aiming to clear energy blockages and promote harmony between mind, body, and spirit, with roots in traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist philosophy.
Qi Gong serves as an excellent foundation for Tai Chi practice, as it emphasises the cultivation of internal energy, mindfulness, and proper body alignment. By engaging in Qi Gong, practitioners develop a deeper understanding of breath control and fluid movement, both of which are essential components of Tai Chi. The gentle, rhythmic motions of Qi Gong help enhance flexibility and balance, allowing students to seamlessly transition into the more complex postures of Tai Chi. Furthermore, the meditative aspects of Qi Gong foster mental clarity and concentration, which are vital for mastering the slower, deliberate movements inherent in Tai Chi. Overall, integrating Qi Gong into one’s routine can significantly enrich the Tai Chi experience, promoting a harmonious blend of mind, body, and spirit.
All of our Tai Chi and Qi Gong can be adapted for participants individual needs.
Yang Style Tai Chi
Yang Style Tai Chi is the most popular and widely practiced form, known for its large, open, slow, and graceful movements, making it ideal for health, mindfulness, and accessibility for beginners and seniors, focusing on fluid transitions and deep breathing rather than forceful techniques. Created by Yang Luchan, it's characterized by its flowing patterns, clear expression of applications, and balance of substantial (full) and insubstantial (empty) weight distribution, often taught in simplified 24-move forms or the traditional 108-move long form.
Key Characteristics:
• Slow & Fluid: Movements flow smoothly from one posture to the next, emphasizing continuous motion.
• Open & Expansive: Features large, circular arm movements and wide stances, unlike more compact styles.
• Health-Focused: Designed for well-being, flexibility, and endurance,
• Breath & Movement: Coordinated rhythmic breathing with graceful movements, promoting internal energy (Qi) flow.
• Substantial & Insubstantial: Focuses on the concept of weight shifting (empty/full) between legs for balance and power.
• Martial Arts Foundation: While gentle, it retains the martial principles, allowing for deeper understanding as you progress.
In essence, Yang Style Tai Chi offers a beautiful, flowing practice for people of all ages and fitness levels, balancing physical exercise with mental relaxation.
Forms You Can Learn with us:
Yang 8
Yang 10
Yang 16
Yang 24
Ba Fa Wu Bu - Eight Methods & Five Steps
Yang Sword 16
Yang Sword 32
Sun Style Tai Chi
Sun Style Tai Chi is one of the five main Tai Chi styles, known for its fluid, gentle, and agile movements with high stances, unique "follow-step" footwork (one foot always follows the other), and strong integration of Xingyiquan and Baguazhang principles, making it excellent for health, balance, and Qigong, and suitable for people with arthritis or limited mobility. Created by Grandmaster Sun Lutang, it features continuous, spiralling motions and emphasizes postural integrity, making it a popular choice for therapeutic Tai Chi.
Key Characteristics
- Founder: Sun Lutang, a master of Xingyi Quan and Bagua Zhang before developing his own style.
- Footwork: Unique "follow-step" where the trailing foot always moves to join the leading foot, enhancing balance and agility
- Stances: Higher stances than some other styles, combined with bent knees, contributing to its suitability for health.
- Movement Quality: Smooth, flowing, and nimble, with a focus on the connection between hands and feet, body alignment (nose over dantien), and spiralling energy.
- Influences: Blends elements from Tai Chi, Xingyi Quan (shape-mind fist), and Bagua Zhang (eight trigrams palm).
- Health Focus: Popular for health benefits, arthritis, and QiGong, with gentle, whole-body movements that build strength, balance and flexibility.
- Martial Arts Foundation: While gentle, it retains the martial principles, allowing for deeper understanding as you progress.
Forms You Can Learn with us:
Sun Basic 6 & 12
Sun 13
Sun 38
Sun 97
Health Qi Gong®
Health Qigong® is a system comprises of some of the best internal characteristics and essence of the oldest Qi Gongs styles in China, these all have more than 1000 years of history.
This unique system began it's life when a group of China's best Qigong Masters, Traditional Chinese Medicine professors, medical and sport experts from some of China's Famous Hospital and University, appointed and supported by the National Sport Council and Chinese Health Qigong association, to conduct in-depth research and assessment on the beneficial effects they bring to our daily lives.
The Health Qigong® system was developed based on ancient Chinese traditional Yin Yang theory (harmony between man and nature, harmony between the mind and body), following the theories of the functions of the internal organs and meridians as well as the principles of circulation of Qi and blood in the human body.
Health Qi Gongs are simplistic, easy to learn and yet offers excellent benefits to physical and mental wellbeing.
Key Components
- Movement: Slow, coordinated, often choreographed postures that stretch and strengthen.
- Breathing (Tu'Na): Deep, controlled breathing techniques to guide energy.
- Mind (Yi): Focused intention or visualization to direct the Qi.
Benefits
- Physical: Enhances circulation, flexibility, balance, stamina, muscle strength, and bone density; supports immune and nervous systems.
- Mental/Emotional: Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression; calms the mind; improves emotional balance.
- Systemic: Balances internal organs, supports cardiovascular health, and helps with conditions like hypertension and diabetes.
How it Works
- It's based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles, working with meridians (energy channels) and acupoints.
- By synchronizing body, breath, and mind, it corrects energy blockages and imbalances caused by modern lifestyles.
Forms You Can Learn With Us
Ming Mu Gong - Eye Brightening Qi Gong
Mawangdui
Xing Yi Standing Pole
13 Postures Guiding the Body into Suppleness
Traditional 8 Treasures Baduanjin