The Medium Form
The Wu Style Tai Chi Medium Form is a series of gentle flowing movements which takes about seven minutes to complete.
This form, developed by Master Bruce Frantzis, is only five movements longer than his original Short Form, so it is still quite short and is an excellent form to start with.
This is now the shortest Tai Chi form that Matthew teaches. Dave continues to teach Bruce’s Short Form.
Some of the Benefits of Tai Chi include:
- It can be practised by anyone, young and old, strong and weak, healthy and sick.
- It develops a high degree of relaxation
- It releases physical and emotional stress
- It promotes mental and emotional well being
- It improves balance, physical coordination and flexibility
- It tones and exercises every single muscle, ligament, tendon and joint of the body
- It massages every lymph node and internal organ
- It makes the arteries and veins springy and elastic, keeping them open and healthy
- It energizes all the body’s internal pumps and improves circulation
- It heals and reduces injuries and improves reflexes
- It smooths out and regulates the central nervous system
Tai Chi balances and strengthens the flows in your body and thus improves your energy levels and increases your range of motion. The Wu Style is renowned for its healing and meditative qualities, and it contains many important healing elements that are rarely taught, even in China. It gives you the majority of the health and spiritual benefits of much longer Tai Chi forms.
B. K. Frantzis designed this form with the help and encouragement of his Daoist lineage master, Liu Hongjie. Liu lived and studied with Wu Jianquan, founder of the Wu Style. We are very lucky to have such a direct and powerful lineage.
Tai Chi is more than a martial art and more than most forms of exercise. It has a deep philosophical and spiritual perspective. Its gentle, slow-motion movements and sophisticated methods of moving life force or chi within the body teach you to relax and open up to your full human potential on all levels – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. (BK Frantzis, Tai Chi: Health For Life p.16)
On-going Tai Chi Medium Form classes are being run in Whitstable.
Recommended reading
Frantzis, B. K., The Power of the Internal Martial Arts (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 1998).
Frantzis, B. K., Tai Chi: Health For Life (Berkeley: Frog Ltd., 2006). ISBN: 1583941444.
Frantzis, B.K., Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body, 2nd edition (Berkeley: Blue Snake Books, 2006). ISBN 1-58394-146-0.