Covid Kung Fu And Pandemic Practices

How does a physical practice involving people interacting survive a world on lockdown? Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be musing about the current Covid 19 lockdown and some of it’s knock on effects in the world of martial arts. How do […]

Tai Chi Across The Web

Gong Shou Dao, or, how to rebrand Tai Chi. Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be focusing on the Jack Ma and Jet Li short film, Gong Shou Dao. With the rise of modern technology such as the internet, motion capture recordings […]

Taking The First Step

How to overcome that first objection: I don’t think I’d be very good at Tai Chi. Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be discussing ways and means to tackle that age old excuse from many new beginners – “I just don’t think […]

How Many Forms Are Too Many?

Is the learning of endless forms necessary for improvement as a martial artist? Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be discussing whether or not the repetitive learning of countless forms is a help or a hindrance to our practice. Just how many […]

A Soft Touch?

Can students of external martial arts truly master the internal styles? Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be discussing the often heard idea that those with a background in hard styles such as Karate, cannot truly understand and benefit from the internal […]

Who Carries A Sword Anyway?

The benefits of learning outdated weapons in the modern world. Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be talking about why the fan, the sword and the staff are always good to know, even today. Do you remember that time that you were […]

Questions Of Identity

How do we define ourselves as Tai Chi students? Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be talking about the way we signify ourselves as martial arts, both inside and outside of the training hall. In the last episode I briefly mentioned some […]

Beyond The Dojo

Should martial artists be doing more in the community? Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be talking about what it means to be a martial artist outside of the training hall, and whether or not we should be doing more for our […]

The Way Of The Intercepting Style

Jeet Kune Do and putting the Chu’an back into Tai Chi Chu’an. Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be talking about the philosophy of Tai Chi and it’s similarities to Bruce Lee’s martial art, Jeet Kune Do. As most people know, Bruce […]

Practical Arts

Why Tai Chi is perhaps more useful as a martial art than you may think. Welcome to The Water Method; thoughts and theories on Tai Chi in the modern world. In today’s post, I’ll be talking about why Tai Chi is perhaps more useful as a martial art than you may initially think. When we […]