COURT COURSE CURRICULUM

Thank You for Joining Us!
My name is Jeff English and I’d like to share with you how to bring the Serpent to the court.

(INTRO VIDEO COMING SOON)

Bring The Serpent
Embodying Spiral Power
Bring the Serpent means bring everything we’ve got to this present moment; both the Yin and the Yang, the receptivity of the Earth and the penetration of the Sun, the softness and the hardness, the alchemy and the balance of both. When we bring everything we’ve got to this present moment there is no winning and losing. Winning and losing resides either in the future or the past. We cannot stay present if we are focussed on winning or if we are afraid of losing. In Taijiquan the Ancients brilliantly resolved this problem by staying in the Qi as it is called. Staying in the Qi is an awareness of the sensation of Qi moving through the body. In tennis if we have cultivated the ability to experience the sensation of Qi through every movement on the court; from forehands to backhands to overheads and serves we will stay in the Qi and we will stay in the present moment. Staying present in the moment brings the magic; the internal power. Staying present brings the expression of our greatest experience.

The Tai Chi Classic
The Tai Chi Classic is traditionally attributed to the immortal Taoist Zhang Sanfeng.

In motion, the whole body should be light and agile, with all parts linked as if threaded together.

The chi should be activated, The mind should be internally gathered.

The postures should be rounded and without defect, without deviations from the proper alignment; in motion, your form should be continuous, without stops and starts.

The jin (internal power) should be rooted in the feet, generated from the legs, controlled by the waist, and expressed through the fingers.

All movements are motivated by Yi (mind intent), not external form.

If there is up, there is down; If the yi wants to move upward, it must simultaneously have intent downward.

Full and empty should be clearly differentiated. At any place where there is emptiness, there must be fullness; Every place has both emptiness and fullness.

The whole body should be threaded together through every joint without the slightest break.

Lessons 1-17 – Coming Soon!