About the lectures
1. Tai Chi from the inside – what makes this art form unique
This workshop focuses on what is most important in Tai Chi and what makes this art form unique.
Peng, song, chen, ding, chansi, huo and rou – the main qualities and energies of Tai Chi – lead to a free, powerful and balanced flow of energy, as well as to external (waisanhe) and internal (neisanhe) integration.
During the workshop, through simple examples and practical experience, we will gradually explore each of these qualities, and then attempt to combine them into a single coherent whole. We will pay particular attention to the two most demanding, yet crucial, qualities of Tai Chi: peng – the energy of expansion – and chansi – the unfolding of silk.
2. Morning Tai Chi practice
There are some practices after which you don’t feel like talking straight away. You want to linger for a moment in what remains within the body. Morning Tai Chi with Marek Baliński will be just such a space: calm, mindful, deeply grounding. For anyone who wants to start the day with lightness, and leave it with something more than just a memory of movement.
About the speaker:
Founder of the Chen Taijiquan Academy, an official branch of the Chen family’s main school – Chenjiagou Taijiquan Xue Xiao. He began practising taiji at the age of 14, starting with the Yang style, and in 1996 he began studying the Chen style. He has been teaching for around 35 years. He also has experience in other styles, including karate, gongfu and aikido. In 2006, during a baishi ceremony at the Chen family temple in China, he was accepted into the circle of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang’s ‘inner’ disciples. He is also a disciple of Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing, and of masters Chen Ziqiang and Wang Haijun. Committed to the development of the Chen style of taijiquan in Poland, he conducts seminars, demonstrations and training sessions, and invites the best masters to the country. In 2007, he was awarded the 5th dan master’s rank by the Chinese Wushu Association. He has also obtained state certification as a wushu sports coach and a referee’s licence. He himself and the competitors from the Chen Taijiquan Academy have won numerous gold medals at the Polish Championships and the Polish Wushu Cup in taijiquan. He is qualified as a therapist in various forms of Eastern medicine, including yumeiho, reiki and massage.