Welcome to COREhealth
COREhealth Tai Chi and Chi Kung clubs currently run in Sherborne and Yeovil supporting Tai Chi students of all ages from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Some come with Stress & other Health problems, some for Relaxation, Exercise & Fun, others to study for its own rewards and some out of plain curiosity.
Maximum size of attendance at any one session is limited to 15, so everyone gets personal attention and can see what is going on!
The BBC's 'Trust me, I'm a doctor' set out to discover whether Tai Chi is as good for you as vigorous exercise. They ran a series of tests on presenter Dr Michael Mosley as well as two test groups, one of which did zumba and the other Tai Chi. View this three minute clip(link is external).
"As might be expected, our Zumba group were all fitter after 12 weeks. Their blood vessels were more elastic and their blood pressure had dropped. Their blood results improved in line with people undertaking an exercise regime.
More surprisingly, the results from the tai chi group also showed similar benefits to the more rigorous Zumba group, with improvements in blood biomarkers, blood pressure and vessel flexibility.
The answer as to why tai chi might have similar benefits may rest in the fact that tai chi might not be as gentle as it seems. Previous studies undertaken by Sarah and Jet show that people who practise tai chi have a similar rise in heart rate to those doing moderate intensity exercise."
Some of the benefits of Tai Chi are:
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There is no upper age limit and those with limited mobility, or who are wheelchair users, are welcome to attend. If someone has a Carer, then the Carer may accompany their Caree to sessions at no charge, provided that the Caree is a Member of the Club.
At this time, we have several members in their seventies and eighties a number of parents bring their children along to sessions and their ages range from 8 to 14+.
PHOTO CREDITS: Those at Sherborne were kindly taken by David Durant, & those at Tintinhull by Simon Champion.
June 30th, 2022: Library update
As an additional resource, the COREhealth library is now online for Ordinary and Full members. To Access, please use your members' login.
This library contains Patrick Harries and Simon Champion's collection of Books and DVD's available for loan to Students. The library covers.
- Tai Chi Chuan / Tai Ji Quan
- Qui gong / Chi gong
- Body and health such as acupressure
June 30th, 2022.
A further 5 titles have been added to the library, bringing the total to 75 Books and DVD's, of which 4 are currently on loan.
October 16th, 2021: Simon Watson at Potters Bar.
On a drenching, wet October Saturday, 28 students turned out at the Lochinver School Hall, Potters bar, to take part in a workshop led by Simon Watson ( Longfei Taijiquan Association of Great Britain ) covering the Yang Style 88 routine in detail; the workshop was attended by Simon from COREhealth
Simon Watson is Senior Technical Advisor to Longfei Taijiquan Association of Great Britain. He began his training 22 years ago with his father Richard Watson. Since the formation of Longfei in 1991 he has trained extensively with his father, Professor Li De Yin and Master Wang Yanji. He has had a successful career in British Taiji competition and has been team captain to the British Wushu Team for both the European and World Wushu Championships.
After arriving at 9:00, the session started at 9:30am with a full body warm up. Simon explained that we would be exploring the first 30 moves in the morning, the second 30 moves in the afternoon, and the last 28 on Sunday Morning - these were not covered on the Saturday. When asked, most of the 28 students had practised (though not remembered) the full 88 routine with the other 6 being familiar with the 24. The coaching then begin.
Simon uses wit and humour mixed liberally with reminiscences from his long experience of Taiji and Qigong to reinforce his detailed knowledge of the form and it's details. Throughout the day, he referred to two books in the Member's Library.
- Taiji Quan, Li Deyin
- Taiji Quan in 88 forms, Victor Wu
We last attended a work shop on the 88 with Simon early in 2018; then it was the form and road map that was covered (all 88 moves in one day) whereas this year, as with the 24 last year, Simon went through some finer points about the routine, the Taijiquan forms in general with a large focus on the applications to provide a canvas for our understanding of the forms.
I took notes, audio recordings and some short videos of 4 key moves where there were significant corrections.
As always, there were minor revisions to the details of many of the moves and, just to mix things up.
For detailed report on the subtle changes, please see the report in the members' area..
Sept 25. Coach update.
The Tai Chi Union of Great Britain
25 September 2020
Re: Simon Champion (1611)
Dear Simon,
Following the Technical Panel meeting, their recommendation is that your Grade now be an A (Advanced).
I have enclosed your new card with the Grade updated and have informed John, our Webmaster.
The TCUGB wish you all the best in the future.
Best Wishes,
Aileen Mandić
(Treasurer. Membership Secretary)
October 21st, 2021: Library update
As an additional resource, the COREhealth library is now online for Ordinary and Full members. To Access, please use your members' login.
This library contains Patrick Harries and Simon Champion's collection of Books and DVD's available for loan to Students. The library covers.
- Tai Chi Chuan / Tai Ji Quan
- Qui gong / Chi gong
- Body and health such as acupressure
October 20th 2021.
A further 18 titles have been added to the library, bringing the total to 72 Books and DVD's, of which 7 are currently on loan.
Website Updates - Feb 2021
The Club now has a Risk Assessment with a view to putting a "World Tai Chi Day" (One World, One Breath) in our calendar for for April 24th, 10-11am in Pageant Gardens, Sherborne.
At the same time, the Sessions Page (menu) has been reorganised to have separate pages for:
What to wear has been updated with a few images of suitable footwear.
Stay Safe
Tai Chi Simple Indoor Exercise 2021-01-09
Back in December, Trevor was kind enough to Film me doing the simple indoor exercise - useful for beginners and for advance students stuck indoors with limited space.
The video is in the open area in the Tai Chi and Chi Kung area. The direct link to the page is here: "Tai Chi Simple Indoor Exercise"
Best regards and stay safe
For more information / updates please contact Simon Champion
October 7th, 2020: Tai Chi 10 Principles
I have just published an updated Tai Chi 10 Principles list.
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