I began Tai-Chi when I was 23 years old. I remember my first lesson, the grace of the instructor Bob Gillies and the push hands form of the Mill with Susan. I have been through bouts of learning it intensively. I even bought a plane ticket to Taiwan to learn from a master, but it coincided with a postal strike and another life path took over. Most recently I’ve been learning from a 70 year old woman whose main emphasis is on the health properties of Chi Qong.

There are three levels of Tai-Chi which correspond somewhat to the principles of other physical and paired work: focus on the individual poise, the individual movement, and the movement arising from a pair of people, their motion and emotion and intention. These correlate to Meditation, Dance and Martial Art forms of Tai-Chi.

Like most of my lessons, I do not possess names of things, moves and so on. The level of Tai-Chi is therefore rudimentary, not sophisticated. It is based on developing an internal sense. In terms of Meditation Tai-Chi, the effect is to feel stillness. For me, Tai-Chi was a more accessible way to mental quietude through the portal of slowing down bodily movement.

The three lessons only posit the beginning of practice, and will consist of these elements:

• slow practice of a form, eg 24 yang style
• grounding techniques, eg tree stance
• motion, eg silk-reeling
• (+ simple push hands, eg the mill)

The initial forms taught can be continued regularly with another teacher, or learning from the internet or a book. My experience was the 88-form, 24-form, and more recently other forms. I did not wish to develop a range of techniques, but delved into the same form. It is very much like traditional teaching in schools: we learn a huge amount of knowledge and skills, which we then make use of later in life. Most of my learning over the years is a return to the same form and discovering aspects within them.

So, part of a form are taught, together with techniques for groundedness, and simple motion, with the option of push hands. The entire Tai-Chi palate is tasted. The emphasis, however, is on the internal meditative aspect.

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