Reviews

Reviews Pages

In the early days of Tai Chi and Qigong in Europe it was often difficult to find a good teacher or locate material on the subjects you wanted to learn. Books were few and far between and often poor quality translations from the original Chinese texts. In the early days of videotape the films were badly lit, speech often muffled and usually consisted of dry form performances with little instructional advice. Now 30 – 40 years on we have a myriad of resources at our disposal to help us to get the best out of our training. DVDs YouTube clips and websites offer an incredible range of material, which, in turn creates more difficulties in trying to sift through them to find good quality material.

In these pages pages we include reviews on many approaches to tai chi and Chinese Internal Arts. Literature, from magazines, downloads and books, be they paper or digital downloads will help you to gain a better understanding of these arts and can often guide you to clearer ways of learning.

In all areas of Europe we have experienced an incredible increase in the number of multi-style gatherings, workshops, seminars, festivals and competitions. These events offer great opportunities to meet, share and test your skills with fellow practitioners. Camps like Recontres Jasnieres, staged annually in the Loire Valley, France, intensive seminars like Tai Chi Caledonia in Scotland, North Sea Tai Chi in the Netherlands, Lalilta in Spain, AquaVenice in Italy and the International Push Hands Meetings in Hannover, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic have all played a considerable role in improving the knowledge base and skills of many European tai chi players.

Our reviews are written by people like you, tai chi enthusiasts, from range of backgrounds and experience that have been working to develop their skills further. They provide an overview of the work of key teachers and what they have taught, the quality of food, accommodation and how it is to work with colleagues and friends from various European locations.

We welcome contributions from practitioners of all levels from anywhere in Europe and beyond, your point of view will help others on their journey too.

Reviews on Tai Chi & Qigong Events

Review on the International Push Hands Meeting 2024

Rencontres Jasnieres 2017

Every summer for the last thirty years there has been a tai chi get-together near Le Mans in Northern France. For this anniversary year the organisers arranged some special events, but on the whole the meeting has not changed since it began in 1987. The Rencontres Jasnieres (RJ) is organised by local tai chi association ARAMIS (Association de Recherche en Arts Martiaux Internes en Sarthe) which was founded in 1980 by Serge Dreyer. Serge, along with a committee of tai chi enthusiasts, brings tai chi practitioners from around the world together every year on the last weekend of July…