You may attend any active group once as a visitor, if you contact the group coordinator first, but to continue you have to become a member of Bedford u3a.

Beginners' group from 10-11am. More advanced group 11.10am-12noon

Although Tai Chi was first developed as a martial art some 4,000 years ago, nowadays it is largely practised as a system of exercise which aims to improve physical and mental health through posture training and exercising all parts of the body.

It is suitable for a very wide range of people irrespective of age and gender.

Like yoga, Tai Chi consists of a number of stances, each with its own clear definition and structure, rather like a freeze frame. Unlike yoga, however, these are connected by a sequence of relaxed but precise movements. The non-stop sequence of movements is called THE FORM.

There are several styles of Tai Chi, each with their own distinguishing characteristics and each called after the family or clan which originally developed it.

The most familiar form of Tai Chi to westerners is probably the Beijing 24 forms. This was devised in the late 1940s at request of the Wushu Council of China; Tai Chi practitioners were asked to devise a standard composite style which could be widely adopted to improve the health of Chinese people after the Second World War.

Group members are advised to wear loose fitting clothing and flat soled sports shoes or trainers as well as to bring a bottle of water.

Two groups are available. Both meet at Oakley Village Hall every Tuesday.. The first group, from 10 to 11am is for beginners. Here, the basic principles of Tai Chi are introduced and a simplified 8 posture short form broadly based on Yang style is taught.

The second group, meeting from 11am to 12 noon, is more advanced. It continues the 8 posture form as a warm up.
We also practice a sequence of movement exercises called Shibashi. The main focus of the session however is a 16 form series of Tai Chi postures. The session also covers the Lee Family style of Tai Chi.