Home / Classes / How to begin

同修 · tóngxiū · Practising together

Come and
practise.

More than a collection of classes: a community in which practice, study and mutual respect can deepen over time.

T'ai Chi Ch'uan
Sunday, 10:00 EH49 Hub, Linlithgow
Eighteen Lohan Palm
Coming soon Edinburgh — dates to be announced
Daoist practice
Coming soon On Zoom — dates to be announced

Beginning

Start where you are.

You do not need previous martial arts experience, unusual flexibility, knowledge of Chinese philosophy or experience of meditation. You need curiosity and a willingness to practise.

Start with T'ai Chi

Weekly · Sunday 10:00

Best if you want a structured weekly martial and movement practice with standing, form and partner work. This is the one session that runs every week, and the easiest door into everything else.

See T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Start with Lohan

Coming soon

Best if you want a complete system of cultivation in one place — conditioning, dǎoyǐn, internal skill, martial application and meditation. The class is being set up; Sifu Neil Ripski also visits the UK from time to time to teach it directly.

See Lohan Palm

Start with Daoist practice

Coming soon

Best if your main interest is quiet sitting, standing, breath cultivation, yǎngshēng, scripture study and the wider Daoist tradition.

See Daoist practice

Open to all

Available to all. Serious in practice. Light on unnecessary gates.

The community is open to beginners and to established practitioners. There is no need to identify as Daoist, and no requirement to take up everything on offer. Teaching has structure, but the community itself should be larger than any one teacher.

Teaching is offered on a recommended donation basis rather than for a fee. What comes in covers the room, the materials and keeping the practice going. There is nothing to sign and no membership to join, and nobody is turned away for lack of funds — give what suits your circumstances and say nothing more about it.

Internally Still is being established as a community interest company. Registration is in progress.

What to expect

Clear teaching. Questions welcome.

  • Get in touch first

    A short message means someone is expecting you and can meet you at the door.

  • Come as you are

    Loose clothing and flat shoes. No uniform, no equipment, no grading system to buy into.

  • Arrive a few minutes early

    Enough time to be introduced and shown where to stand, rather than walking into something already under way.

  • Practise, then decide

    Try a few sessions before committing to anything. Practice is the only sensible basis for judging whether this suits you.

Get in touch