Tai Chi & Gong Fu Fan-tastic in Fitness Hub Leytonstone
High like a mountain, low as a river valley when you train, wave and feel your connection with your Tai Chi fan!
Time: Thursdays at 6-7pm
Venue: East London Fitness Hub, 771-773 High Road, Leytonstone, E11 4QS
In the warmer and summer months we may move outdoors.
Dao Lu is very pleased to work in partnership with East London Fitness Hub and introduce this beautiful ancient Chinese art into Leytonstone. All bookings via our partner’s website for this Tai Chi fan class at:
Fan is not only visually striking, it is also practical to carry and keep us cool. Why not add extra health benefits by learning a popular fan form called Tai Chi & Gong Fu Fan?
Tai Chi & Gong Fu Fan was created during China’s time of applying for Beijing Olympics 2008, as a mass exercise and wellbeing activity for people to keep fit while having great fun with a popular song, Chinese Kung Fu. On 18 February 2001, 2008 people performed this fan routine in Beijing and introduced it to the world. It has since become the most popular fan form in China and over the world.
Learn basics such as wrist conditioning and movement, opening in different directions and closing fan, and some Tai Chi footwork and stance. Putting these basic together, we will learn the fan form section by section, repeating and refining all the time and match up movement with the music beats.
To help with an idea on the whole form, here is a fan performance we did on 8 May 2023 at Coronation Weekend in Waltham Forest Fellowship Square:
Instructor Aileen (Ai Ling, 爱玲) trained Chen Style Tai Chi for 12 years with Shaolin Master, Shifu Mark Browne (Shi Hei Long, 释黑龙), a 34th generation disciple of Shaolin Temple, China. She attends regular training workshops with visiting Chen Village masters from China in London. She had the BCCMA (British Council for Chinese Martial Arts, a national governing body) Level 3 coaching qualification. She has been teaching for over 10 years.
Aileen was one of the founders in 2013 to set up Dao Lu CIC – the place you are looking up the information right now – a community group training Tai Chi and promoting healthy lifestyle in local green space and nature reserve. Aileen taught in a wide range settings to people of all walks and abilities, such as in the Kew Gardens from 2022 to date, Natural History Museum London in 2023, young people with learning disabilities near Padding from 2016 to date, blind people, South Asian women etc.
Clothing – flexible and weather-appropriate. T-shirt, and black jogging trousers (or similar). Footwear – plimsolls or lightweight trainers.
Drinks – please bring a small bottle of water.
To know a bit more about Tai Chi, you can listen to Michael Mosely’s Just One Thing podcast on TryTai Chi, which aired on 18th January, BBC Sounds: How Tai Chi can boost your immune system, rewire your brain and even reduce visceral fat.
Just One Thing – with Michael Mosley – Try Tai Chi – BBC Sounds
To know a bit more about Dao Lu, you can watch this film made in March 2023 to celebrate our 10th birthday: Welcome to Dao Lu: Tai Chi for the Community
You can also watch this 3 minute Dao Lu/Wendy film, told by Wendy, a Dao Lu Tai Chi student in her 70s, as part of 1,000 Londoners Project.