Tai Chi Lunch and Learn engaging and well attended

By Michael Riley

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Lunch and Learn session at the Tudor and Cashel Township community centre in Gilmour was well attended on Jan. 8. Presented by Greg Magwood from Magwood's Martial Arts, the session focused on Tai Chi and other martial arts and their health benefits for those who partake in them. Councillor Elain Holloway and Magwood comment on this session to Bancroft This Week.

Magwood's martial arts journey started when he earned his yellow belt twice as a youth. According to his biography on his webpage at www.magwoodmartialarts.com ¹, it wasn't until his teenage years that he embraced it fully.

In 1988 he started studying Chito Ryu Karate and Canadian Jiu Jitsu with Sensei/Sifu Robert Walther of The Snow Tigers Martial Arts Association. The following year, he was introduced to Tai Chi and Chi Kung, which instantly captivated him. Greg's curiosity led him to discover Kung Fu, a closed-door practice at the time. It took almost a year of persistent efforts to gain access to Kung Fun lessons including My Jhong Law Horn Pai and Hsing Yi Chuan. From 1991 to 1995, Greg served as Sensei Walther's full-time teaching assistant. IN 1994, Greg realized his lifelong dream by opening his first martial arts club. He continued to expand his knowledge by participating in workshops and classes with various martial arts teachers, always searching for common principles that define excellence in combat. Greg's martial arts journey took him internationally, with stays in Thailand for meditation at Wat Nanachat Forest Monastery and training in Kalarippayattu in Trivandrum, South India under C.V. Govindankutty Nair Gurukkal. Today, Greg holds a 7^th Dan black belt in Canadian Jiu Jitsu, a 3^rd Dan black belt in Chito Ryu Karate from Sensei Monty Guest of Kai Shin Karate, and is recognized as a respected teacher (Sifu) of Tai Chi and Kung Fu. His unwavering commitment to mastering the fundamentals remains a hallmark of his martial arts philosophy.

Holloway told Bancroft This Week that the Lunch and Learn was an engaging demonstration of the art of Tai Chi from Magwood, with a lunch of soup and salad following the class.

“Greg took a moment to clear up a few of the myths floating around on social media—especially those dramatic images of “ripped abs.” Instead, he highlighted what Tai Chi is truly about: controlled, isolated, slow movements that strengthen the body, stretch tight areas, and gently release builtup tension. He walked participants through the many benefits, including; building overall strength, supporting healthy digestion, enhancing brain health, learning to ‘relax harder' by noticing where tension gathers, then softening until those tight spots begin to release, and linking breath with motion—inhale, move, and release with intention,” she says.   

Lee Lander Love Maidlow wasn't able to attend the Lunch and Learn but told Bancroft This Week that she does attend Magwood's online classes and sometimes his Tuesday evening classes.

“He is a great teacher. I was amazed at the number of people there at the Lunch and Learn. It was very well attended and I was proud of Tudor and Cashel for putting this on,” she says.

Holloway said that the session offered a calm, welcoming space to explore how small, mindful movements can make a meaningful difference in daily well-being.

“Tai Chi classes will now be offered twice a week, on Tuesday afternoons and evenings. For more information, please contact Program Coordinator Melissa at 6134742583,” she says.

Magwood told Bancroft This Week that they had a great turnout and all the seats were full.

“I don't know if it was me or the free lunch that came afterwards though,” he says with a chuckle.

Magwood says he's been running Tai Chi classes in Tudor and Cashel since September and it sounded like there was interest in a class in the daytime for those who didn't want to travel at night and those with more mobility restrictions.

“They were looking for a program for that so the idea was to do a Lunch and Learn to see if there was interest in moving forward with an afternoon program and from the feedback there was. We are now doing a Thursday afternoon class starting this week [the week of Jan. 12],” he says.

Magwood says the classes he does are focused more on Chi Kung, not Tai Chi, which he says is what most people are looking for when they say they want Tai Chi. He says the former helps with mobility, range of motion and core strength, kind of the Chinese medicine side of movement.

“So if you are seeing a traditional Chinese doctor, one of the modalities that they'll prescribe for you is exercises out of Chi Kung branch of movement. So when you get to Tai Chi, it's a martial art that adapted these Chi Kung principles into the martial art, to help work on strength and mobility for their practioners, but there's a whole other layer of the martial arts system when you work with Tai Chi. With Chi Kung, there's not as much complexity so I find it's a lot easier for people to work through. It works better for people when they're looking for a gentle exercise for mobility and core strength,” he says.

The best piece of advice Magwood can give somebody looking to start up Tai Chi or Chi Kung is there is no rush.

“We're not looking for quick gains. We're looking for slow gains on the long term because longevity is our goal. What we're looking for are ways and patterns and things that we can do sustainably in order to have our autonomy as long as possible and keep our range of motion. So, in order to keep your range of motion you need to use your range of motion. So, the goal is to go through a good range of motion on a daily basis. And that stability and balance are some of the best core strength exercises you can do. So, we're looking for practicality, but the biggest thing I say to people is just be patient with yourself. Quite often people mistake slow with simple or easy but slow can be quite detailed and sometimes we're asking for people to coordinate all their limbs and that's something that takes time. I usually tell people to be patient with themselves, that there's no rush because it takes time but we're going to work on the long-term,” he says.

Magwood says that Chi Kung addresses the whole body so there's lots of range of motion for the spine in terms of rotational capacity, being able to turn and move the trunk and neck from side to side.

“A lot of it is about having exercises that encourage you into that range without going toward overuse or damage. A lot of people are push, push, push, no pain no gain, kind of concept of exercise which often ends up breaking down people's bodies and they kind of give up, whereas with a slow gentle process, we build up and we maintain over that long term and we avoid going to places that are going to cause injury and that allows us to continue as much as possible because we're not injuring ourselves in the process,” he says. “I would just suggest that they're offering a really good opportunity to get involved there with an evening and an afternoon program so coming out and giving it a try is the best way to see if it's something that works for you.”

1. http://www.magwoodmartialarts.com