Movement as Medicine
Tai Ji Quan, Ba Gua Zhang and Qi Gong as living practices of yangsheng — the art of nourishing life.
Practised today mostly for relaxation or wellbeing, these forms originated within a much broader tradition of nourishing life. The same medical principles that inform the Listening Clinic, the Menopause Clinic and Earth·Body·Cloud workshops also underlie these movement practices — cultivating health not through needles or herbs, but through posture, alignment, breath and intention.
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As the body gradually softens and opens, the meridians become more freely interconnected, circulation improves, and qi — a force that is not simply energy but part of the cosmos itself — enlivens the body. Each form also carries another dimension: these are complete martial systems whose movements contain methods of self-defence, structural alignment, breath training and internal cultivation. Practised slowly and attentively, they become a form of moving meditation — strengthening the body while quietening the mind.
My teaching brings together over twenty-five years of practice across two complementary martial lineages. Rather than teaching these as performance disciplines, I teach them as living practices for health, resilience, longevity and increased embodied awareness.
Two lineages, one practice of embodied attention
Chinese internal arts have traditionally been transmitted through long-term teacher–student relationships, where understanding develops through years of embodied practice rather than written instruction. The forms taught through Ars Medica draw upon two complementary lineages that I have studied continuously for more than two decades. Together they provide both the medical and martial foundations of my teaching.
Fujian White Crane — Grandmaster Dennis Kah Swee Ngo
My training began in 2000 under Grandmaster Dennis Kah Swee Ngo in both the hard and soft traditions of Fujian White Crane. Alongside empty-hand forms, weapons training, sparring and competition, I undertook sustained study of the White Crane soft form (Shuang Yang Pei Ho Bai He Chuan 霜阳派柔软白鹤拳) — a continuous sequence of sixty-six movements practised slowly as an internal discipline.
The aim is not the outward mastery of the movements, but slow alignments that open the meridians to improve qi circulation — accessible to practitioners of any age, and supportive of healing and recovery as much as of skill.
The form traces back to the mid-17th century under Master Fang Qi Niang, a woman who learned White Crane from her father, a monk of the Southern Shaolin Monastery, and became renowned within a predominantly male martial culture. White Crane developed as an art where embodied efficiency overcomes force — timing, structure, alignment, sensitivity and relaxation transforming apparent disadvantage into formidable strength. It is this philosophy, as much as the movements themselves, that continues to shape my teaching.
Chen, Yang & Ba Gua Zhang — Grandmaster Huang Ping
A second training lineage followed in 2004 with Grandmaster Huang Ping at the Dreaming Dragon Academy: Chen style (56 movements), Yang style (42 movements), Yang sword style (42 movements), and Ba Gua Zhang forms from Huang Ping's specialist lineage under Master Sha Guozheng.
Huang Ping's own training began at eight years old in Yunnan Province, entering the Yunnan Provincial Wushu Team at ten and later the China National Wushu Team, with decades of competition, coaching and international teaching across the UK, the Olympic team of Burma, and beyond.
Together these traditions complement one another. White Crane cultivates rootedness, softness and close-range precision. Chen style develops explosive spiralling power and structural elasticity. Yang style emphasises expansive continuity and refinement, while Ba Gua Zhang introduces constant circular change through walking practice. Rather than treating these as separate systems, my teaching draws on what each reveals about movement, balance, breathing and internal organisation.
From Blue Orchid Arts to Ars Medica
These lineages were later brought together through my own teaching. Before undertaking my doctoral research I taught White Crane, Tai Ji and Ba Gua through Blue Orchid Arts in Frome. Teaching resumed during my appointment as Associate Professor at ICI–Xiamen University, where I introduced White Crane practice to fellow university lecturers in Fujian — the region from which the tradition itself emerged. After several years devoted primarily to research, this work now returns as part of Ars Medica.
Movement for menopausal well-being
Within the Menopause Clinic these movement practices form part of the Vital Forms programme. As hormonal change alters connective tissue, balance, strength and energy, slow internal movement offers a practical way to cultivate stability, confidence and resilience — inhabiting the changing body with greater strength, awareness and ease, alongside the writing, drawing and other art forms offered through Vital Forms.
Full details — Menopause & Vital Forms →Current rates reflect introductory pricing while the practice establishes in Portugal — they will be reviewed in early 2027. A free 20-minute introductory call is available to discuss which might suit your needs.
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