"Be still my heart, be still." I chant to myself in silence as I try to calm down and be quiet. She made it look so easy but I appreciate the difficulty of it, as I stand in a half squat, eyes closed and arms wide open, embracing the trunk of a huge imaginary tree. I try to ignore the heat (it is a balmy [read sticky hot] summer evening), the occasional fly sitting on my face or hands, tickling me and effectively puncturing my motionless stance, the sound of distant traffic. I know my instructor is watching, hovering around silently and as I cheat and half-open one eye, I see her silhouette out of the corner of that half-open eye and quickly shut it again. Concentrate. Eventually I get the hang of it and am somewhat dismayed when I am called to attentionand have to land back to practise the next move.
I am one of a small class of people of different ages, sizes and backgrounds, attempting to grasp the very basics of Tai Chi. The slow graceful movements that slowly help tone and strengthen muscles and increase agility. Our instructor is Alana Axisa, a young woman who has spent all her life practising martial arts in some form or other. Every move she demonstrates is graceful, flowing, seemingly easy to replicate. I, for one, find myself often fumbling - which hand should I arch, which should I hold and then, where do I put my foot? I do my best to copy the instructor but, Tai Chi takes some time to master and I am only in my first session. In the end, I achieve much for somebody who is only just trying her hand at Tai Chi for the first time ever.
Meeting Alana over a coffee, out of the class, helps me understand her better, especially when she starts recounting something about her childhood. She is not wearing anything remotely indicative of the fact that she is a professional Tai Chi instructor. To a stranger, she is just your average young woman. "I come from a family of black belts where martial arts are a way of life. I started spirit combat at age four." This statement is nothing short of amazing, but fully understandable when one learns that Alana's father is Adrian Axisa, a fitness and martial arts coach who introduced spirit combat and kick-boxing to Malta. Eventually they, (daughter and father) started training in Tai Chi when she was 25 and six years down the line, she is already a Second Level instructor.
"My involvement with Tai Chi really took off during 2011/12, when my father invited a Chinese Tai Chi Master from the UK to Malta and he trained us further. The Chinese Cultural Centre also invited a Chinese Master to give a course here in Malta and I enrolled as a student. I was singled out as being of a good level and in 2015 was invited to travel to China to give a Tai Chi demonstration during a Youth Arts Festival. It was a huge honour for me, to say the least. I stayed in China for two weeks and it was all such an eye-opening experience, a culture shock and a wake-up call in my life. China enthralled me and I plan to visit the country again and train further."
Why Tai Chi? Alana admits that as soon as she started training in Tai Chi, she felt a connection with this ancient Chinese discipline and advanced quickly, rapidly mastering the skills required. She explains how it makes her feel comfortable in the way it complements her other disciplines.
Alana shares information about Tai Chi, adding to what I had grasped of Tai Chi in the few basic sessions I attended. "Since it is slow, low impact and a form of self-defence, Tai Chi is suitable for people of all ages. We actually promote it to Day Centres for the elderly since it is very beneficial to people advanced in age, helping the aged to maintain good mobility. Tai Chi movements become imprinted in you and help you achieve improved balance and movement coordination. This, apart from instilling a sense of peace and stillness. People living a hectic life also tend to fully appreciate the calmness of Tai Chi."
Asked how Tai Chi differs from the other martial arts she practises, Alana tells me how kick-boxing is very physical, an excellent cardio workout and a great assistance in the quest of weight loss. Spirit Combat positions itself midway between kick-boxing and Tai Chi, neither as aggressive as kick-boxing nor as calm and quiet as Tai Chi.
However, Alana admits Tai Chi is her favourite martial art form so far. "It might seem strange that this slow-moving discipline can work so well to tone the body and the philosophy of Tai Chi self-defence is also exceptionally interesting. Whether you try out Tai Chi as a sport, as a self-defence skill or simply to relax and tone your body, it is beneficial all round."