In a few words

 

Javier currently studies Tai Chi and Internal Energy Arts of the Taoist Water Method with Paul Cavel, senior instructor of lineage holder master Bruce Frantzis. He has been teaching this material since 2021.

 

Thanks to an extensive background on sports science and the western model of anatomy and biomechanics, Javier is able to bridge the gap between the ancient Taoist technology from the East and the modern scientific understanding developed in the West.

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A longer read

From fire to water

 

Javier has been passionate about martial arts all his life, accumulating more than 25 years of experience in traditional martial arts and combat sports.

 

He started practising traditional Karate Shotokai with Suichi Saito at the age of eight in Donostia (San Sebastian), in the north of Spain. In his twenties, he trained Wing Tsun Kung Fu under Sifu Jose Manuel Cortes, from the Ip Man lineage as passed down by Leung Ting.

 

After moving to the UK, he joined a boxing club at the age of twenty-nine, falling in love with the sweet science of western boxing and the intensity of the training. Around this time he also starts teaching self-defence and Wing Tsun to small groups of students in the parks of London.

 

Martial arts and combat sports defined his movement practice for years, a practice that relies upon very hard and intense training, a very fiery and Yang approach.

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The importance of YIN

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In 2011, he specialised in strength and conditioning for the fight athlete, with significant focus on bodyweight and kettlebell training. Even though at that point of his life he was extremely fit and every single blood test confirmed that he was in good health, that was only in the outside. The internal environment was a different story.

 

Several physical issues originated by a stressful lifestyle and emotional imbalances sent him to the hospital in 2012, making him realise the importance of having a balanced approach to training, and a more relaxed approach to life: he immediately included Tai Chi Chuan in his practice, adding a softer and more relaxing discipline to his routine – the Yin element that had been missing.

 

From 2013 to 2019, he studied the Wu style of Tai Chi Chuan as taught in the school founded by Gary Wragg in London, disciple of Eddie Wu Kwong Yu.

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An exploration of movement in search of knowledge and freedom of motion

 

Understanding the limitations of his movement practice, and moved for a passion to learn more about the human body, in 2015 he started exploring other disciplines including ashtanga and vinyasa yoga, calisthenics, gymnastics, animal flow, the Ido Portal Method and soft acrobatics.

 

He also qualified as a Sports Massage Therapist in 2016 and focused on the study of functional training and human biomechanics according to the western model of sports science.

 

In 2018 he becomes a yoga teacher and studies his 300h advanced teacher training with yoga anatomy specialist Jason Crandell.

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The journey into the Taoist Internal Arts of the Water Tradition

 

In 2019 Javier meets Paul Cavel, founder of the Tai Chi Space in London, who at the time was teaching NeiGong of the Taoist Water Method. From this point onwards, Paul becomes his primary teacher, learning Wu Tai Chi, Yang Tai Chi, Dragon and Tiger Medical QiGong, NeiGong and Meditation, starting a journey of self development and cultivation that continues today.