Two Weeks on the Sand: Training at Sennen Cove, Summer 2026
Tai Chi and Kung Fu beside the sea in Whitesand Bay
This summer we moved our training out of the hall and onto the beach. For two weeks in July and August, students and teachers from the Truro, Falmouth and St Agnes classes met at Sennen Cove, on the edge of Whitesand Bay, and trained from morning until late afternoon with the Atlantic in front of us.
How Cornwall became our summer home
It started in 2005, when our Easter course at Warwick School was double booked. Lying in the bath, I wondered what would happen if we ran it in Cornwall instead. We had been holidaying here for years, ever since a hurricane flattened our tent in North Devon, so I consulted the I Ching and tossed a coin: heads we go, tails we stay. It came up heads, and it changed our lives.
We piloted a week-long course based at the St Just Sports Centre, with everyone staying in holiday cottages nearby, and for years afterwards we came back every Easter and for three weeks each summer. In 2010 we booked a cottage by mistake that turned out to be a permanent let. The coin pointed the same way again, and we moved here that September.
In 2018 a researcher from ITN asked about filming our summer course. Sennen Cove, where we usually finish the course with a beach party, was the obvious setting. The weather held all week and the crew captured wonderful footage for an ITN Tonight documentary on alternatives to painkillers.
Students from near and far
Over the years our courses have drawn people from across the country and around the world. This year we welcomed students and teachers from our Cornish clubs, the Midlands, Brighton and Switzerland. Training beside people with different habits and different questions sharpens everyone’s practice.
Week one: Tai Chi (27 to 31 July)
We worked through the Tai Chi forms and spent a lot of time on sticky hands, the two-person practice of listening, yielding and responding. Sand is a demanding teacher: the ground moves under you, so balance and rooting have to be honest. Bea partnered Jane, a dance graduate from Switzerland, and we were struck by how quickly she grasped the principles of spontaneous movement, or Wuwei.
The UK heatwave was at its height, but a light haze and patchy cloud kept the beach comfortable. At lunch Bea’s large canopy gave shade, so everyone could rest properly before the afternoon session.
Week two: Kung Fu, Hand of the Wind (3 to 7 August)
The second week was mostly for our more experienced students, so we moved into freeform training. Alongside more sticky hands, we took apart techniques that are notoriously hard to get right, such as the rear naked choke. Slowing a technique down, separating its parts and rebuilding it is where real understanding comes from.
Camping, breakfasts and Cornish food
Many of us camped at Brea Vean Farm, where the nights were warm and there was no morning dew. We started each day early with a full cooked breakfast, most often at the Dog and Rabbit, and tried other cafés in St Just and Sennen Cove too.
Evenings were spent around West Penwith: Newlyn, the Mackerel Sky, the Tolcarne Inn, Mousehole, the Coastguard Inn, and a takeaway from the Red Star Beijing in St Just.
Join us next time
Whether you are new to Tai Chi, coming back after a break, or already training and ready to go deeper, our courses are built for steady progress over days rather than a single hour. To hear about the next course, get in touch.