Tonight's class cancelled :(

Hi everyone.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel tonight's class. I've gone down with a sudden bug and I think it's best if I don't come along and infect you all. The onset was very fast so I am hoping it will go away just as fast. I should be better in time for Wednesday's classes and definitely for the Chinese New Year celebrations in Telford this weekend.

All the best
Jane

Chinese New Year coming soon

It's almost time to say "gōng xĭ fā cái" as Chinese New Year is at the beginning of February this year, welcoming in the Year of the Monkey.

My school, the Deyin Taijiquan Institute in Telford, will be celebrating with a Tai Chi Bootcamp day on Saturday 6 February with lots of interesting tai chi and qigong workshops throughout the day. You can see details of the workshop and book here. There is also a get-together for a meal in the evening. The day is free to members, £15 otherwise. You can become a member for £15 and there will be more free bootcamps for members to come.

Another exciting event is coming up before Chinese New Year. On Saturday 30 January, there will be a morning workshop on tai chi applications and push hands with Angela Howarth in Crosby, Liverpool, also £15. Contact Angela directly to book. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Classes start again on Monday - I look forward to seeing you there.

Best wishes for 2016
Jane

16 step sword video

This is me doing 16 step sword form. Many thanks to Anne Crichton for the video.

Yang style 8 step video

Especially for Kay, here is a repost of my colleague Angela Howarth doing the 8 step form in the Festival Gardens in Liverpool.

Navel gazing and chirping birdies

Just spent a wonderful weekend in Telford doing the 88 step form with the Deyin Taijiquan Institute. As always I've come away feeling I've learned a lot about tai chi and there is still always a lot more to learn.

One thing I came away with was a reminder about how central the waist is. As Master Tary Yip said, "Nothing moves until you see the waist." Of course this doesn't mean bending your head down to stare at your belly button. It's in the mind that you see the waist. The waist moves and everything else follows. We've talked about this a lot in relation to White Crane Spreads Its Wings, but it is true in every move.

I also learned that the bird in lǎnquèwěi, grasping the bird's tail, is què (pronounced "chir"), which I think is a lovely bit of onomatopoeia.

Pictures from Monday class and updates on other classes

Here are the pictures from Monday's class - looking good everyone!

We have decided to wind down the Tuesday morning seated class for the Christmas season. This will hopefully start up again in January so I look forward to seeing you all again then.

I will be putting on another taster class for Age UK Wigan Borough Bright Days. This will be a 3 week course at Hallgate House in Wigan on Monday mornings starting next Monday 30 November at 10.30am. This is a normal standing class rather than a seated one.

As before the class is free (I believe) but you do have to be age 55+ and you need to register in advance. To do so contact Debra Shufflebottom on 01942 615883 or Debra.Shufflebottom@ageukwiganborough.org.uk.

For tomorrow's Wednesday classes don't forget to bring payment for the next block of four weeks to be sure of having a place as class size is limited. That takes us right up to Wednesday 23 December and Christmas.

 I will be taking a week's break from all classes at Christmas and will start again Monday 4 January.

That's all for now. As I said in class yesterday, if anyone wants anything from Tai Chi Link without having to pay postage, let me know and I will get it over the weekend.