Happy New Year!

I hope you have all been enjoying the Christmas holidays.

As we are having such a long break from tai chi, I had hoped that we would get a chance to do some outdoors over the break. Unfortunately, the weather is not looking promising. Rain is forecast for the 2nd and even if it doesn't rain that day the ground will be very boggy so I think I will have to give up on the idea. It was always a long shot.

Have a great New Year and I will see you at the beginning of term.

End of term

Well, December is here and it is the end of the Autumn term for my adult education classes. There will be new courses in January at Broadgreen and Newsham in Liverpool, but unfortunately the Lowton class is coming to an end today. For those of you at Lowton who would like to continue, there is my private class in the same place on Mondays at 8pm. You can also look for local classes on Tai Chi Finder or the Tai Chi Union website, or check your local gym or sports centre.

Because even the private class will have to close for two weeks over the Christmas period I am going to try and organise a get-together to do some outdoor tai chi (weather permitting of course!) so keep an eye on the blog.

Have a good Christmas everyone! I look forward to seeing some of you in the New Year. Keep up the tai chi.

Posts about stances

This is for my Lowton class - it will help with your homework. Those of you in my Liverpool classes may find it helpful too, especially if you want to go on to do the course after half-term.

Earlier in the year, I made several blog posts on stances. Rather than repost them, here are some links to them.

• Closed stance.
• Parallel stance.
• Horse stance.
• Bow stance.
• Empty stance.

This should be all you need for your homework, but if you look back through the blog there are other posts about stances that you may find interesting.

Welcome!

A big hello and a warm welcome to all of my new students for the Autumn term. And for those of you who have stuck around and keep coming back - thank you, you're the reason I keep coming back too.

For my new students at Lowton, here is the video of Master Tary Yip doing the 16-step form:

And for all my Liverpool students at Broadgreen, Rotunda and Newsham, here is Tary again, doing the 8-step form, slowly and calling out the moves in Chinese:

And for my advanced Lowton class, here is Master Faye Li Yip and students doing the taiji kungfu fan form:

Enjoy!

Enrolment week for beginners' classes

This week is enrolment week for beginners' classes in both Lowton and Liverpool. If you or anyone you know would like to sign up, then go to one of the enrolment sessions listed. Times are as follows:

• Monday 12th September, 6pm-8pm, 10 week course, 16-step form, Lowton High School, Warrington, Cheshire.
• Tuesday 13th September, 7pm-9pm, 5 week course, 8-step form, Broadgreen Adult Learning Centre, Liverpool.
• Thursday 15th September, 10am-midday, 5 week course, 8-step form, The Rotunda Adult Learning Centre, Liverpool.
• Thursday 15th September, 1pm-3pm, 5 week course, 8-step form, Newsham Adult Learning Centre, Liverpool.

Class times are same day same time but following week for the Liverpool classes. The Lowton class will start Monday 26th September and will be from 6.30pm to 8pm each week.

The 5 week courses in Liverpool will all be followed by another 5 week course for those who wish to continue. There are also other tai chi beginners' classes starting in Liverpool, so do call Newsham ALC and ask if you can't make one of those times.

The Lowton class will also be followed by another 10 week course after Christmas if there is enough interest.

And for those who prefer the flexibility and lack of paperwork in a private class beginners are also welcome to my private class at Lowton High School Mondays 8pm to 9.30pm starting any time.

10,000 people doing tai chi in Tiananmen Square

I've mentioned this demonstration a couple of times and I thought it was time I looked it up. I knew something like this would have to be on YouTube somewhere! It was apparently to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the China Wushu Association.

Bold Street Festival

In just under three weeks is the annual Bold Street Festival in Liverpool, with a samba band, Chinese dragons, a vintage fair and the world's smallest nightclub. What does this have to do with tai chi, you may ask? Well, there will also be a tai chi demonstration on the Sunday (25th September), organised by my friend and colleague, Angela Howarth. Now that you can all do the 24-step form, it would be great if we could get together as a class and go along and demonstrate it. What do you think?