Since I installed the new version of MS Internet Explorer this afternoon my PC has been doing stupid things, all the typefaces look horrible and I can no longer upload captions with my photos at the mo, here on blogger. Oh well, that's progress.
The brush drawings below are by Loni Leibermann from 'T'ai Chi as a Path of Wisdom' by Linda Myoki Lerhaupt.
28 November 2006
A few things
Apologies go out to any of my regular students who have not found out verbally from me that I am off South soon. It has been hard to keep track of who got told due to occasional absences at class amongst the 42 students that I currently teach. Best to look on the positive side: your teacher will be improving her T'ai Chi... I will be studying 4 nights and 1 afternoon a week with T'ai Chi masters, and trying to get as much practise in with my class mates and friends as I can as well as having fortnightly 121s. I promise not to keep anything just for myself!
Preferences are mainly for the second of the two possible Spring workshop weekend dates. I will make a decision on this soon.
I have booked a great hall at the Town Hall, Inverurie, for the Tuesday night Sabre Form lesson on 23rd January 7-9pm.
Davina, Michael and myself happen to be in Aberdeen on the day I go South (18th December) and are going to grab a bite to eat at the Beautiful Mountain Cafe on Belmont Street at 12.30pm before he has to go to work. I just wondered if anyone else would like to join us, no need to notify. However, the spiced chick pea salad and home made sourdough bread are worth bunking off work for.
Preferences are mainly for the second of the two possible Spring workshop weekend dates. I will make a decision on this soon.
I have booked a great hall at the Town Hall, Inverurie, for the Tuesday night Sabre Form lesson on 23rd January 7-9pm.
Davina, Michael and myself happen to be in Aberdeen on the day I go South (18th December) and are going to grab a bite to eat at the Beautiful Mountain Cafe on Belmont Street at 12.30pm before he has to go to work. I just wondered if anyone else would like to join us, no need to notify. However, the spiced chick pea salad and home made sourdough bread are worth bunking off work for.
25 November 2006
24 November 2006
At last night's class in Inverurie we finished the Short Form with the second group of students. In the New Year, after a bit of revision we will get stuck in to the Long Form. Inevitably I forgot to take any photographs... next week, perhaps. Well done, everyone. Now you have something to really practise with even when there's no-one else around.
Change
As almost all of my students already know, I am moving to London late this December to study T'ai Chi with Mark and Heartquest with John as much as I can. Jim and I are selling our place and going our separate ways totally amicably and are still carrying on with our band, Tells, as well as other musical projects together. I am very sad to be leaving this house where we have done so much wonderful T'ai Chi and music as well as having been surrounded by nature. However, the city and study call, and I am excited that I will be nearer my family and old friends, as well as T'ai Chi partners in crime like Dave and Marli! I would like to use this place for T'ai Chi as much as possible over the coming months before I leave (the proposed date to move out would be 30th January).
I have discussed all the options with Mark, senior students and the Ad Ed providers who run our classes. We have found a great way to continue that will serve the students and enable you to continue studying T'ai Chi and enjoying your classes. As long as you want to study, Mark and I are happy to teach.
I intend to spend one out of every four weeks during term time staying here in Aberdeenshire. During that week I will take all the classes (at the moment Turriff on Monday and Inverurie on Weds and Thurs, as well as drop-in on Sunday). All the time I am not at class I will be available for 121s or other group sessions. On the Tuesday nights I propose to teach a Sabre Form class at the Wyness Hall, and all will be welcome to attend. I am teaching an 'advance guard' of senior students the Long Form as well as further partner work and some of them will become instructors for the classes on the weeks when I am away. All the instructors and teaching assistants have been asked to do this by myself and Mark, please support them in any way you can. I am delighted that people want to study enough to keep Great River T'ai Chi running so we can all keep our T'ai Chi cooking together.
From January, Monday and Wednesday classes will remain very much as they are but with instructors running the sessions 3 of every 4 weeks. New students and total beginners are welcome to join. Thursday sessions will have an 'intensive' each time I am up where I will teach a good sized section of Long Form postures for the main part of the class. New students with more than a year's experience of T'ai Chi may join this class after discussing suitability with Caroline. Over the following 3 weeks you will get to revise and practise the postures at a more leisurely pace and weave the Long Form together in a similar manner to how we have worked on the the Short Form. Partnerwork and other regular parts of class will continue just as they do now. Don't worry about forgetting the Short Form, it will become a weekly warm-up for the Long Form, and we will take a question on any posture each week. Sunday drop-ins will continue at students' houses as they often do when I'm away, and all will be welcome. The blog will always have up to date news of where they will be held.
In the end it comes down to something very simple: if we love and enjoy our T'ai Chi, and we find that it serves our lives and deepens our connection to each other, then we continue. To give up for 'external' reasons such as a teacher's geographical distance or a dislike of change would be very sad, and a poor excuse. For the last 4 years I have been travelling 1200 mile round trips to study with Mark, and latterly with John too. If something's important enough, we find a way to do it. I would be delighted to help any students in any way I can with their T'ai Chi so that they can continue to study: time, distance, or lack of funds are no bar.
All the proposed dates for my teaching weeks as well Mark's weekends and workshops are below. I would love feedback as many of the dates are easily moved, I have stated if they are already confirmed due to travel tickets already purchased. I would like as many folks as possible to be able to attend. We may have a beginner's day again in the Spring, as we have had several enquiries. Also, Paolo and Davina may start a class in Alford after Easter, if there is enough interest. I will continue to go to John's Intensives and hope that students will join me every few months when they occur. Myself, and David too when he is free, will assist at Mark's workshops and weeks in Aberdeenshire, we have several venues to choose from but I would love to hear about others you may know, such as community halls in the Inverurie / Alford area. I intend to start a daytime class in South London, as this will not clash with my study or assisting at Mark's classes. Other than that, I hope I can get by renting out a couple of rooms and being a T'ai Chi bum, I don't want to do anything that will get in the way of being able to study or come up here to teach.
Lastly I would like to thank all my students for their enthusiasm, love and support over what has been a hugely challenging year. When I get a place to live in London students will be very welcome to come and stay whilst they study with myself, Mark or at the BTCCA. The B&B price will be set at a session of pushing hands - and possibly some chocolate or tablet (that's a kind of fudge to you southerners).
Dates 2007:
January 2nd-6th:121s with Mark or Caroline in Forgue - spaces available. confirmed
January 17th & 18th: Inverurie Weds and Thurs classes begin - enrol at GEC before 8th Dec.
January 22nd: Turriff class begins - enrol at Gateway Centre asap.
January 23rd-29th: Sabre class on Tuesday 23rd 7pm at Wyness Hall, all other regular classes with Caroline teaching, 121s available in Forgue. confirmed
February 20th-26th: Sabre on Tues and all other classes with Caroline as above, 121s near Monymusk.
March 20th-26th or 27th-2nd April: Sabre and all classes with Caroline as above and Spring Weekend Workshop with Mark over one of the Fri-Sat-Suns to include TaLu, Sabre, Partnerwork, Beginner's and Long Form workshops. Please let me know which week is preferable.
April 14th-20th: Spring Weeklong T'ai Chi Workshop with Mark, venue TBC.
May 8th-14th: Sabre on Tues and all other classes & 121s with Caroline as above.
June 5th-11th: Sabre, classes and 121s with Caroline as above.
June 29th-1st July: Summer Weekend Workshop with Mark, similar to Spring schedule. Possible extra dates with Caroline after workshop.
July 27th-Friday 3rd August: Summer Weeklong Workshop with Mark, as above.
That's all the dates I have so far and takes us to the end of the 'school year' which we run by. The usual 4 seasonal weekends with Mark and two weeklong workshops per year, plus New Year 121s will continue as long as there is demand. We have moved the weeklongs to Spring and Summer due to the harsh weather we experienced in March this year, with some students unable to come due to the snow. During the August break students tend to meet on Sundays at someone's house for informal sessions. If all's well, we'll continue in this vein from September.
I have discussed all the options with Mark, senior students and the Ad Ed providers who run our classes. We have found a great way to continue that will serve the students and enable you to continue studying T'ai Chi and enjoying your classes. As long as you want to study, Mark and I are happy to teach.
I intend to spend one out of every four weeks during term time staying here in Aberdeenshire. During that week I will take all the classes (at the moment Turriff on Monday and Inverurie on Weds and Thurs, as well as drop-in on Sunday). All the time I am not at class I will be available for 121s or other group sessions. On the Tuesday nights I propose to teach a Sabre Form class at the Wyness Hall, and all will be welcome to attend. I am teaching an 'advance guard' of senior students the Long Form as well as further partner work and some of them will become instructors for the classes on the weeks when I am away. All the instructors and teaching assistants have been asked to do this by myself and Mark, please support them in any way you can. I am delighted that people want to study enough to keep Great River T'ai Chi running so we can all keep our T'ai Chi cooking together.
From January, Monday and Wednesday classes will remain very much as they are but with instructors running the sessions 3 of every 4 weeks. New students and total beginners are welcome to join. Thursday sessions will have an 'intensive' each time I am up where I will teach a good sized section of Long Form postures for the main part of the class. New students with more than a year's experience of T'ai Chi may join this class after discussing suitability with Caroline. Over the following 3 weeks you will get to revise and practise the postures at a more leisurely pace and weave the Long Form together in a similar manner to how we have worked on the the Short Form. Partnerwork and other regular parts of class will continue just as they do now. Don't worry about forgetting the Short Form, it will become a weekly warm-up for the Long Form, and we will take a question on any posture each week. Sunday drop-ins will continue at students' houses as they often do when I'm away, and all will be welcome. The blog will always have up to date news of where they will be held.
In the end it comes down to something very simple: if we love and enjoy our T'ai Chi, and we find that it serves our lives and deepens our connection to each other, then we continue. To give up for 'external' reasons such as a teacher's geographical distance or a dislike of change would be very sad, and a poor excuse. For the last 4 years I have been travelling 1200 mile round trips to study with Mark, and latterly with John too. If something's important enough, we find a way to do it. I would be delighted to help any students in any way I can with their T'ai Chi so that they can continue to study: time, distance, or lack of funds are no bar.
All the proposed dates for my teaching weeks as well Mark's weekends and workshops are below. I would love feedback as many of the dates are easily moved, I have stated if they are already confirmed due to travel tickets already purchased. I would like as many folks as possible to be able to attend. We may have a beginner's day again in the Spring, as we have had several enquiries. Also, Paolo and Davina may start a class in Alford after Easter, if there is enough interest. I will continue to go to John's Intensives and hope that students will join me every few months when they occur. Myself, and David too when he is free, will assist at Mark's workshops and weeks in Aberdeenshire, we have several venues to choose from but I would love to hear about others you may know, such as community halls in the Inverurie / Alford area. I intend to start a daytime class in South London, as this will not clash with my study or assisting at Mark's classes. Other than that, I hope I can get by renting out a couple of rooms and being a T'ai Chi bum, I don't want to do anything that will get in the way of being able to study or come up here to teach.
Lastly I would like to thank all my students for their enthusiasm, love and support over what has been a hugely challenging year. When I get a place to live in London students will be very welcome to come and stay whilst they study with myself, Mark or at the BTCCA. The B&B price will be set at a session of pushing hands - and possibly some chocolate or tablet (that's a kind of fudge to you southerners).
Dates 2007:
January 2nd-6th:121s with Mark or Caroline in Forgue - spaces available. confirmed
January 17th & 18th: Inverurie Weds and Thurs classes begin - enrol at GEC before 8th Dec.
January 22nd: Turriff class begins - enrol at Gateway Centre asap.
January 23rd-29th: Sabre class on Tuesday 23rd 7pm at Wyness Hall, all other regular classes with Caroline teaching, 121s available in Forgue. confirmed
February 20th-26th: Sabre on Tues and all other classes with Caroline as above, 121s near Monymusk.
March 20th-26th or 27th-2nd April: Sabre and all classes with Caroline as above and Spring Weekend Workshop with Mark over one of the Fri-Sat-Suns to include TaLu, Sabre, Partnerwork, Beginner's and Long Form workshops. Please let me know which week is preferable.
April 14th-20th: Spring Weeklong T'ai Chi Workshop with Mark, venue TBC.
May 8th-14th: Sabre on Tues and all other classes & 121s with Caroline as above.
June 5th-11th: Sabre, classes and 121s with Caroline as above.
June 29th-1st July: Summer Weekend Workshop with Mark, similar to Spring schedule. Possible extra dates with Caroline after workshop.
July 27th-Friday 3rd August: Summer Weeklong Workshop with Mark, as above.
That's all the dates I have so far and takes us to the end of the 'school year' which we run by. The usual 4 seasonal weekends with Mark and two weeklong workshops per year, plus New Year 121s will continue as long as there is demand. We have moved the weeklongs to Spring and Summer due to the harsh weather we experienced in March this year, with some students unable to come due to the snow. During the August break students tend to meet on Sundays at someone's house for informal sessions. If all's well, we'll continue in this vein from September.
23 November 2006
Seven Hearts
I was just listening to a radio programme where Joan Armatrading was travelling around Ireland, talking to people in the Isles of Arran, as far West as you can go in Ireland, next stop Newfoundland, as the man said. Here, Irish (Gaelic) is still a spoken language, rather than just something learned in school and one native speaker said that there were whole ranges of emotions that could only be expressed in Irish. She then went on to say that one of the defining features of the tongue was the profusion of spoken blessings, when you enter a house, as greetings, on leaving, etc. She spoke the famous 'ceud mille failte' (I may have put the Scots Gaelic spelling here, as it is common on signs in the next county to me in Scotland, Highland) which means 'a hundred thousand welcomes'. Then she mentioned a common expression which translated as:
"There were seven hearts on me when I heard you were coming"
Which totally blows 'nice to see you' out of the water...
"There were seven hearts on me when I heard you were coming"
Which totally blows 'nice to see you' out of the water...
The Way of Love
The Way of love is not
a subtle argument.
The door there
is devastation.
Birds make great sky-circles
of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling,
they're given wings.
Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) trans. Coleman Barks
a subtle argument.
The door there
is devastation.
Birds make great sky-circles
of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling,
they're given wings.
Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) trans. Coleman Barks
21 November 2006
Tonight's Sabre Class
Twelve students have joined this 4 week Sabre Form class after Mark's introduction this weekend. Working with wooden bokkens we practised sticking (above), warm ups and looked again at the first few postures of the form. All the principles are as vital to this work as the rest of our T'ai Chi. It was great to work in a nice sized group of enthusiastic budding sabreurs.
Bokken Sticking at the Introduction to Sabre evening. This is an introductory exercise devised by Mark to develop sensitivity. The person with the bokken has their eyes closed and is sticking to the hand of their partner as they move it freely around. Somehow we have to reach into our partner through this apparently inanimate object and transform it from seeming like a blunt instrument. Mark likened it to the oneness a skilled craftsperson has with their tool, a painter's brush, a chef's knife, etc.
Weekend Workshops
This weekend was really wonderful, and despite being a series of separate workshops I felt there was a real spirit running through it all. Relatively new students were doing some really wonderful stuff and I felt privileged to be part of a community of folk willing to open their hearts, challenge their old habits and soften their hard places in such a friendly atmosphere. Thanks go to Mark for his superb teaching and to David for coming up and assisting despite the cold weather!
I only took photos during the Introduction to Sabre workshop, as I was too engrossed.
16 November 2006
News
I am just taking a break from preparing the T'ai Chi room and the rest of the house for Mark and David's visit for the workshops this weekend. If you are coming along to both sessions on Saturday or Sunday, we will be having a little light meal in between the afternoon and evening sessions. On Saturday I will be providing a carrot, pumpkin and urad dahl soup as this will be nice and quick to heat up and eat. Do bring along a sandwich for yourself or bread and cheese, etc, to eat with it. On Sunday we will not have to dash out to Inverurie so perhaps bring something to share that you like to eat. I will be making food for David, Mark and myself anyway, so I am sure there will be enough to go round. As usual, tea and coffee are provided.
There is one 121 session with Mark left in the New Year, on the afternoon of 4th January. I have checked with all the students who would normally want sessions but several folks are very busy or away, so it is still free. Let me know if you do not yet have a session and do want one, otherwise I think it might be nice to have an intensive small group session instead, with whoever is around being welcome to attend. Also, I will get a chance to do some T'ai Chi with Mark too! I will post about this on the blog tomorrow, when I have spoken to the Thursday group.
The Wyness Hall has now become vacant for all the sabre classes, so I am trying to cancel the booking for one week in the Academy, as the Wyness Hall is much better - plenty of room to swing a cat or sabre. Assume the classes will all be at the Hall, but this being a council booking, it is taking quite a few phone calls to track down my forms and get them changed...
If you would like a copy of the rest of the Short Form syllabus with the little illustrations, do contact me. Up until now we have only had the first third up to shoulder stroke. We now have it in PDF format. Please do not distribute it or publish it in any way as it is only to be used as an aide memoire by my students. I will also take orders for printed copies at class and will charge £1 to put in the paper and ink kitty, if you cannot print it out yourself. Email me at the usual address so that I can send you the files with 'handbook request' in the subject line.
Back to cleaning and cooking.
There is one 121 session with Mark left in the New Year, on the afternoon of 4th January. I have checked with all the students who would normally want sessions but several folks are very busy or away, so it is still free. Let me know if you do not yet have a session and do want one, otherwise I think it might be nice to have an intensive small group session instead, with whoever is around being welcome to attend. Also, I will get a chance to do some T'ai Chi with Mark too! I will post about this on the blog tomorrow, when I have spoken to the Thursday group.
The Wyness Hall has now become vacant for all the sabre classes, so I am trying to cancel the booking for one week in the Academy, as the Wyness Hall is much better - plenty of room to swing a cat or sabre. Assume the classes will all be at the Hall, but this being a council booking, it is taking quite a few phone calls to track down my forms and get them changed...
If you would like a copy of the rest of the Short Form syllabus with the little illustrations, do contact me. Up until now we have only had the first third up to shoulder stroke. We now have it in PDF format. Please do not distribute it or publish it in any way as it is only to be used as an aide memoire by my students. I will also take orders for printed copies at class and will charge £1 to put in the paper and ink kitty, if you cannot print it out yourself. Email me at the usual address so that I can send you the files with 'handbook request' in the subject line.
Back to cleaning and cooking.
14 November 2006
November Workshops with Mark This Weekend
The dates for the workshops are 17th-20th November. They will be at my home, except for the introduction to sabre form workshop which will be at Wyness Hall, Inverurie. Come to as many sessions as you like. All my students are welcome, as are those who have studied T'ai chi for 1 year elsewhere. There is no beginners introduction day this time, those events will resume in the New Year.
Friday 17th 7-10pm: Ta Lu and Wapu £10 (our regular Friday night workshop slot.)
Saturday 18th 2-5pm: T'ai Chi Short Form workshop open to all my students. £10
Saturday 18th : 6.30-9.30pm at Wyness Hall, Inverurie. An introduction to Sabre £15 (you will need to borrow or buy a bokken for this class, contact me for details, and this session is only open to my students. This is in the evening as we could not get the hall for the daytime session.
Sunday 19th 2-6pm: Regular Sunday drop-in class but taught by Mark, open to all levels as well as new students and visitors. £10
Sunday 7.30-10pm: T'ai Chi partnerwork, etc. £10
Saturday night after sabre class we are invited to Heather's, about 10 mins drive from class. Please let me or Heather know if you would like to come, and bring food and drink along to share.
Please let me know if you would like to come to any of the workshops. Sabre Form classes will follow on for 4 weeks after the weekend on Tuesday nights near Inverurie, £5 per session.
Friday 17th 7-10pm: Ta Lu and Wapu £10 (our regular Friday night workshop slot.)
Saturday 18th 2-5pm: T'ai Chi Short Form workshop open to all my students. £10
Saturday 18th : 6.30-9.30pm at Wyness Hall, Inverurie. An introduction to Sabre £15 (you will need to borrow or buy a bokken for this class, contact me for details, and this session is only open to my students. This is in the evening as we could not get the hall for the daytime session.
Sunday 19th 2-6pm: Regular Sunday drop-in class but taught by Mark, open to all levels as well as new students and visitors. £10
Sunday 7.30-10pm: T'ai Chi partnerwork, etc. £10
Saturday night after sabre class we are invited to Heather's, about 10 mins drive from class. Please let me or Heather know if you would like to come, and bring food and drink along to share.
Please let me know if you would like to come to any of the workshops. Sabre Form classes will follow on for 4 weeks after the weekend on Tuesday nights near Inverurie, £5 per session.
11 November 2006
Cheap Bokkens
I've just been online to order a red oak bokken for a student and found these for £8.95 including postage:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Icon-Martial-Arts
There are also white oak, ash and other models available for under £8. They look fine for starting off with.
The bokken arrived today and is excellent: nice and heavy and the wood is a good colour, rather than orange varnished pine. I recommend these, they are great for the price.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Icon-Martial-Arts
There are also white oak, ash and other models available for under £8. They look fine for starting off with.
The bokken arrived today and is excellent: nice and heavy and the wood is a good colour, rather than orange varnished pine. I recommend these, they are great for the price.
09 November 2006
New Year 121s with Mark or Caroline
As of Saturday 11th there are 2 spaces left, both on Thursday 4th. Please let me know if you would like to have either of these.
There are spaces for all those who have expressed an interest to have 121s between 2nd and 6th January 2007 at my home in Forgue. Both myself and Mark will be teaching so you can go mad and have a session with both or either of us. Priority will be given to those who have signed the list already, which I have unhelpfully left at Paolo and Davina's until tomorrow. If you find you cannot get a session, there will be a small group intensive session on Saturday 6th January from 2-4pm, to which all those who have completed over a year of T'ai Chi will be welcome. The sessions are as follows:
Tuesday 2nd: 4-6pm and 7-9pm
Wednesday is booked up.
Thursday 4th: 2-4pm, 5-7pm, 8-10pm.
Friday 5th: 2-4pm, 5-7pm, 8-10pm.
Saturday 2-4pm open intensive session £15/10 concs
All 121 sessions with Mark are 2 hours long and cost £50.
Sessions with Caroline can be of any length, (within reason!), and cost £15 per hour /£10 concs.
There are spaces for all those who have expressed an interest to have 121s between 2nd and 6th January 2007 at my home in Forgue. Both myself and Mark will be teaching so you can go mad and have a session with both or either of us. Priority will be given to those who have signed the list already, which I have unhelpfully left at Paolo and Davina's until tomorrow. If you find you cannot get a session, there will be a small group intensive session on Saturday 6th January from 2-4pm, to which all those who have completed over a year of T'ai Chi will be welcome. The sessions are as follows:
Tuesday 2nd: 4-6pm and 7-9pm
Wednesday is booked up.
Thursday 4th: 2-4pm, 5-7pm, 8-10pm.
Friday 5th: 2-4pm, 5-7pm, 8-10pm.
Saturday 2-4pm open intensive session £15/10 concs
All 121 sessions with Mark are 2 hours long and cost £50.
Sessions with Caroline can be of any length, (within reason!), and cost £15 per hour /£10 concs.
08 November 2006
I ran into the garden this afternoon to catch the last of the light on the trees. I have been trying to find a few words to describe the weekend workshop in London, but can't seem to. I spend too much time trying to describe what can really only be experienced. The effect of the weekend's work will hopefully be evident in us.
07 November 2006
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