Aberdeenshire Autumn Intensive

 I’m pleased to confirm the schedule for the Aberdeenshire Autumn Intensive with Mark.

The workshop will be at Fetternear Hall from Saturday 16th to Wednesday 20th October, sessions are 2-5pm and 6:30-9:30pm each day. The price is £22 per session, £12 concession. As usual, come along from the first session and then stay for as many as you like. There may be some limits on numbers of people in the kitchen etc, but I’ll advise everyone of any relevant Covid related requirements nearer the time.

There will also be a Left Side class with Mark on the evening of Thursday 21st October at Monymusk Hall. Time and price to be confirmed.

121s will be scheduled for Friday 22nd through to Sunday 24th October, and will be held at my house. Times are usually 2-4pm, 5-7pm, 8-10pm. If you’ve requested a 121, please let me know when you are/are not available and I’ll put together a timetable to suit.

If anyone needs advice or assistance with travel or accommodation, please get in touch and I'll do what I can to help.  It may be possible to stay with local students, and I also have information on local holiday accommodation.

This week's left side film

Sadly due to a technical mishap on my part this week's class did not record. This weekend I will record Mark teaching the instructional part of the lesson, and send a link to you all as soon as I can. Sorry for delay. I am away from home for two weeks while my boat is mended and painted, so everything is 5x harder / time-consuming than usual. 

Left Side class via Zoom starts tomorrow

At 7.30pm on Monday 11th January 2021 Mark will start teaching the left Side classes fortnightly online. If you have studied left side with him before, or with me, Verne or John Kells, then you are welcome to come along, get in touch with me for the link. We won't be starting at the beginning, but jumping in where the Aberdeenshire crew have got to, as this class was at their request. A corrected version of the posture list, slightly different from the one on Mark's website, will be emailed to you shortly. However, as we'll be practising the whole form each week, don't worry if you feel a bit rusty, it will come back! Also, the words of the Heart Sutra are appropriate here:

'No attainment, and nothing to attain.'

See you tomorrow.

Happy Hogmanay / New Year's Eve!

The very warmest greetings to all who may read this from myself and Mark, for a peaceful winter and healthy New Year. 

I have been taking time offline and will return in couple of days, before classes resume next week. I will be arranging filming of the Left Side Form with Mark, as requested by several of you. As son as I have more news I will post it. Love to you from the river.

Geoff and Molly Hinkleponkle are taking it easy.

Last classes of term, Jan start dates and Left Side news

This week in London the last in-person class is Tuesday night at Trinity Church Hall, 7-9pm, please join us for socially distanced T'ai Chi. This class will resume, restrictions allowing, on Tuesday 5th January 2021. Hand gel is available, masks may be worn, and there is no partner work at the present. We are looking at many aspects of Long Form, Heart Work and taking questions. Class costs £15.

The last Zoom Long Form class of term is on Thursday 17th December, 7.30-9pm, all students of mine or Marks' who have finished Short Form are welcome. Contact me to be added to the email list to receive the link each week. This online class will resume on 7th January 2021. We have not been recording these classes so far. Class costs £10.

Skype or Zoom 121s with Mark are always available, just get in touch with him directly.

There have been lots of requests for a Left Side Long Form class by Zoom, especially while Mark can't get to teach in Scotland. I am happy to say that Mark will start teaching this in the New Year, exact date tbc, but probably Mondays, and from about 11th Jan. Suggested time is 7.30-9pm, cost £10. In the meantime folks have asked us to film him doing that form, so I will get that done over the break, as well as The Dance films folks have asked for. We will probably make sure we record these classes as there are no LS resources, unlike Long Form. If you would like to be added to the email list to receive the weekly invite for this class, then drop me an email with 'Left Side list' in the heading, which will make my admin much easier! 

I am really looking forward to this, and will be assisting Mark in classes, so you will be able to ask application questions and see details. If you have finished the Long Form, and have perhaps done some of The Dance, then get in touch to see if studying Left Side is for you. John Kells created this mirror form as a home for variations of postures, special techniques and research possibilities. As far as we know, Mark is the only person still teaching this.

Aberdeenshire January workshops

The first workshops of 2020 with Caroline in Aberdeenshire are this weekend, 17-19th January. All sessions, except weapons, are at Balvack.

Friday 6:30-9:30pm: Weapons, Fetternear Hall - entry via the "front" door not the kitchen
Saturday and Sunday sessions are 1-4pm & 5:30-8:30pm.


The price is £20 (concessions £12) per 3 hr session. Please bring food to share on Saturday and Sunday. Get in touch with your instructor if you need travel directions or feel free to contact me with any other question.

Study news

I am very happy to be studying Left Side special form with Mark again after taking a break from new forms for a while. This is the last bit of official BTCCA syllabus that I missed studying in London when I lived in Scotland. There is also talk of Marcel and I getting the 3 other Talu patterns from his old colleagues who had studied with a different student of John Kells, Michael Spink. This is a lower priority as we already have The Dance, with its profound iterations of forms and applications. But the completist in me likes to get 'a full set', so I may set it to work towards a good end. Scottish crew, get your LS form  posture sheets printed out for my next visit!

Any London students of Mark's who know the left side form, and its 189 postures, I will be glad to meet up and practise with you, get in touch.

Re International Women's Day, it seems appropriate to mention that I am also considering a special experimental workshop for later this year, or early next year, to teach some sabre to women artists. If you have creative friends who might like to do this, who do not necessarily already study T'ai Chi, let them know. Have a look at www.instagram.com/foundandground for details by clicking on the two black and white pictures that Tim took of me and Carmen doing sword with Mark.

Thursday Class this week with Mark

This Thursday will see the final Sword early evening session at this venue for the time being, everyone having successfully completed the Sword Form and applications. As brand new beginners will be welcome from 24th, class will run to the same layout each week: beginners 6.30 until 8pm, overlapping at first with the Long Form students who will get tuition until 9pm. After break, having completed the Dance Forms, the senior students will probably begin studying in depth silk reeling, although Dance questions will always be welcome. Sword will still take place once a month during the senior session. Bring swords anytime so we can go through a form after tea. 

I am also very excited about learning the Left Side in 121 lessons as I was living in Scotland last time Mark taught it as a class so it has always been the one area of syllabus I had missed out on.