For my long-term Scottish students

Future plans for T'ai Chi in Aberdeenshire

I want to say again how glad I am that students could continue the classes in Aberdeenshire now that I am based elsewhere. For now, my priority is that all those students who studied with me and wish to continue can do so. Thursday class will always be able to continue as a study group with me teaching once a month even if the numbers drop. If need be we will rearrange it so that there is no 'tutor fee' and get a different deal with the Garioch centre. Do not worry, as long as students want to study, I will teach and help arrange a space. For now, I expect nothing to change before the long Summer break.

The Wednesday class seems to be doing fine. New and existing students continue to come regularly. Monday at Turriff is a bit more sparse. This rural area was much more affected by the snow and some students did not return after the break in session. We will still be offering this class after the Easter break, and if sufficient people sign up, it will run. Otherwise we will reappraise the class, and see whether Mondays would be better offered at Alford after the Summer break.

Mark and I were recently discussing all the many reasons people don't continue with their T'ai Chi, or in many cases, pay for a course and never come to a single class. (This happens especially in the New Year - I expect resolutions are behind it...) It is really important to get feedback, and to constantly be improving and learning as a teacher. However, our T'ai Chi is not to all people's taste, as it is not a drop-in activity and requires regular attendance, for a start. Also, we deepen our practice month by month and people feel this affect their day to day lives, some people would rather not allow these changes. Other people get a little bit of Form, or the warm up set, find it relaxes them and then take that away to be getting along with on their own, and that's just fine. There are, of course, 101 genuine reasons from day to day busy life why someone cannot get to class. However there are lots of you who find this T'ai Chi beneficial, interesting and worthwhile. In my experience, someone who is trying to find a reason not to practise will find it, it could be anything. I have also found that if you really want to do T'ai Chi you will do it, even if it means starting up your own group and travelling 1200 miles to get tuition.

So, in a nutshell, here are my plans, such as they are. I hope this will ease the worry amongst some of you that I have sensed. I will continue to teach anyone who wants to do T'ai Chi with me in Scotland, as long as I can cover my train fare! Adult Ed and other classes may change, cease, start up elsewhere in the area (Huntly, Aberdeen, Alford), whatever serves the community. Even if no 'official' classes are running, those who want to do T'ai Chi can work for free at various folk's houses on Sundays and Thursdays, say. Mark will always be able to come and teach, at his usual times in the year as long as enough people are signed up each time. As long as you can arrange to meet up at least once a week, there is no reason why a group cannot continue.

Mark will also be doing monthly-ish Saturday intensives here in London from the Spring onwards, to which all my students are invited. Coupled with coming along to Mark's Sunday drop-in class from 3-6pm (3-7.30pm for Long Form students) this makes for a very good T'ai Chi weekend away and will not be expensive. Soon I hope to have the flat I am trying to buy, so people will be very welcome to stay with me. As soon as I have dates from Mark I will post them here. Steven Moore (www.taichiheartwork.com) also does weekends of T'ai Chi Heartwork in Cork and will resume London intensives soon. As long as they do not clash with Mark's dates I plan to go along as often as I can, and he has told me that you are all welcome too.

Things change, and 'Great River T'ai Chi' as it stands is not something I am attached to. The size, fame or importance of the school is of no consequence. If myself and a few good students are working on this stuff sincerely, and it benefits our lives and those around us then that is a wonderful thing. Right now about 60 are enrolled, when I started, it was only 20. However the number of people regularly really doing their T'ai Chi has actually been quite constant and growing slowly... you know who you are! Some important things in a school are the quality of the T'ai Chi, the fellowship of the students and the work done by the students themselves. There is a wonderful letter from Dr Chi about the qualities needed in a T'ai chi school, which I have on disc somewhere, and I will type it here for you when I find it later.

Here's a paragraph from the excellent US Zen teacher Charlotte Joko Beck's book 'Nothing Special', (which I highly recommend, by the way.) She is the founder of the Zen Centre of San Diego and by all accounts, a remarkable woman.

"...That's why I am uneasy with the growth of the Zen Centre of San Diego.... I prefer a smaller centre, limited to those who are willing to do the work. Of course, I don't expect from beginners the same thing I expect from experienced students. We all learn as we go. Still, the bigger the center, the more difficult it is to keep the teaching clean and rigorous. It's not important how many students we attract to the center; what is important is maintaining strong practice."

Strong practice is not something our teacher can do for us, and we don't need them there to do it. I look forward so much to seeing all of you, and I wish you all good luck in your T'ai Chi.