This was the blog for Great River T'ai Chi and The T'ai Chi Centre from 2006-2023. This is now archive-only. You can find the schools at www.thetaichicentre.co.uk and www.greatrivertaichi.com
02 October 2007
Article
At T'ai Chi Caledonia the organiser Ronnie Robinson asked me to write a short article as a review of the week. A couple of friends phoned to say they'd seen it. See comments to read it.
This was my first Taichi Caledonia, yet over lunch on the second day I met and talked for some time to the tireless organiser Ronnie Robinson who asked me to write something about the week for this magazine. As a newbie to this event I had thought that I might encounter cliques, but instead found the event and participants hugely welcoming. As a regular of art and music conventions in the past as well as other T’ai Chi and meditation retreats, I would actually say that Taichi Caledonia is the friendliest event I have been to. I had heard of the event before, but was not aware that it is the longest running event of its kind in the UK.
I booked long in advance, and had been looking forward to getting my hands on people who had not trained with my T’ai Chi master, his colleagues or teachers, just to see what other folks felt like in pushing hands. I had also been recommended to study with Chen Style Master Wang Hai-Jun. On arrival I found the chalet accommodation at Stirling University cosy and well equipped. With rain on and off during the week, however, we were alternately inside for sessions in the (sometimes noisy) gym or outside in glorious sunlight on the grass. I would recommend packing both a hot water bottle and sunscreen.
For the weekend of taster sessions I was joined by my friend and classmate Hamid. He took part in some of the Qi Gong sessions as well as Chin Na with Dan Docherty and wished that he could have stayed for the whole week. Personally I find 45 minute sessions too short to really get my teeth into something, and sometimes tutors seemed like they felt a little rushed. A particular favourite session was Fa Jin with Victoria Windholtz. By example and careful adjustments she conveyed much more than could be explained in words.
During the weekday mornings I studied with Henk Janssen, a great teacher from the Netherlands. His approach to teaching pushing hands is exemplary and inclusive. As a teacher it is a pleasure for me to see someone communicate something so complex in new and effective ways. Several attendees at Henk’s sessions told me that at their T'ai Chi schools there was either no pushing hands / sticking at all; competitive push hands with little explanation of why they were doing it; or else a culture where there was some great partner work, but that it was a bit too vigorous for them to feel they could find a way in. What strikes me about Henk’s approach, which is similar to my teacher’s, is how the solo work and partner work support and inform each other. Although the odd student here and there would rather only do T’ai Chi solo Form, the vast majority find a gentle and personal introduction to push hands allays their fears. This enables even the most timid student to find a safe way to start moving out of their comfort zone. Henk had people totally new to this work getting stuck right in, surprised smiles abounded. Also, for the ‘free pushers’, it was nice to see that the push – press – rollback – yield patterns were a little bit of a challenge for them too. It is easier applying the principles in practices we do regularly, but we risk getting stuck in a rut.
One evening Sam Masich, Dan Docherty, Wang Hai-Jun and Henk Janssen were invited to talk a little about their approach to push-hands and they all also either demonstrated or got us joining in. A group of us including Henk and I were up late (as it doesn’t get dark until midnight in June) sharing our slightly different versions of push hands, Ta Lu and sabre form. For the two evenings of pushing hands and free pushing I had good fun engaging in techniques and styles more customary to some of the other players. I saw more similarities than differences, and without exception all the partner work seemed to be cultivating something of use or interest.
In the afternoons I trained with renowned Chen Style Master Wang Hai-Jun who taught a short form of 18 moves taken from the original 'Old Form'. The stances are very low and dynamic but the silk-reeling is very strong and drives all the movements. Master Wang's teaching was direct and clear with an emphasis on internal relaxation and ward-off energy. A side effect of 3 hours' low stances every day was that my thighs took on quite a different shape… Over the four days of care and attention, Master Wang took the group of up to 30 of us through silk-reeling exercises, warm ups and the Form. As an introduction to Chen Style T’ai Chi it could not have been better. For the weekend he was also joined by the daughter of his teacher Grandmaster Chen Zhengli, and they both demonstrated Forms with grace and power.
One of my chalet mates raved about her week studying with Calligrapher and T’ai Chi teacher Wang Ning. I heard good reports about all of the other workshops and the general consensus was that the standard of teaching was excellent. It was lovely to feel there were too many interesting options to choose from. It is heartening to spend a week surrounded by trees and seeing lots of other T'ai Chi folk practising whatever they are working on. If we could make any suggestions, my chalet mates and assorted new T’ai Chi friends chose these things: a firmer hand on the catering quality control; more workshops from Sam Masich; longer taster sessions at the weekend and a tweak to improve the indoor spaces used for the workshops themselves. We were all united in our praise for the smooth running of the week, a lot of which was down to the hard work of Karen limb, Ronnie and the team.
I had an excellent time and would highly recommend it to all students and teachers of the Internal Arts. Anyone should come along who is interested in exchange of ideas, widening their horizons and seeing what other styles and approaches to T'ai Chi are like. Hopefully we can all help publicise the event for next year. We have nothing to lose but our preconceptions about other people’s T’ai Chi and a great deal to gain, not least the company of some wonderful people.
1 comment:
This was my first Taichi Caledonia, yet over lunch on the second day I met and talked for some time to the tireless organiser Ronnie Robinson who asked me to write something about the week for this magazine. As a newbie to this event I had thought that I might encounter cliques, but instead found the event and participants hugely welcoming. As a regular of art and music conventions in the past as well as other T’ai Chi and meditation retreats, I would actually say that Taichi Caledonia is the friendliest event I have been to. I had heard of the event before, but was not aware that it is the longest running event of its kind in the UK.
I booked long in advance, and had been looking forward to getting my hands on people who had not trained with my T’ai Chi master, his colleagues or teachers, just to see what other folks felt like in pushing hands. I had also been recommended to study with Chen Style Master Wang Hai-Jun. On arrival I found the chalet accommodation at Stirling University cosy and well equipped. With rain on and off during the week, however, we were alternately inside for sessions in the (sometimes noisy) gym or outside in glorious sunlight on the grass. I would recommend packing both a hot water bottle and sunscreen.
For the weekend of taster sessions I was joined by my friend and classmate Hamid. He took part in some of the Qi Gong sessions as well as Chin Na with Dan Docherty and wished that he could have stayed for the whole week. Personally I find 45 minute sessions too short to really get my teeth into something, and sometimes tutors seemed like they felt a little rushed. A particular favourite session was Fa Jin with Victoria Windholtz. By example and careful adjustments she conveyed much more than could be explained in words.
During the weekday mornings I studied with Henk Janssen, a great teacher from the Netherlands. His approach to teaching pushing hands is exemplary and inclusive. As a teacher it is a pleasure for me to see someone communicate something so complex in new and effective ways. Several attendees at Henk’s sessions told me that at their T'ai Chi schools there was either no pushing hands / sticking at all; competitive push hands with little explanation of why they were doing it; or else a culture where there was some great partner work, but that it was a bit too vigorous for them to feel they could find a way in. What strikes me about Henk’s approach, which is similar to my teacher’s, is how the solo work and partner work support and inform each other. Although the odd student here and there would rather only do T’ai Chi solo Form, the vast majority find a gentle and personal introduction to push hands allays their fears. This enables even the most timid student to find a safe way to start moving out of their comfort zone. Henk had people totally new to this work getting stuck right in, surprised smiles abounded. Also, for the ‘free pushers’, it was nice to see that the push – press – rollback – yield patterns were a little bit of a challenge for them too. It is easier applying the principles in practices we do regularly, but we risk getting stuck in a rut.
One evening Sam Masich, Dan Docherty, Wang Hai-Jun and Henk Janssen were invited to talk a little about their approach to push-hands and they all also either demonstrated or got us joining in. A group of us including Henk and I were up late (as it doesn’t get dark until midnight in June) sharing our slightly different versions of push hands, Ta Lu and sabre form. For the two evenings of pushing hands and free pushing I had good fun engaging in techniques and styles more customary to some of the other players. I saw more similarities than differences, and without exception all the partner work seemed to be cultivating something of use or interest.
In the afternoons I trained with renowned Chen Style Master Wang Hai-Jun who taught a short form of 18 moves taken from the original 'Old Form'. The stances are very low and dynamic but the silk-reeling is very strong and drives all the movements. Master Wang's teaching was direct and clear with an emphasis on internal relaxation and ward-off energy. A side effect of 3 hours' low stances every day was that my thighs took on quite a different shape… Over the four days of care and attention, Master Wang took the group of up to 30 of us through silk-reeling exercises, warm ups and the Form. As an introduction to Chen Style T’ai Chi it could not have been better. For the weekend he was also joined by the daughter of his teacher Grandmaster Chen Zhengli, and they both demonstrated Forms with grace and power.
One of my chalet mates raved about her week studying with Calligrapher and T’ai Chi teacher Wang Ning. I heard good reports about all of the other workshops and the general consensus was that the standard of teaching was excellent. It was lovely to feel there were too many interesting options to choose from. It is heartening to spend a week surrounded by trees and seeing lots of other T'ai Chi folk practising whatever they are working on. If we could make any suggestions, my chalet mates and assorted new T’ai Chi friends chose these things: a firmer hand on the catering quality control; more workshops from Sam Masich; longer taster sessions at the weekend and a tweak to improve the indoor spaces used for the workshops themselves. We were all united in our praise for the smooth running of the week, a lot of which was down to the hard work of Karen limb, Ronnie and the team.
I had an excellent time and would highly recommend it to all students and teachers of the Internal Arts. Anyone should come along who is interested in exchange of ideas, widening their horizons and seeing what other styles and approaches to T'ai Chi are like. Hopefully we can all help publicise the event for next year. We have nothing to lose but our preconceptions about other people’s T’ai Chi and a great deal to gain, not least the company of some wonderful people.
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