Many Happy returns Mark!

 Happy 60th from all of your students!

Trinity Hall class got Mark a surprise cake this week.

More outdoor T'ai Chi in Aboyne

 Anneke is continuing her sessions on the Green in Aboyne, all welcome!

This week I am teaching Taichi on the Green in Aboyne on Tuesday (26th) and Wednesday (27th) mornings 9.30-10.30am.   There won't be a class on Monday as the weather forecast for Monday morning is wet. 

Next week I am planning to have a class on Tuesday 2 Aug and Wednesday 3 Aug when weather permits. I am letting go of the Monday class as numbers have been low that morning. 

Looking forward to seeing you.

Summer T'ai Chi outdoors in Aboyne

Anneke is teaching morning Taichi on The Green in Aboyne from 9.30-10.30am Tuesday (19th) and Wednesday (20th) this week and likely next week Tuesday and Wednesday and more days over the Summer when weather allows. We will meet on East side of the Green (where the fountain is). 

This is an informal open class for anyone, so no need to book, do all days, or have done Taichi before. Just come along when it suits you and give it a try. It's on a donation basis.

 

If you need more information, please contact Anneke at annekestolte@hotmail.co.uk

Lots of news from the T'ai Chi Centre

I've spent the weekend with Mark arranging all sorts of upcoming good things for the T'ai Chi Centre and Great River, so here's the latest.

The 4 day Summer Intensive is going ahead as announced 23-26 July and we look forward to seeing you there. All students who have ever studied with Mark, Caro or John Kells or his students are welcome to attend. All the details are in the previous post. 

Mark will be taking new beginners at the Trinity Rd Tooting class at 6.30-8pm on Tuesdays from mid September. So let all your London pals know. All with some previous experience are welcome right now  from 7-9pm each Tuesday night, and classes will continue until 20th July, resuming 6th September. Class costs £15.

In the autumn, Mark will begin recording video lessons for an introductory online class, which can be studied by anyone anywhere. Film maker Jonny Randall will be shooting and editing the course. We are researching hosting platforms at the moment. If you have studied an online course over the last few years and would recommend one in particular, then get in touch with Mark to let him know.

So that Mark's new classes and courses will be known about more widely, we have set up an Instagram account which you can see online even if you don't have Instagram as an app. Go to www.instagram.com/thetaichicentre.co.uk . I am uploading the photos and text he sends me, and answering or forwarding enquires. Mark aims to show photos from the whole period he has been teaching - since 1988 - as well as the breadth of the syllabus covered. We have uploaded two posts so far, and there'll be one every couple of days, for now. Feel free to let friends know about the upcoming courses and the insta account. It's nice that already an old student of mine from Hackney found the account and will be popping along to Mark's classes in Tooting next week, as they miss T'ai Chi so much. 

Staring at screens is never fun, but it is worth it when it helps bring people back to real physical T'ai Chi again.

Great River T'ai Chi will start in person classes in Southbourne and Boscombe in September as I have found some great movement studios with plenty of space and light. More on that soon!

And, after two years of really not being able to raise my right leg properly to do Sweep Lotus kick, all my exercises have paid off, and although the arthritis is still there, my muscles around the joint are much stronger. This is in good time, as next week we do this posture in the online class.

Online Short Form class continues live each Tuesday morning 9-10am by Zoom, all welcome, £6.

All good wishes from me in Bournemouth. Have a great week ahead. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all who still peek into this little portal. I hope you had a great Hogmanay and that the year ahead brings you joy and connection. 

I am tucked away until July 2022 writing a book on natural paints which was commissioned by a great UK publisher. I'll also be teaching with Dark Mountain Project, Schumacher College and Dartington Trust this year. Taichi classes with me continue online only each Tuesday morning as I have decided to take the sabbatical that never happened, as I don't call 'being unable to teach during a pandemic' the same thing as a conscious break from a beloved livelihood.

Classes with Mark resume next week in London, and classes with all of you in Scotland are publicised locally and here. If anyone teaching in Aberdeenshire would like me to put the class info on the Great River website and Instagram, just email me the details and I can put it up in minutes. 

In the meantime my personal Taichi practice remains outdoors, under a spreading oak tree, back where I used to do it, 35 years ago. Other than that, I am keeping myself to myself and looking forward to turning 50 at the end of the month. All good wishes to you from the seaside. Caro.

T'ai Chi news and classes in person and online

Mark will be teaching one more online class on Monday 20th December then taking some time off until early Jan. As soon as I have dates I'll post them here. 

Tuesday in-person classes will resume in Tooting on 11th January 2022. There is no class on 21st December.

121s are available by Zoom, Skype and in person at Mark's studio.

Caro's weekly Zoom Short Form class resumes 4th January.

Kevin Devine's Short Form class at Tooting Lido resumes in the New Year on 12th Jan.

There will hopefully be a 3 day mini intensive (sat-mon) in January or February, a great suggestion from Chris! If you are interested, drop a line to Mark so we can gauge numbers. 

I wish you all a peaceful and restorative Christmas and New Year.

Love Caro

Monthly in person Sunday classes with Mark have begun

These classes started this week and will continue on the second Sunday of every month 3-6pm, £15, at Mark's studio. 121s are also available at the studio any time. All TCC students are welcome.

Mark's Zoom classes resume next week - details

Regular Monday night Left side class and Thursday night Dance B side classes will start up again from 15th November. If you have been coming to any of Mark's online classes in 2021, you'll receive and invitation to these, all in the same email. Classes cost £10. Just reply with 'unsubscribe' if you would like to be removed from the list. My laptop is currently dying, but I hope to send the emails by Friday lunchtime using ingenious workarounds!

Sunday afternoon in-person drop-in classes will also resume monthly at Mark's studio near Hampton Court. First class is 4-6pm Sunday 14th November, and then each subsequent second Sunday of the month. Class costs £15.

Warmest wishes from breezy Bournemouth.

Mark's Tuesday classes in London

Mark's classes resumed this week after a break for the Scottish workshop. They'll continue until Christmas break. All TCC students are welcome.

Online classes will resume soon when the topics and times have been discussed with those who'd like to come. Get in touch with Mark if there's something you really want to do via Zoom. Of course, there may end up being another lockdown in UK, in which case there may be more online classes, as there were in the last one...

Wishing you all the very best for autumn, from me in Dorset. Thanks to Davina for all her work organising the workshop last week. The pictures look lovely. 

I plan to resume studying with Mark in London this term, hip allowing. See you soon, Caro.

Mark's classes resume in London

The first Tuesday class of term will be held on 7th September at the usual venue from 7-9pm. Class costs £15, all Mark's students are welcome. 

Zoom classes are imminent. Mark has not yet sent me details, but I hope to have them soon.

Taichi class updates in London, online sessions and Summer Intensive news.

Mark's Long Form Tooting classes are now running at the usual venue Trinity Church Hall on Tuesday nights 7-9pm. Class last 2 hours, there is as yet no partner work, due to govt guidelines. Class costs £15.

Wednesday morning Short Form at Tooting Bec Lido Pavilion is running. Kevin Devine now takes the class after I moved back to Bournemouth. Class runs from 9-10am, all are welcome. Class costs £10 or £8 for SLSC members. 

Tuesday morning Zoom class with me is running each week 9-10am, all those with some experience of short form are welcome. We do warm ups, chi kung and short form. Email me or fill in the form via the Great River T'ai Chi website for the link. Class is recorded and can be watched at any time, £5 live or recorded.

Mark will continue to teach online Short Form in detail, Long Form and Left Side sessions by Zoom for the foreseeable future, at the usual dates and times he has been using since January 2021. Class prices are £10 per session. Some sessions are available recorded afterwards, get in touch with Mark for details. 

The Summer Intensive will run differently this year for 4 days. Please let Mark or me know if you plan to come. All students of John Kells, of his students, Mark, me and of all our students are welcome.

The October workshop in Scotland and regular classes for the Scottish contingent will resume as soon as lockdown has been entirely lifted. Mark will be taking over all my previous workshops, but rather than monthly, will probably be travelling every 6-8 weeks or so, in arrangement with the Scottish students. 

Online and recorded sessions, resources and classes are available on our Dropbox, if you want access, just get in touch with me. 

Personal news: I have been away for a while recovering from the events of May and my hip condition, doing an art residency, and spending time in the woods doing bushcraft and traditional skills. I am not online as much as I was, but do plan to return when I feel able to. I have plenty more essays and pieces to add to the new website blog. If you are teaching a class and want it to be listed on the website, please email me the details. In the meantime it has been lovely hearing from you by email. I am still practising much Heartwork, short form and meditation, and as my hip musculature improves, the more advanced forms and practices can make their way back into my life. For now, all situations in life are good opportunities for practice, whether or not they looks like T'ai Chi, they certainly feel like it. I have no plans to start in-person classes in Bournemouth, despite a host of great venues. I still haven't had that planned sabbatical, as Covid and then the ensuing events prevented it. Perhaps it will happen now. Very best wishes to all from sunny Bournemouth. 

News

Dear friends, due to the huge fire at my boatyard on Monday and the loss of my studio / storage sheds and over half my belongings, I have decided to move back down to Bournemouth to my dear old taichi buddy / old flat mate's empty flat, overlooking the cliff tops at Southbourne, thus solving a problem for us both. It pains me to suddenly leave The Thames and my locale, not to mention my friends and neighbours, human and otherwise. However, before the end of my mooring tenancy next March, I was already planning to move back on land due to hereditary joint-health issues which are making aspects of advanced taichi impossible, as well as causing difficulties getting on and off my boat. Until I know more from my specialists, this is ongoing. Re the fire, I am physically ok and was insured. I have amazing friends and a large family who are all being fantastic. Although I have lost many 'things', including all my taichi weapons almost all my craft and art supplies, I have what I need, so please don't worry about me.

So, though I am immensely sad to stop teaching in person at Tooting for the foreseeable future, I am delighted that regular stand in tutor Kevin Devine has agreed to take over. I have informed Paulina at the pavilion and hope that she will ok this. Kevin is a wonderful colleague and great instructor. For many years I have stood in for him at his classes when he was away. He has immensely good energy and lovely taichi.

We have heard that classes can resume on 19th May at the lido pavilion. From that date we hope to have the in-person class each Wednesday morning from 9-10am, in place of the Zoom call, as we have only been offered our old slot back, and I was keen for Kev to take it. The Zoom class was originally to replace the Tooting class for a month or two, but we all know how the pandemic went... The in-person class will cost £8 for slsc and £10 for regular folks. Please tell your old classmates that it is back on!

I will continue a weekly Zoom class on either Tuesday or Thursday morning at 9am open to all folks from Mark's or my schools, or our students students, etc. I would like to prioritise the needs of those who cannot make it to an in-person class, due to distance or health, so let me know your status. The class will always still be available for people to watch at home afterwards on Dropbox. If 4 or more regulars wish to continue, I will keep the class running. Online live or recorded will continue to cost £5 per session. You are completely welcome to do both classes as we will both be teaching what we have learned with Master Mark Raudva.

Safety at in person classes: The doors and windows will all be open. Hand-gel and hand wash facilities are good at all venues. You are welcome to wear a mask. We will not be touching until such time as it is allowed again. Bags will be brought into the classroom rather than left outside, and the kitchens are now out of bounds. You can continue to pay electronically if you like, though cash is also fine. 

Any queries, drop me a line.

I will still be organising all Mark's group Zoom weekly classes by email, and the summer workshop too. What will help me most is for students to keep going to Mark's classes, book in-person or Skype 121s with Mark, come along to workshops in person and online and stay in touch with him. Now I live a bit further away, it is harder for me to be on hand in the way I was for 16 years. Personally I am happy to receive emails, but I am not yet up to receiving calls. I really appreciate all the messages of love and care.

When life has settled down and I am able to come visit Tooting again and stay with family I shall come and visit morning class and join in, for fun. I will also hopefully be at Mark's Tooting classes each fortnight or so, as well as all workshops as soon as circumstances allow.

Best wishes to you all from the south coast,

Warmly, Caro. 

Brief pause and news

I am away from home while my boat is being mended and painted so I cannot do much in the way of planning, organising or blogging during this time of dislocation. Zoom class links will continue to land in your inboxes in the meantime. Email me if you want to be added or removed from any lists. I do not have a date yet for when in-person classes at Trinity Church Hall or Mark's studio can resume, but will post them here as soon as I get them. 

I have found a wonderful, affordable riverside venue for evening classes in future, where I live. I taught my Zoom short form classes there the last two weeks and it was lovely, 360 degree river views! Soon I will introduce Mark to the person who runs the space, and hopefully as soon as restrictions allow, we can have spacious, airy indoor space for pushing hands, evening groups, heartwork and occasional Sunday afternoon sessions. Watch this space!

Very best wishes to you all from near the Petersham venue, where I am staying until tomorrow. i shoul dbe back aboard my home on Friday.

Term dates and summer workshop latest

NEWS: Easter holiday. There will be no break in online classes with Mark during the Easter period, as he is not able to go away due to lockdown restrictions - and he lives only 60 metres from the studio! He understands that you might not be able to make it to class over this period, or may want a break, and will make sure no one gets left behind on anything that gets covered. However, as many folks may also be stuck at home, he thought you might like to join him for T'ai Chi anyway.

Summer workshop: I will be meeting the Sea Scouts at Petersham soon to arrange returning to that wonderful riverside venue this summer for the 15th Annual Intensive. Of course we cannot know what, if any, restrictions will be in place at that time, how long the workshop will be, if not the usual full week, and many other things. I went to see the new building yesterday from the outside, it is mostly completed and looks fantastic, airy and big, perfect for rainy days. The outdoor space is still great, big enough for classes and camping even though there is now a cool bushcraft area. The fire site is still there with plenty of wood for bonfires. 

We will provide hand gel and the new venue toilets are going to be clean and accessible, so hygiene will not be a problem. It is likely we would all bring our own packed meals this year and have a rota for serving teas, rather than a free-for-all in the kitchen. But this is all easily doable and so worthwhile. I will post more here when I know more. Last year I also bought a 4m square gazebo for when I moved boat. I will be ideal as a dry store for bags and shoes during the day so that we can stay outside for all but loo visits. Now we just all need our vaccines.

Classes with Mark and Caro continue until Easter

Get in touch to be put on any of the class invite lists, or to be taken off!

Classes continue until Easter, exact dates to follow soon.

Next week's online classes

Tomorrow I will send the links to all the classes with Mark and myself via Zoom. Please check you have links to all the classes you'd like to attend, at least a day before the class, so that you have time to contact me to resend it if it has gone astray. Sometime people are contacting me 5 minutes before the class. So far I have been able to resend from my phone, if I am in the room assisting Mark, or from my laptop if I am at home, but this may not always be the case in future if I am away, or otherwise engaged. A bit of notice makes it easier. 

We'll also be recording future Left Side sessions, as folks have asked for those as a resource. If you have other classes with Mark that you would like recorded, let me know. I think Mark is more amenable to that now he is experienced teaching by Zoom.

Have a lovely weekend, I am having a birthday day off, apart from this one post!

Next week's classes

You are welcome to join us by Zoom at:

Monday 25th 7.30pm Left side with Mark

Tuesday 26th at 7.30pm Dance for London students with Mark

Wednesday 27th 9am Short Form with Caro (we are up to Iron Fan Penetrates Back)

Thursday 28th 7.30pm Long Form class with Mark

121s and group study lasses are available most days with Mark by Zoom or Skype. 

Invites were sent today, Saturday. If you haven't received your expected email invite to your regular class, or wish to be taken off the list, get in touch with Caro. If you would like to book a 121, call or text Mark. 

Good things

Thanks to all who came to the first Left Side class last night. That was fun.

Emails will go out this afternoon with invitations to: 1 - the regular Long Form class with Mark on Thursday evenings, 2 - the regular Short Form Wednesday morning class with me, and 3 - the first of the Short Form in depth with Mark fortnightly sessions. These will begin next Monday 18th Jan, and then alternate with the Left Side classes. They were requested by Christina in Sweden as she teaches students in Gothenburg. All those who have done some T'ai Chi before or who would like to revise their Short Form, or deepen it for the benefit of their students, are welcome, Email me to opt in to the fortnightly Zoom invitation emails.

A complete beginners video course with me for new students anywhere in the world is in the pipeline. I should start filming this weekend. Also, a full redesign of the neglected GRTC website is well overdue, so I shall be chained to this laptop for January. However, necessary lockdown in the UK, and probably everywhere else, is causing havoc for people's mental and physical wellbeing. Though I am sure the intricacies of T'ai Chi cannot be taught without touch, indeed, it is at root a martial art, there are many benefits to be shared that can be conveyed with words and video, when it is done with care and heart. That's what I intend to do. More soon, and I will post a link when it is available, so you can share it with any 'non-taichi' friends!

Have a great week. And here is a lovely picture from sunnier days, which I had forgotten to post here of the Aberdeenshire crew.

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.

News re classes during lockdown in England

After the England Covid rules were changed last night, and Mark had thoroughly read the govt guidelines, I spoke to Mark about his classes until the end of this new lockdown. Sadly, there will be no classes in Tooting at Trinity Hall until this phase of lockdown ends. 

Online classes resume this week, details are on the previous post. There will not be a replacement Long Form class on Tuesdays, as the Long Form Zoom class on Thursdays is intended to do this. 

A 1 hr Warm ups, chi kung, salutations and Short Form class runs each Wednesday morning with me, live and available recorded.

Left side and Marks's new in depth Short Form Zoom classes will alternate, and begin next week or the week after on Mondays. I am awaiting dates.  

Contact me if you would like the links to these. 

Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons and evenings, as well as various times in the rest of the week, are free for your 121 and small group Skype lessons with Mark. He encourages you to get together with fellow students from your classes and book a session with him, or to have a 121 when you want, so that your study can continue. I am hoping Mark will film the Left Side soon. We were about to organise a date to do this when the announcement of new lockdown came... more soon. 

On a personal note, I am lucky that a few months before Covid struck UK, I had already been offered long term work, just an hour a day of online work for an excellent nature organisation. This simple life change has meant that along with teaching taichi weekly by Zoom, and being paid for my art and other teaching, that despite all my workshops in UK, Ireland and Sweden being cancelled, I have been able to stay afloat (literally) during incredibly difficult times for both Mark and myself. 

We greatly appreciate the financial contributions for the study aids we have produced and will continue to produce for you. Mark has now lost all his in-person teaching work for what will probably end up being an entire year. I know that Zoom and Skype lessons are far from perfect, compared to the joy of being with others in a room, and pushing hands. However, if you are able to book sessions with Mark, and find them useful for your study, please do so. If T'ai Chi has helped you during difficult times as much as it has me, then know that booking screen sessions with Mark at this time really does help him stay afloat, in turn. My main concerns are making sure our teacher can continue teaching in the future, and can continue to do so in the present strange times. Also, that you can continue your T'ai Chi practice and study, at whatever level, and that it may nourish and sustain you. As always, do get in touch if you have any ideas or queries.

Best wishes to you all. Caro.