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Members' JournalThis page is a place for club members to share their thoughts and experiences with Tai Ji.
Index to Entries
Tai Chi Adventuresby Claudine Marquet I am always glad to visit Shirfu Chiang's studio in El Cerrito, CA. I started to take classes from Shirfu as soon as I learned all the moves of Guang Ping from Diane in 1993. Shirfu, Shirmu (Mrs. Chiang), and his assistants were very kind to the naive beginner that I was, and very helpful. I felt right at home at the Studio from the beginning. It is a beautiful and comfortable studio, with photographs of Shirfu's and Shirmu's teachers all around the walls. In addition there are displays of their own paintings and calligraphy. There's a little Buddhist altar upstairs and a neat kitchen downstairs where Shirfu makes tea for us after classes--if he is not seeing a patient in his examining room AND if we have been a satisfactory class! Since that first memorable visit, I have gone back many times, have been taught by Shirfu and all his assistants especially Fu Tung Cheng who has studied with Shirfu for more than twenty years. Two years ago, I joined Fu Tung's yearly French Tai Chi Seminar (Yes! Jennifer, there is a Guang Ping Club in France!), and it certainly was special as the French Club was celebrating their tenth anniversary with Fu Tung. Shirfu agreed to join the group for the last three days accompanied by his wife and daughter. Shirmu taught Chigong. Shirfu corrected our form and taught White Crane and Shaolin. At the end of the workshop he demonstrated White Crane dressed in his white silk outfit. I was bowled over! I couldn't even take pictures, but just stood and watched in the standing post position! In 1995 Shirfu invited me to join a group of Chi Gong students he and his wife were taking to China. I was the only Tai Chi student so, each morning after we all did warm ups (with kicks), Shirfu gave me a class! Let me tell you it was not easy. Shirmu had to console me many times. She would say, "He was just like this with the children, but it'll be good for you." It certainly was, especially after I took to getting up at five A.M. to practice. He ALWAYS knew if I had practiced! So I improved my set and, especially I got to know Shirfu and listened to his stories. Since then I have continued to visit him at the studio, look at his newest paintings, and drink cups of tea after class. Last year Fu Tung started classes for beginners and intermediate students at the Berkeley Buddhist Center. I join them every time I am visiting. It is great to be a beginner again. Finally last summer I attended a Chinese Martial Arts Tournament at DeAnza College in Cupertino, CA with Fu Tung and two of his beginning students where I met Henry Look and some of his assistants. Their style of Guang Ping is very different from ours. Never the less, we can be happy that our style is entered in tournaments under its own name instead of "other" as it used to be! 2000 Guang Ping Tai Ji Conferenceby Jen Kano It was my privilege and pleasure to attend the annual Guang Ping Conference this year, and I want to thank all the members of the Cape Cod Club for sponsoring my attendance. It was a very action-packed weekend and I took notes furiously in the hope that it would help me remember it all when I got back to the Cape. There were two workshops on Friday evening ending at 9:00, and on Saturday, warm-ups started at 6 am and the last lecture ended at 9:30 PM with breaks only for meals. On Sunday, we were back at warm-ups at 6:30 am. For me (and hopefully for you as I share what I learned), the most valuable sessions were those that emphasized rooting and developing/using the Chi (there were several), applications of some of the moves, and knee safety. While very little time was spent on how you do the actual forms, I did recognize a couple of errors in my set and how to correct them. Saturday evening, there was an interesting round-table discussion on Guang Ping and the various "flavors" that it seems to be available in. The three major variations recognized were the Kuo variation, the Chiang variation (ours), and the Peter Kwok variation. There was discussion on the commonalties amongst the "flavors," known changes that have been made since the passing of Master Kuo in each, the effects on judging at tournaments, and the long term implications for Guang Ping as a whole. No conclusions were reached, but I lot of valuable information was exchanged. The highlight of the weekend for me was finally getting to meet Fu Tung Cheng of Y.C. Chaing's Wen Wu School. He is a wonderful easy-going person, an excellent teacher, and his insights into our form truly inspiring. His Chi exercises were easy to do and the results palpable. I found myself smiling through both of his sessions and feeling very privileged that we have such a person in our "branch" of the Guang Ping family. On Sunday I got a chance to speak to him one-on-one for about an hour by skipping one of the scheduled sessions, and it was worth every minute. I found myself thinking about my experiences all the way home during my grueling 7 plus hour trip (don't ask). I have much to digest, many new insights to work with, and exercises and moves to work on. I realize more strongly than ever that we are never truly "done" learning Tai Ji. There is always something more to work on, new insights to be found, and greater benefits to be realized. I think of it not as an endless burden or an overwhelming task, but as a joyful process like reading a good book that you wish would never end. Thank you again my Tai Ji friends for sending me, it has been a gift of infinite value.
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