Club News

By Clif Genge

During the summer months and into the fall as the Cape Cod Guang Ping Tai Ji Quan Club practiced outside it seemed to be a constant process of changing and adjusting.   Most of the changes were caused by the weather.  Initially, we held our classes in the late morning to catch the warmth but soon they moved to earlier in the day to avoid the once welcome heat.  Occasionally we were forced to move by the field maintenance equipment, lawn mowing, and such.  One class was followed across a large field by a sequentially operating sprinkler system.  We moved every 15 minutes and hoped that we would finish the class before we ran out of field.  

As we outside practiced a number of people observed us and ask to join our group.  Initially, we tried one or two but found that bringing in new people when the group is outside wearing masks and social distancing is very difficult.  In order to accommodate their requests, we decided to offer a five-week introductory program for just beginners.  The Club put a one-paragraph free entry in the local newspaper and expected about a dozen people.  The paper picked up the idea and ran a half-page story about our club and the class and we ended up with 2 classes totaling about forty people.  Although challenging, we found the classes refreshing and the people eager to learn.   While we experienced some attrition those remaining are integrating into our regular groups now and with a few bumps here and there we have made a smooth transition.

As we moved into the fall the days transitioned from cool to cold with a few classes canceled by much needed but unwelcome rain.  At this point, new and old club members are eager to move inside but due to COVID-19, all our usual inside locations are still unavailable so we have started looking for creative alternatives.

Before we started our search our Treasurer put together a member survey to find out what days and times people preferred.  Using the survey results and member suggestions as our guide we contacted numerous organizations from churches to schools to social groups.  We made numerous personal inquiries, telephone calls, and site visits until we located a few inside places.  Our choices were definitely limited but with the permission of cooperative and gracious hosts starting in November, we are able to have 5 inside practices that can accommodate all of  our members at least once a week.  We found that organizations outside the school system some with large gymnasiums, the Falmouth Gus Canty Center, and The Cape Cod Boys & Girls Club as well as a small ballet school, The Turning Pointe were the most cooperative. Out of concern for exposure to COVID, some of our members choose to continue practicing outside, until the snow flies.  

We continue to look for protected outside locations for those people and more inside choices so our members can practice more frequently.

It is heartwarming to see how the members of the Cape Cod Guang Ping Tai Ji Club have pulled together and worked hard to keep practicing and share the taiji experience with each other.  

As we keep saying, there are still no hugs but it is great to just get together and share a joyful time with friends!

And, when we finally get there our new normal will have lots of BIG HUGS!

After moving to Cape Cod it doesn’t take long for the year-round residents and all their relatives and friends to figure out that many of the summer vacationers stop coming to the Cape after Labor Day.  This results in an abundance of opportunities for enjoying; less crowded beaches, swimming, fishing, shopping, sailing, golfing, clamming, antiquing, photography, sunsets and a variety of wonderful restaurants all at slightly reduced prices.  There are always many great things to do in the month of September on the Cape.  

This year the Cape Cod Guang Ping Tai Ji Quan Club decided to add to the hustle and bustle by having some training in September. 

Our first training in September was a Level II - Teaching Tips Workshop from 9:00 Am to 3:00 PM on Saturday, 9/14/19 at the Gus Canty Recreation Center in Falmouth, MA.  Jen Kano taught 11 finishers the second level of our three-part series.

This level consists of a review of the subjects covered in Level I and extensive instructions in teaching movements, identifying strengths and weak points as well as giving effective feedback.  Each student had opportunities to give and receive instructions, evaluations and feedback as well as receiving critiques of their teaching techniques from Jen and the other students.    

By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted but happy with the teaching skills they had learned as well as insights into ways to improve their own performance of the set.     

These workshops are a component of our club recognition system and as each level is reached the club member receives acknowledgment of his or her achievement at a club meeting.

For our second September training, it was our privilege to welcome Sifu Dug Corpolongo. 

on September 21, 2019, to the Cape Conservatory in Falmouth, MA to present Chi a Pragmatic Understanding and Application.

The workshop covered some of the many misconceptions about what Chi is and how it works.  As well as exploring our chi, how to cultivate it and use it in our practice.  We gain a practical understanding of chi that without crossing over into the magical thinking sometimes found in martial arts.

As Doug introduced us to various concepts of Original Chi and Gathering Chi, the interaction between the two and the effects on our bodies his relaxed, straightforward style made it easy to understand.  The interaction of the Micro-Cosmic Orbit and the flow of chi through the body seemed much more understandable when the explanation was punctuated by his intermittent “bad jokes”.     

His explanations and demonstrations of the real techniques and uses of Chi as contrasted to the exaggerated stunts made the concept very valuable to all of us.  If I may paraphrase Doug, ‘if any person has developed to the level that they have the ability to do the truly amazing things we have heard about they would have reached such a high level of practice or awakening and be so far developed that it would not occur to them to perform the action as a parlor trick.  It would be used only in truly important circumstances.’  

The time seemed to fly by as Dug explanation the concepts of Natural and True Chi to Peng, Ji, Liu and An (4 of the 8 basic techniques) to demonstrations of the power of intention, visualization and Chi as well as numerous others.  Before we realized it the workshop was coming to an end.  We all felt that we had received a tremendous amount of valuable information and we could have spent many more hours listening to Dug and participating in the exercises that he teaches for learning the various techniques.    

Some of the thoughts they shared were: 

We are truly grateful to Sifu Corpolongo for taking the time to present workshops on Cape Cod.  For many of us, the visits to our club from the Masters are the only contact we have with teachers who have his depth of knowledge and experience as well as the ability to explain the complicated concepts in a manner that we can understand and assimilate.

We should share our visits with even more of the local taiji groups.  They should be invited to join us whenever we have any Master come to the Cape.  

We think that is a great idea and the Club makes information about any workshops we are holding available on our website and extends an invitation to all who would like to attend.  

And as always, should you find yourself visiting Cape Cod we hope you will be able to join us as we practice and enjoy Tai Chi together.  

Everyone is always welcome and we will keep the light on for ya!

By Clif Genge

Our annual meeting was held at the First Congregational Church's hall. Dinner was a buffet provided by Gourmet Gardens, Falmouth, MA. At the gathering we review our finances, the past year's activities, recognize member contributions and achievements and EAT. Members are in almost universal agreement that the most important parts of the evening are the recognition, the chance to socialize, and the food.

Tonight we honored 5 members with their white pin. Known as Finishers, they have received instruction in the 64 movements of the taiji set and are identified by their primary teacher as having the ability to complete the set. They are now on a lifelong path of continuous learning.

Member Brian Connolly receiving his completion certificate.

Our newest white pin members! Clif Genge presented the awards to Louise Theroux, Bill White, Lynn White, Brian Connolly and Florence Ramsey.

Black Pin Recipient Al Moniz. This is the highest Club recognition and takes a minimum of eight years of active club membership for the individual to achieve. Giving the award are teachers Paul Andrews, Jen Kano, President Clif Genge and Geoff Way.

On a snowy Tuesday, January, 30, 2018, Jennifer Kano taught a Teaching Tips Workshop to 12 Cape Cod Guang Ping Tai J Quan Club members.  Members of the club volunteer to serve the organization in all functions and this group volunteered to be teaching assistants at our training and practice locations.  Jen has been one of our five volunteer teachers for over 20 year and offers this course to more experienced members who would like to assist the teachers. 

The TT Workshop consists of 3 levels of instruction which cover a multitude of subjects from “understanding the benefits of teaching to the teacher and helping a student practice a skill they have been taught by the primary teacher to teaching a new move and how to run a class when substituting for the primary teacher.”  This workshop is a component of our club recognition system and covered the subjects taught in the first and second level.

Since 1995 the Cape Cod Guang Ping Tai J Quan Club has been offering tai chi training and practice classes to anyone who is interested in learning the Guang Ping Yang style.  It is an all-volunteer non-profit organization.

Our annual meeting was held at the First Congregational Church's hall. Dinner was a buffet provided by Gourmet Gardens, Falmouth, MA.
Tonight we honored 5 members with their white pin, a symbol of learning the 64 moves of the Guang Ping style. Paul Andrews, Clif Genge, and Jen Kano presented the white pins to Elin Kinney, Elaine Powers, Joe Vitullo and Judith Rahilly. One of the finishers, Jane Boulton, was not there; her pin was presented to her at a regular practice session.