Cliodhna Mulhern and Geoff Atwell will be leaving the city soon to take up residence in England. The Tai Chi Community take this oppertunity to wish them both well. Always regular Tai Chi players at out Saturday classes, and members of our Walled City Festival demonstrations team. Both were extremely popular with all our members. It is pleasing to know that they acquired their affection for Tai Chi in this city, and in our community in particular. We hope that the knowledge gained will serve them well in the future, and that they may continue their Tai Chi studies.
Cliodhna, as many will know, was Derry's Town Center Manager over the past number of years, and as such made a very considerable and significant contribution to the life of this city. We hope that good health and happiness surround them both, and we sincerely thank them for their friendship and interest in our community activities during their time with ua.
It is with great sadness that we learn of the untimely passing away of our friend Danny Connor in Manchester, England. Danny was a famous Tai Chi and Martial Arts instructor, also an author and TV presenter on martial arts subjects.
He was one of the first ever westerners to be accepted into China during the Cultural Revolution, to study with the great masters and learn the secrets of Tai Chi. This earned him great respect in Tai Chi circles.This Community was lucky enough to have him over in the city on a number of occassions to take work shops for us. In fact we also spent weekends of Tai Chi with him in Donegal, in Greencastle and Gweedore.
He enjoyed the people here and in fact had written a number of articles in prominent magazines about his experiences during his Irish stays, which were always complimentary. danny passed away with cancer at the age of 54 at his family home in Didsbury, Manchester, surrouded by his family and friends. RIP!
Over the past month or so those in our advanced class wil notice that we are now taking a new and necessary direction in developing our Tai Chi skills. We are concentrating more and more on the specific details of each individual movement. For so long we seemed to have practised the form like an aimless routine, without direction or purpose. We have not concentrated on learning the finer points, which are necessary if we are to improve our abilitities as Tai Chi players.
To have received such a positive feed-back to the changes from so many people has been encouraging and it has been noted that so many are saying that they are enjoying class much more. members will notice that the first half of the class programme is devoted to developing our exercise, Qigong, and meditation routines. Again this has paid off in that members look more relaxed and concentrated during the form. Timing of movements also has improved greatly. Tai chi is a personal journey, and it is up to the student to develop to a level of competence which makes himself/herself feel good about what they are doing. However this requires joining of the mind, body, and spirit, in flowing harmony and movement. It is also helpful to carry over the feelings we experience in Qigong practise into the Tai Chi Form.
Members should take note that the last class of Tai Chi before Christmas will be on Monday 18th December. Classes will recommence on Saturday 6th January 2001. Previous experience indicates that many members are keen to get back to Tai chi practise as quick as possible after the effects of the celebrations and resulting consumption of too much rich food. Remenber: what passes the lips turns up on the hips (except in some lucky rare cases).
Many experienced Tai Chi players will know from the past that an absence from regular Tai Chi practise may result in the body becoming stiff. it is therefore advisable for members to try and get in some exercise time ever other day or so during the holidays to ensure that you keep supple and loose. Try some of the warm up exercises to help keep in shape. These exercises will also help you to feel invigorated as well.
Our own Tai Chi master Wendy (Weh Hui) has indicated that she will be coming over from Brussels around easter time to spend a week with us at the Foyle Art Centre. She has also informed us that many of her Belgian students have expressed a desire to accompany her to Derry. They would like to come and spend time with us and learn Tai Chi from us under the direction of Wen Hui. In addition Wendy has asked if it would be possible for us all to go to Donegal for a weekend so that we can spend some time together learning and socialising. We shall be making announcements with reguards to details of their visit as we get more accurate information. We shall keep you updated as things develop.
A special word of thanks to Vonnie Harvey, and Dorothy Brown for the excellent manner in which they organised the ordering and issuing of our new t-shirts. Those who have previously been involved in this exercise will appreciate the logistics and amounr of hard work involved.
Plans are now in place for members of our community to join up with Tai Chi players in Gweedore, Co, Donegal, for a weekend of Tai Chi on Saturday 3rd, and Sunday 4th February 2001. Workshops in Tai Chi, Chi Kung, Meditation, and Polarity Training have been arranged. a new set of Tai Chi exercises will be introduced also.
Tutors for the weekend workshops will be Charlie Morrison and Carolyn Norgates from Gweedore. The cost of the workshop is £20 per person - application forms are available, however places will be limited. So if you are interested see Vonnie Harvey or Dorothy Brown ASAP.
It is anticipated that participants will want to stay over on the Saturday night, and in this regard we have contacted B7B's in the area. B&B's will cost approx: £15-20 per person. This can be arranged by the community, however if you wish to make your own arrangements please feel free to do so.
We are prepared to let people pay for the workshop and accomodation in installments. Please see Vonnie or Dorothy for details.
This is an excellent oppertunity for our members to share experiences with memvers of the Gweedore Tai Chi Community. From past experiences in Gweedore, a Tai Chi weekend in West Donegal is an occasion not to be missed. Remember limited numbers apply.
At this time of year some people can be forgotten during all the festivities, and in this regard our minds turn to the staff of the Foyle Arts Centre. In particular the Tai Chi Community acknowledges the continuous work and support we have received over the past year from Paddy Casey and his staff Shaun and Colm. Always friendly and helpful we are indebted to them for providing us with this excellent space for our Tai Chi practise.
The Tai Chi Community is now listed on the internet under the Tai Chi Union of Great Britain and Ireland web page. As a consequence of this we have had a number of phone queries from people all over the island enquiring as to where they could find a Tai Chi teacher or class in their area. Happily we have been in a position to assist in most cases.
