Our own Chinese Tai Chi Master Wen Hui has been asked to appear on a TV programme in Belgium in the New Year. The TV station is keen to talk to her n about her life in the West and her Tai Chi teaching. A major part of the interview will surround her experiences in Ireland and how she became the first Chinese national to bring U the ancient martial to this country.
Over the years she has been directly responsible for teaching and passing on her skills to literally thousands of Irish people and today, almost eleven years since the date of her first visit a we have a thriving TC community. There is no doubt that our own group is the largest and most sustainable Tai Chi Community on this island. Being highly intellectual and linguistic we have no doubt that Wendy will do us all proud. Because of the great experiences she has had here over the years and, of course, many fond memories, she will be able to recall all these during the recording and will most certainly tell them about the great love she has for the people of this city.
A Date for your Diary
The last Tai Chi Class will be on Monday 23 December 2002. Classes will recommence on Saturday 4th January 2003.
Danny ButterfieId's son, Danny junior recently won the All Ireland Body Building Championship, a truly magnificent achievement in itself. However, on top of that young Danny also won the overall title in his own class and the perpetual cup, a extraordinary first for this young man. This is the first time that this has ever been achieved by a bodybuilder in this country. We send Danny and his family our warmest congratulations and we are sure that his parents, Danny and Mary and all the family circle are extremely proud of their son and brother.
This is not the first unique award that the talented ButterfieId family has won. Paul Butterfield a renowned Karate expert, walked away with the Northern Ireland championship and the middle- weight title again. He also holds both karate Federation titles. The Tai Chi Community are delighted that once again that two of our local young sportsmen can compete and succeed against the best in the country at the highest level.
Wen Hui first came to this city in 1992 as part of Derry City Council's 'Impact 92' celebrations. She was then accompanied by Professor Mel Madden RIP who was an English teacher at her university in China. They spent three weeks in this city and set up Tai Chi classes so that they could teach locals who would in turn go on to teach others the ancient Chinese art. After a very successful visit a local group core was formed who then continued to practice weekly until she returned at Christmas. Wen Hui has returned to the city each and every year ever since.
In 1995 a number of our group travelled to Brussels to receive further training from her. Also that year members travelled to China where she arranged training under famous Chinese Tai Chi masters. In 1997 the group returned to China for further training again under many famous masters. This community would not exist today if it was not for her continued interest in us and we are deeply thankful to her for sharing her knowledge with us.
The highlight of our year is always her visit to our city which gives us an opportunity to spend time in her company.
Some members have expressed a desire to have a copy of the Tai Chi music that we play in class. Some would like to have the music available so that they can play it when they practise at home. Unfortunately we do not loan out our CD's because of obvious reasons and past experiences.
We are prepared however to allow members to bring a cassette tape into class and copy the music as it plays. This is of benefit to both parties and of course it is a way of obtaining a copy of the TC music. Any member wishing to record a tape should approach the 'Core Group', who will arrange copying.
Charlie has recently signed the legal agreement on behalf of the Tai Chi Community and the Centre Management that permits us to use the centre for another year. The agreement is renewable annually and is binding upon both parties.
Some time ago we appealed through this newsletter to all our members not to touch any electric devices or switches in the centre. There is a very important reason for this as the building is protected by at least five alarm/security systems. These are known only to a small number of the 'core group' who have been trained and are authorised to open and close the centre.
No member is permitted to interfere with such devices. If an unauthorised person activates an alarm system an engineer is called to the centre, and this carries with it a 'call out' costing of £80. The TC community will be penalised accordingly. Thank you for your cooperation.
Members shall have noticed by now that there is a laptop computer situated on the desk at every class. The reason for this is to enable us to ensure that numbers attending class and membership numbers are being recorded accurately. It is also critical for the good administration .of the community. There is also the advantage that members who forget their membership numbers can find out quickly their allocated personal number. The computer also stores information such as copy Membership Application Forms etc.
Secure Passwords (changed weekly) are in operation but these are known only to a small number of persons to ensure that personal details of all our membership are protected. If you need to check your number ask Charlie or Danno and they will access the information for you.
Remember during holiday times especially Christmas be careful when you become inclined to laze about, take it easy and eat too much. It is important that we do some type of physical exercise so that we can remain flexible. It is so easy to stiffen up at such times so try to do at least some of the 'warm up' exercises to maintain body flexibility.
Harvard Medical School in Boston recently carried out studies on several relaxation response techniques and found that one thing is necessary to get the most out of any of the exercises. You have to adopt a state of mind called 'passive awareness' or 'effortless concentration'. This means that you can’t force the experiences of Qigong exercise.
