TCCKF May Gathering 10/11 May 2008

They came from north, south, east and west to meet in the Palace of the Emperor……

On the hottest week-end of the year so far, T’ai Chi players travelled to Birmingham for the annual May Gathering of the T’ai Chi and Chi Kung Forum for Health. We met not in the Emperor’s Palace but in Harborne Hall, an imposing eighteenth-century building now the Training Centre for VSO. Forum members travelled from as far afield as Scotland & South Devon to share ideas and practices for the teaching of adapted T’ai Chi, and to learn from speakers invited to give presentations and demonstrations of aspects of their work.

Andy Wright began the Saturday morning session with exercises from the Fa Soong Gong set. Andy works for the Shaw Trust helping clients with substance misuse problems to return to work. He has a great sense of humour & made it easy for us all to learn & understand the simple exercises he was demonstrating. We were soon moving and sinking in unison, enjoying the fresh air and the chance to focus at the start of our week-end.

Angie Price and Jane Simpson, Senior Clinical Specialist Physiotherapists, then began their presentation on Fit2Breathe. This is a community-based Pulmonary Rehabilitation programme set up in Tower Hamlets for sufferers of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Patients participate in an 8 week rolling programme, with 2 sessions per week. Each session includes advice, discussion and exercise appropriate to the needs of the participant. The Forum’s Mike Tabrett devised a series of adapted T’ai Chi exercises to be practised (with supervision) by patients. Mike had trained members of the physiotherapy team at a seminar and made a DVD to support them. Subsequently, Mike has made another DVD with new exercises for the patients to follow at home. Initial results suggest that the T’ai Chi offered has real benefits for patients and funding has been renewed. Given that COPD is predicted to be the third most common disease worldwide by 2020, this programme, and the involvement of the Forum, may have valuable far-reaching effects not least within the UK.

Just before lunch, we were treated to the first of several ‘mini presentations’ given by Forum members. We are frequently reminded that in sharing understanding and knowledge of T’ai Chi & Chi Kung, we endeavour to ‘work from the heart.’ This first presentation certainly came from the heart and was applauded enthusiastically.

Lunch gave us all the chance to chat with old friends and new and, of course, to enjoy some of Harborne’s good food.

Phew! A heatwave in May. We were glad to be outside after lunch.

Ferris Jerjis is an acupuncturist who trains cardiac physiotherapists in the coronary care unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead. The basis of Ferris’s work with these superfit physios is the Ba Duan Jin, whose root version is heavily influenced by elements from the Hun Yuan system. Ferris’s expertise quickly became evident and we settled into practising four of the Ba Duan Set.

The AGM recorded the success of the Forum’s recent south-west regional seminar, training courses for physiotherapists & the Teachers’ Certificate Course. The Steering Committee works tirelessly for the Forum. Members were invited to become actively involved in supporting them, and in working together in regional groups. A vote of thanks was given to Maria Smith whose seamless efficiency is responsible for the smooth running of the May Gathering, amongst other tasks. Ronnie Robinson was invited to give suggestions on raising the public profile of the Forum, based on his long involvement with the Tai Chi Union of Great Britain. We were grateful for Ronnie’s insight and for his input throughout the week-end.

Andy Wright offered us another session of Fa Soong Gong, reminding us that the exercises could be easily adapted for chair-based work. I made a mental note to try this out with one of my groups in the future.

After supper, we enjoyed two more presentations by members. There were 2 different versions of simple 5 Element sets which both demonstrated the tenets of good teaching: clarity of thought and purpose, obvious enjoyment of subject matter and a sense of fun to encourage wilting students! During the evening, Mike Tabrett showed us some of the exercises used in the Fit2Breathe programme.

Sunday dawned sunny and warm. Ferris began another practice session of Ba Duan Jin: this time, there was much laughter and a few ribald comments as we tried ‘the Ferris ripple effect.’

Mike Potter, a long-established TCM practitioner and lecturer gave us a fascinating talk on the TCM approach to understanding the Heart and Lungs. Mike’s profound knowledge of the subject, his historical perspective and ability to communicate his passion for TCM and human physiology made this a memorable morning, which was completed by Andy’s final Fa Soong Gong session.

After lunch, Ferris made sure that we worked on our 8 Strands with customary vigour, noses pressed against the wall. (You had to be there.) There were more presentations by members, which were instructive, thought-provoking and inspiring. Forgive me for mentioning only one: who can forget Bill Bird’s Funny Walks, illustrating so effectively the development of human gait?

And then it was nearly over for another year. In the plenary session, Certificates were awarded to 4 members who had completed the Teachers’ Certificate Course and we all said our goodbye to old and new friends before setting off north, south, east and west.

For me as a newcomer to teaching adapted T’ai Chi, the May Gathering encapsulates all that is valuable in the Forum: encouragement and support from experienced teachers; opportunities to learn and deepen my own understanding of T’ai Chi and Chi Kung; the chance to try out and exchange ideas and practices before teaching; new friendships and working partnerships. Quite something, don’t you think?

Jennie Sapsford.

See carousel below for more images from May 2008.  Click on each image to enlarge.