May Gathering 2010
Drawing Together: martial, tao and health insights
‘The year of the Tiger is typically a time for change, for the introduction of new and controversial ideas.’
At a time of political change and uncertainty in the UK, the TCCK Forum for Health held its annual May Gathering at Harborne Hall in Birmingham. This popular event offers members the opportunity to deepen their personal understanding and practice of the Tao, thus enriching their teaching of adapted Tai Ji and Qi Gong. Furthermore, it is a welcome occasion for renewing friendships, meeting new practitioners and sharing ideas.
The theme of the week-end was an exploration of the healing, martial and Taoist art aspects of Tai Ji. Saturday began with members participating in a workshop on the energies of the Five Moving Forces. This was led by Sue Hargreaves. (Sadly, Annamarie McGregor was unable to share the presentation as she had suffered a fall the previous day.) Sue’s warmth, good humour and clarity of understanding were evident as she guided us ably through our introduction to the Five Moving Forces, which she had been practising for many years, having first studied this with Chungliang Al Huang. We experienced Tai Ji as a Dance of these Forces, and looked forward to further opportunities to practise this form during the week-end.
Mike Tabrett would be embarrassed to be described as a pillar of the TCCK Forum: his honesty, vision and generous spirit have been an inspiration to many of us in the Forum, I suspect. Thus Mike’s talk on the importance of the martial aspect in T’ai Chi Chuan was informed and thought-provoking, with references to a few of the writings he himself had found influential. We were reminded of the three aspects of TCC: martial, healing and meditational/spiritual. These three complement each other: they provide a tripod on which rests the art of T’ai Chi Chuan. All three ‘legs’ are necessary for T’ai Chi Chuan to function well. Mike and Fara Afifi gave us a practical demonstration of the need for flexibility in the practice of martial arts: what is needed is an ability to ‘think out of the box,’ rather than a slavish adherence to principles which do not work in practice. We were ably guided through some simple exercises in partner work.
Following an excellent Harborne Hall lunch, Fara Afifi led a workshop on Martial Elements within the Teaching of Groups with Complex Needs. Fara’s energy, inventiveness and love of music are always part of her workshops. Members thoroughly enjoyed practising the seated T’ai Chi Form which Fara had devised with her students from a Community Centre in Cambridge. The form was firmly rooted in T’ai Chi principles, but clearly designed to suit the needs of the students so that they gained maximum benefit from its practice. Music was an important feature of the practice and a valuable part of involving students in the class.
Members settled in sombre mood to a discussion skilfully led on behalf of the Steering Group by Dominic Rushmore. In common with many clubs, societies and groups, the work of the TCCK Forum is effected by a small number of trusty members (the Steering Committee) who willingly contribute a large amount of time and effort for the benefit of the whole membership. Sometimes there is need for honest appraisal and clarification of the purpose of the group. Change is always uncomfortable, but it can also be viewed as an opportunity for injecting new life and vitality into that group. Thus each member present cited their feelings about the value of the Forum: reference was made to the opportunity provided by the Teaching Course, the inspiration from sharing ideas and methods of teaching, from being united by a common purpose. Members clearly valued the openness, warmth and generosity of the Forum and from being part of something which was truly greater than the sum of its parts.
The afternoon continued with several member presentations: a talk on references to the value of green spaces to human wellbeing; a demonstration of two ways of looking at a single movement; a game of T’ai Ji Statues; a brief talk about types of books on Tai Ji and Qi Gong. (It’s always good to have the chance to look at other people’s bookshelves!)
We returned to practising The Five Energies with Sue Hargreaves: this was a welcome opportunity to move freely and experience the energies within ourselves at the end of a long Saturday.
On Sunday, our day began with The Five Energies: Sue showed us how to practise our newly learned form with different emphases: a consideration of ‘doing’ and ‘not doing’; awareness of the Tai Ji symbol; reference to the Three Treasures and incorporating ideas from calligraphy. It was all wonderfully inspiring and an excellent example of the Forum working well.
There followed a memorable presentation by Linda Dunleavy, a physiotherapist with considerable experience of working with people with Parkinson’s Disease in Cumbria. Quickly we learned how restricting our mode of walking from free, outgoing movement to small inline steps affected our confidence and mood: it was also very tiring. Linda went on to outline what those with Parkinson’s must face each day. With calm and centred focus, she invited us to participate in a series of movements she uses in her groups. All present learned a great deal from this session and were grateful for the insight and knowledge which Linda brought to the Gathering.
The Forum AGM was managed with considerable diplomacy by Dominic Rushmore. It was time to thank the Steering Committee for the past year’s hard work. In particular, Maria Smith had carefully prepared a clear and concise Treasurer’s Report and was thanked for her efforts on our behalf. It was decided that the next year should be a time to gather our strength and reflect. For the moment, there would be no further Teachers’ Certificate courses, but a May Gathering was planned for 2011. There was also the possibility of a week-end course in October which might well be the last time members would meet at Harborne Hall, since change was afoot for this VSO Centre, too. (Talk about Year of the Tiger!!) The forum recorded its special thanks to Tony Reed, who had given us all a copy of his book, ‘A Tai Chi Story’ with a suggestion that we make a small donation to the Brian Cookman Fund.
The final member presentation concerned the work of Phoenix T’ai Chi in Chesterfield. One of our members, Liz Watkin, gave an account of the setting up of Phoenix and the work of the three instructors in teaching a structured programme of T’ai Chi within schools with a differentiated curriculum across the primary age group. It was estimated that up to 1000 youngsters a week received T’ai Chi instruction. How impressive that is! Members were fascinated and wanted to know much, much more. Not surprisingly, head teachers had been impressed with the benefits of the programme.
The week-end drew to a close as Teachers’ Certificates were presented to two members. We all said our farewells and looked forward to gathering together again. The Forum moves forward, its qualities of compassion and generosity intact. I, for one, am very grateful for its continuing existence.
JS
