4th Class

Speaking only for myself, I have to say that this was the best class so far. Upon consulting my time piece, I was shocked to learn that there were only 10 minutes left. I began this class with a nice didgeridoo warm up. Perhaps,  I played longer than I realized. Regardless, the park was pretty quiet. One woman jogged around the perimeter with her huge shaggy dog. They had some real energy too - dog show material. Another highlight during today’s session was a family of crows playing around the southeast corner. The park is bordered on three sides by the backyards of various households. At one  point while I moved through my tai chi form, I spied a white pitt bull watching me through his fence. His look seemed to implore me to open the gate so he may enjoy the park’s generous expanse of green grass. Moments later he was gone. While going through the form the 4th time I really felt a solid sense of my chi. Really grounded. My head got clear. Everything felt lighter. Still no students but after 4 weeks of this 60 minute class I am quite pleased with its impact.

3rd Class

My girlfriend must feel sorry for me because she agrees to attend class #3 in the park on White Oak Circle. We arrive 5 minutes after 10. No one else is in the park. Thus, I am right on time. Sharms can only attend till 10:30 so I keep it simple. We start with standing meditation - the nine gates - a lovely way to prepare for tai chi. Next we do a simple qi-gong kidney activation exercise. Then I move through my whole form. Sharms follows along quietly not saying too much. At 10:30 she cruises away on to her next mission, leaving me and my skateboard. The last half hour I do some standing meditation again before practicing the short form another 3 times. A young man sits at the other end of the park on one of the cement and wooden picnic tables while his decent sized dog gallops about smelling things.

I finish class 8 minutes early and utilize the time to research a couple tai chi related items. I find this amazing video of a grand master in my tai chi lineage: http://taichivideos.org/cheng-man-ching-instructing-push-hands/.

Nice skating home. Smooth asphalt, warm air, quiet and peaceful.

The day we fight back agains mass surveillance

The day we fight back against mass surveillance

2nd Class

I hear it before I see it. Road construction. There’s a whole bunch of it in the town now. Itsa bonanza. Anyway, less than a block from where I will be teaching tai chi this morning, big machines and big motors making a racket grinding away. I bike slowly on my old red Stumpjumper through a congestion of construction equipment and some workers - careful not to raise any hackles. Thats when the  thought appeared: I need a dojo studio. Itsa no brainer. When I arrive at the park, I am a bit surprised. There are 2 people doing what looks a lot like qi-gong in the area of the park where I teach (yeah, yeah, i know its just my second class). Hmmm I think parking my bike. They are silently going through their movements and pay me no mind. I realize: wow, its just a coincidence. I have not been to this park very often so I don’t know what the norm is. I can’t help but dance through the various scenarios as to how these two came to be here at the precise time as I. Is it my little bit of facebook advertising? I will never know because I went through my entire routine of tai chi and didge playing without even making eye contact with them. Meanwhile, dogs roamed around the park some unleashed - some leashed to their owners congregating amongst themselves. At one point I watched amusingly as several of the dog owners gathered right next to the meditators, laughing and cackling and talking loudly they seemed completely oblivious that there were folks meditating right under their noses.

Even though it was so close, the road construction was not very disturbing. I coast home a different way avoiding the machines, orange signs and noise. Still no students but I don’t care. I think about the kind of space I’d like to rent. Open. Quiet. Wood floors. Lots of light. But, for now, the park will do.

1st class

I pedaled my grey 429c the mile or so from my apartment to the park with only a mild sense of trepidation. This was my 1st tai chi class. I had not advertised at all except for telling several friends and thus would have been shocked to see anyone there besides the daily dog walkers. Despite the fact that there were no students, my first class went quite well. I practiced my form for 40 minutes, played the didge for 15 minutes and then standing meditation for 5 minutes. I visualized various scenarios within the teaching environment. The park was nicer than I remembered it. Several super old Oak trees kept a decent amount of the space sheltered within their collective canopy of green leaves. During my hour in the park, several dogs and their respective human counterparts roamed about while the 4 leggeds relieved themselves amongst the trees. I coasted home enjoying the air feathering though my 1/4 beard feeling mellow and determined to continue on.