Friday 07 September

Aerial photo showing my
accommodation (top), the park
where I normally practice tai chi,
and where the larger group practice
(bottom)

The large tai chi group in the south park

This was a very significant day. I’ve been practicing tai chi (t’ai qi quan) with Ren Zhou Kun, her friend and occasionally other ladies, in a nearby park (5-7 mins walk from my accommodation) by a tranquil pond (middle arrow on map).

I have been doing this almost every day since the day after my arrival. I found the groups after finding a video on the internet posted in 2010 and asking Ben if he knew where the park was, http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/HJnCVekADe0/ 

Ren Zhou Kun is the one in red in the front row.
She is also part of the sandwich generation – around 60 years old living with her son and daughter-in-law, her working husband, and  her daughter-in-law’s very elderly parents.

The master (in purple) and
Ren Zhou Kun at right

Today, Ren Zhou Kun took me to meet her teacher and the group that she learned with, in another park across the bridge approach (bottom arrow on map). I doubt that I would have ever met them as they practice early and I probably would not have  discovered them.

There were about a dozen people, all in full tai chi outfits. Her teacher is almost 60 (in the magenta outfit) and is excellent, and surprisingly flexible for her age. I felt a little awkward in t-shirt and long shorts, but I was warmly greeted and then asked to demonstrate the Beijing 24 form – the version authorised by the Chinese government for international competition.

Sydney Guandong city tai chi group

Marrickville Vietnamese tai chi group.

This was the form I had learned at Dr. Paul Lamb’s workshops in Sydney, and practiced (and improved) with the tai chi group near the Entertainment Centre in Sydney and Vietnamese group in Marrickville.  So with great trepidation I performed the form, surrounded by the entire group, essentially making my audition. Fortunately it went well with no major errors and I was greeted with a round of applause – plus some corrections. This hand too high here, feet too close there, etc.

We went on to practice the most common forms (24, 40,42, 48) plus one I had never seen, the 27! Because of the heat and humidity (even at 6-7 am) we were all sweating profusely by the end of the hour, and it was good to get back to the apartment and cool down.

I must say that I was really glad to have met Ren Zhou Kun and practice with her and her friends in the park as this provided me with an excellent opportunity to meet a group of very friendly and practiced tai chi ‘players’ in Quzhou.