CELEBRATE WORLD TAI CHI QIGONG DAY ON APRIL 29 –– IN SIFU TERRY DUNN'S IMMERSIVE TAI CHI WORKSHOP AT TAO RETREAT IN CATSKILL!! (Zoomable!!)
Contact Terry Dunn at zenbearinc@gmail.com or at (310) 384-7205
3-Day Residential Tai Chi Workshop: April 28-30 Han Chinese Culture Estate, 33 Tao Rd, Catskill, NY 12414
“Nothing under Heaven is more pliable than water. But when amassed, there is nothing that can withstand it. That the soft overcomes the hard and the yielding overcomes the unyielding is a fact known to all men but utilized by none.”
—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
JOIN US for this 14-hour immersive workshop, in which I will provide students of all levels with expert, step-by-step instruction in the 60-posture Yang Style Tai Chi Short Form created by my teacher, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen. Form refinement and applications will be taught for those already versed in the Short Form. To further the development of good Tai Chi form, you will learn a wide variety of easy-to-do classical Tai Chi warm-up and conditioning exercises that I have distilled from my rather vast repertoire acquired over 49 years in the Chinese martial arts. These include: (a) the Yang Style “Gentle Bear” exercise of the late Abraham Liu; (b) Qing Dynasty Imperial Guard Exercises; (c) The Silk-Weaver’s Exercise; (d) Basic “Silk-reeling” (chan su jin) exercises from Chen Style Tai Chi; (e) Basics of Ehrmei Mtn. Flying Phoenix Qigong.
Push-hands (fixed step sparring) is the collaborative training vehicle where we learn the self-defense applications of the form and develop Tai Chi’s “soft power” by attempting to unbalance, uproot and displace our practice partners by using as little strength or force (li) as possible. In Push-hands, we adhere to all the 5 cardinal principles of Tai Chi form and apply two more principles: “stick and no resistance.” Applying this simple-sounding principle, “stick and no resistance” to uproot any size opponent takes a LOT OF PRACTICE. Thus attendees will receive whatever amount of Push-hands practice that they are ready for.
This workshop is appropriate for students of all levels of Tai Chi experience–from absolute beginners to intermediate and advanced students who have Tai Chi forms under their belt and are skilled at Push Hands. My primary goal is to help students at all levels gain proficiency in the 60-posture Short Form and to improve their Push- Hands skills in order to enjoy greater health benefits and self-empowerment. Also, depending the experience level of attendees, I will teach the Yang Tai Chi sword form.
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
The 3-day immersive workshop, April 28 to 30, consists of 7 two-hour sessions with 2 sessions on Friday, 3 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday at these times:
Friday: 3:00pm - 5:00pm; 7pm - 9pm
Saturday: 10am - noon; 2:30pm - 4:30pm; 7pm - 9pm
Sunday: 10am - noon; 2:30pm - 4:30pm
TUITION
$340 early registration
$385 day of workshop
$55 for each of the seven 2-hour sessions
**ZOOM Participation:
$40 per 2-hour session or $250 / all 7 sessions
• Please send payment via Paypal (to zenbearinc@gmail.com) or via Zelle (to terencepdunn@gmail.com) •
ROOMS AT TAO RETREAT
A. There are 3 rentable rooms at Tao Retreat:
One room with bathroom: $350 / day Two rooms with a shared bathroom: $248 / day
B. Ten floor beds in the main tea house / event hall: $60 / night
C. Trailer rooms with sofa-beds for up to 4 people are $250/night; $50 for additional person.
[Room or floor bed rent includes each day’s meals. Trailer rent does not include meals.]
MEALS:
2 excellent meals each day (authentic Xichuan cuisine for lunch and dinner) plus one smoothie or light soup before sleep. • Meals are included with room or floor bed rentals • Meal plan for non-residents: $50 per day.
BTW, the meals provided by the chef at Tao Retreat are authentic, super-fresh Sichuan cuisine—real Chinese “comfort food”—in which all the vegetables and mushrooms are home-grown. Most attendees agree that the food alone is worth going to Tao Retreat…because you can’t this quality of food even at good Chinese restaurants unless you know the chef. YUMMERS!
TO MAKE ROOM AND/OR MEAL PLAN RESERVATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT Yurong 豫容 Julia Li 李 at: jl@hancca.org or info@hancca.org Tel: (917) 828-0731
[And for those not partial to Chinese food, there are many restaurants nearby in Catskill, ranging from nice Italian and seafood restaurants to fast food.]
LODGING IN NEARBY CATSKILL:
The town of Catskill is convenient 14 minutes away by car (8.5 miles) has plenty of comfortable bed & breakfast inns, motels and resorts in and around the nearby town of Catskill such as Wolff's Maple Breeze Resort: https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/.../wolffs-maple... https://wolffs-maple-breeze-resort.new-york-state.net/en/
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My background in Tai Chi Chuan: 43 years of experience in the Cheng Man-Ching lineage of Tai Chi Chuan, having previously studied with Master William C.C. Chen's two classmates from Taiwan, the late Masters Abraham Liu (1980-1992) and Benjamin Lo (13 summer workshops in La Honda, CA, 1980-1992)—learning the Professor’s 37-posture Short Form,108-posture Long Form, and the Tai Chi sword. I taught Tai Chi forms and push-hands on my own for 20 years starting in 1993. Then I met GM William C.C. Chen in 2013 and have been studying with him and teaching under his guidance to this day.
[ My full martial arts biography is at: http://www.taichimania.com/tdbio.html ]
My teacher of the past 10 years, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen, is a senior student of Professor Cheng Man-Ching (1902 – 1975), a Renaissance genius who was a master of the “Five Excellences”: painting poetry, calligraphy, herbal medicine and boxing (Tai Chi Chuan). This poem of dedication at the opening of his Shr Jung institute in New York City in 1973 expresses Professor Cheng’s Taoist philosophy actualized through his teaching of Tai Chi Chuan:
In 1989, with my teacher the late Gen. Abraham Liu’s permission, I produced “Tai Chi For Health - Yang Short Form” and “TCFH - Yang Long Form,” which to date are the all-time best-selling instructional Tai Chi videos in the English language. To prepare for this workshop, students are advised practice to the 45-minute basic posture and warm-up module of either DVD. They are available at:
http://www.taichimania.com/taichi_catalog.html
SEE Y’ALL FOR WORLD TAI CHI QIGONG DAY AND WEEKEND!!
mitakuye oyasin
(Lakota prayer-greeting that means “To all my relations” or “All are related”, or “Help and Health to all my Brothers and Sisters” )
Terry,
For us Zoomers, could you be specific on what is going to be covered at each session?
Thank you,
Gary