Tai Chi Tourist

impending kaboom

2011-11-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

We never did locate this place this time. Maybe next time.

some time has passed

2011-11-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

So yes another year about to go. It has been busy. Will post more of the return to wudang shortly plus some other great places i have been touristy in.

The Yellow Wine Part Two

2010-11-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

Yes he was apparently laughing at the Drunken antics of Niall and my good self.

We made his day.

But don't we all look happy!

I think i just got a little bit too happy.

I will be going back to the Mountain this October. If I try really hard maybe I can post something sooner.

The Yellow Wine Part One

2010-11-14T06:45:00.000-08:00

Byron and i warm up after the meal and the wine.

After the meal we walked for some time can't tell you for how long because the first i knew of anything having happened was when I woke up the next day and saw the state of my clothes. What the &*"$ I said to anyone who was listening. Then I say the pictures and some of it came back to me. Selective amnesia or one very strange effect.

but there's more

Berlin

2010-06-25T04:41:00.000-07:00

Oh happy days, I still had my iPhone but was about to experience the terrors of being stuck in a lift. It was Colin's stag. There were more pictures but they went where the phone went in Madrid. Alan and i missed Tres Or or Tresor or... And so missed the spectacle of Col showing off dancin with a Bollard. The rest got back to base at around 6 and suffered all day long as we trecked the sites. The Reichstag The Brandenburg gate, Check point Charlie, The remains of the wall. It is a lovely city with Der Wold Baloon and Trabants for hire. We wwere there for May day not planned just the way it turned out. There was a very heavy police presense but none of it touched us.The left and the right kept there arguments to themselves. the only thing that threatened to upset anyone were Jonny's Tatoos. If you peruse the above collage you will see none of the afore mentioned. We spent a fair bit of time sitting in interesting bars and restaraunts. Oh yes and some of us spent 40 mins in a lift about 18 inches short of the first floor, after drinking a very large morning coffee and a hydratory bottle of water. I thought I was going to have to alert the hotel staff by pissing thru the opening. eventually all returned to normal and we returned home. Great city if you get the chance give it a try. There is a Vietnamese place well worth the visit. The soup if to die for.

Happy days

2010-06-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

Really it wasn't all bad at all.

An Unplanned Road Trip

2010-06-24T02:42:00.000-07:00

Surprise surprise. I had a few on the this trip but not to few to mention. They started happening before i even reached the hostel.

view of the DIRECT route to El Escorial(one of the other surprises) The place itself.

The building is massive the township is tight and cramped in that Spanish perched on a hillside sort of a way. Very well worth a visit if you are ever in Madrid. Direct train from Atocha.

Ramon and Gabriella doing Chintzi in the foreground.
so Surprise surprise... Well first thing was my beloved iPhone..... gone. Just like that. Pickpocket team on the escalator(blocked path) on my way to the hostel. I was so pissed off i almost went to Seville without stopping for the seminar. The above trip was a sort of cooling off period. That was not the end of it either. The next day i was targetted again by a team of three. I knew something was wierd when this big guy blocked my path on the Metro(remember that... Metro.. Beware) and refused to budge. So i using my Tai Chi Skills slipped and squirmed my way past. Next thing i know a pen form my front top jacket pocket flies of its own volition(or so it seemed to me) Six or so feet across the carraige. Strange i thought Looking around me and feeling a tad suspicious. The guy I assumed to be the artist picked up the pen and returned it to me.... Your Pen Mr! So I clambered around the big guy who still refused to move to a position i felt of safety only to feel a tickling sensation against my side where my bag was. I grabbed the bag to my chest checked the contents; all there, but inner zipped pocket half open(passport in there). I turned around to find another very tall guy staring very hard at the roof of the carraige. In fact both the very tall guys were now staring very hard at the ceiling.
The name for the method they were using i have since found out was the third mit or paw or it could even be hand as that was what it was. One arm is kept out of the jacket arm and inside the jacket. The jacket arm is stuffed to make it seem filled. The concealed hand is then used to rifle the unsuspecting tourist. That was not the end of it. On the last day in Madrid after the seminar i went to the hole in th wall to get money to pay my dues. As we (Dan Claire and me) merrily sauntered thru the streets of madrid laughing at the events that had befallen me and the good times we had had in Aranjuez. I caught sight of a hand in my periferal vision, then a scarf, then a scarf seeming to move of its own volition towards my pocket. The pocket dopey here had put his wallet in with all his money and credit cards. I did not turn around i just put my hand in my pocket put my wallet where it should have been and kept walking. Nor was that the end of it. After a very merry evening wandering the streets of the City, A guy aproached us called out to Dan, extended his hand, said a few words and then walked off (well thats what it seemed like, actually he dissapeared sharpish). Then and this only took at most a minute, Dan said 'my wallet it's gone'.
so there you have it. Madrid during the festival period may not be a good time for tourists.
As usual the seminar was great.
However that was not to be the end of the surprises for me.
Despite it all, we had had a really pleasant evening. We had wandered round Plaza Mayor, eaten in a place we had wanted to for a few trips, met Steve with his partner and kids as we sat there eating(what were the chances)((Madrid Steve Not Valencia Steve). We visited many bars and drank much fine wine. we even found a Cidre bar and quaffed in there.
I awoke in the now unacustomed position. Face down fully dressed(at least i made the bed this time) Last time this happened was in Valencia( I woke up on the floor. this happens very infrequently, honest). Hmmm I though,t travelling home to day mmmight be a bit grubby but at least It won't be long..................
Claire got a text from her mother re ash clouds and closed airports...... Edinburh was closed and so it stayed. There were no flights available that week to tranfer on to. The train was going to cost something like £500. We were meetin Ramon for lunch. I got him to take me somewhere we could find out about buses, then I bought a ticket on the first bus out. Luckily that first bus out went at 16.30 that day. and it was not First Bus it was Eurobus.
Advice
When they say check in they mean check in... It is not just a case of turning up and handing in yr bag like Glasgow/Londres. I got really agitated in that queue to the point i was jumping up and down on the spot, getting lots of funny looks(even funnier than the ones i usually get). There were 10 minutes till kick off and i was still along way from the touch line, having visions of an even more complicated scenario unfolding, My slow lunch becoming the equivalent of Green's own goal( could have stayed at Ramon's so there was really no disaster going to befall me). I wanted to be on my way home. I wanted to be home.
Euro Bus
Euro bus is great. Euro bus has seats that go so far back you can comfortably sleep. They are the business class of busses. You can get your legs behind the seat in front without doing damage to yr kneecaps.
I was booked on till London. The trip was timed at 24hrs and that is exactly how long it took. The bus took us up thru Northern Spain over the Pyrinees and on thu France to Paris with one change. Then from Paris to Calais and the ferry to Dover and the bus to Londres.
It turned out to be a great way to see parts of Spain i had never been near. Walled townships, Villages with enormous Spanish type churches, Castles, Palaces. Then there were the Mountains.
I met a couple of people on the trip one young guy who had been woofing(working on organic farms for board n lodgings) and had decided he had had enough of that for now thank you very much and a guy a bit older than myself who had just done in a one, that pilgrimage walk the name of which escapes me. He said that he was going home to seek psychiatric help. he had been walking for 2 months. John was his name; started with a belly, at the end it was gone. France was nice but unspectacular on that particular route. When we got to London, John and i booked our tickets for Glasgow and hung around till it was bus time... We ended up on different buses..... I hope his was more comfortable than mine. It was the bus trip from hell. It was Now Tuesday night. I had left Spain on Monday. i had been wearing the same clothes since Sunday. Tho The Euro bus was comfortable i had only slept for short periods and my last nights sleep in Spain had not been a good one. I was booked on Megabus where the seats pretend they go back but in reality they only tease and if you are of a certain size you can't fit your knees behind the seat in front. By now I noticed that my ankles had begun to swell due to the lack of activity and gravity's relenless pull. It was not good. The bus was packed. it was an evening and night of sitting bolt upright. there was no other option. I don't know if that bus spends any time on the highway to hell but it was a reddish sort of colour and now that I think of it the front did have a demonic sort of aspect. Ghost riders on the M6. No sleep till Glasgow.... and then some.
So i did what a good zen man should and counted breathes all the way to Glasgow. You may say why? but it really helps keep things together. It allowed me to dropped of on a couple of occasions to be woken as i fell from my seat. it got me there. A cat nap is better than no nap. One of the good things about meditating is that if you are tired you will fall asleep.
So I made it home. Mega bus hell; it was glowing red, turned into short taxi ride which was followed by a shower and a change of clothing.
Surprisingly i stayed up the rest of the day and slept for the next 2.
Thanks to all the guys in Aranjuez for a great weekend, hospitality, nights out. We never got as far as table dancing but i think that is just a matter of time.

part 2

2010-01-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

The Seminar At the End of the Year

2010-01-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

Chi Gung Day Glasgow 29th Nov 09

2009-12-22T07:02:00.000-08:00

So after half an hour of meditation everyone got up and started swinging their arms about.
Faye Yip took everyone a warm up and then the Tiger and the Deer from the 5 Animal Frolic system that she teaches. The stretch(shown in a pic from the Manchester day) robbed me of my hamstrings for a couple of days.

Dr Hongtook us thru a basic 5 point auricular massage. She taped small seeds over the points in the ear to make massage of the point more pointed.

Ronnie finished the day by taking us through the 18 Tai Chi Chi Gung exercises. It was a very nice day I have to say. Great fun. Tho I have no pictures Of Bob Lowie doing his stuff that is because I was busy participating.

Happy smiling people having fun.

Chi Gung Day Manchester 28th Nov

2009-12-22T06:40:00.000-08:00

manchester proved to be a quiet sort of a day.
Enough people to be going on with, communicating with, working with.

As a group we could all receive individual care
I did my meditation group with us all sitting on the benches in a nice tight group.
I was an interesting experience to spend an hour sitting, playing with the mind and then stand up. I think a few people were maybe a little spaced out when the physical work began again.
It was an interesting day. It was the first time I had worked with the meditation techniques in this way. The hour seemed to fly away and there were a number people asking questions at the end. The end of the day was missed as we(me,Faye and Diane) had to get back to Glasgow at a reasonable hour so we would be fit for the Glasgow Chi Gung Day.

the retiral show

2009-12-21T08:02:00.000-08:00

The venue was the SECC. It was my first year tho the group handled things very well last year without me.

The pictures were taken on the Saturday as i forgot to bring a camera on the friday.

I almost forgot to take pictures on the Saturday as well.
On the Friday we had the floor filled with enthusiastic people giving their all,making the most of the taster experience.
The Saturday crew were a slightly different kettle of humanity. They also got up in numbers and gave it their all.
The feedback was very positive.
See you all next year.

Boing

2009-11-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

Ramon the Master of the ghostly apparitions.

Eventually even the best of times have to end

Boinge

A Class at Ramon's

2009-11-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

When there are no ghosts about people get on with their own Tai chi Practise.

Ramon assisted by Lola hints that maybe I am in need of martial arts etiquette update.
Raquel Laughs and shoulders her sword(of sorts).

Man you would have thought it was cold.
As always there was time to eat.

The Ghosts Of Cirueles

2009-11-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

Of a night at Ramon's Strange sights can be seen.
Repotrs have come in of ghostly figures.

Moving in a fasion that seems to the 7 stars pushing hands style of Tai Chi.

There have even been reports of materialisations.

Lee's turn

2009-07-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

I came to the conclusion that seminars are get togethers. I did not always see it this way. Recently I noticed a change how I thought about them. The idea of fun was very much to the fore. With time you get to know people, then these people become friends. Then the seminar becomes a playground.
To the left Lucia gets it in the neck. In the top picture Eddie prepares to take Billy down.
Here sabres abound.
More fun than you can shake a staff at.
That was fun Lee. I had never been to the centre of Linlithgow before. It looks like a great wee place; even if the signs for the leisure centre all point in the wrong direction.

Tai Chi Cally Tai Chi Cally get yr 2 for 1

2009-07-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

Tai Chi Caledonia was more fun than I had imagined it would be. Rach and I took advantage of the 2 for 1 offer, attending the Sunday session. We attended Franko's Chi Na session; 45 minutes of wrapping arms to train a simple wrist lock.
Next up was Paul. one our guys from Sweden. We did 2 sessions with Paul. Paul worked largely from stroke the Lute and variations with follow techniques. A lot of fun.
Then there was Nils and tai Chi Boxing. We did 2 seeions with Nils. It was interesting for many reasons. Think translating Cheng Man Ching into Wu. I volunteered to be hit. I was impressed. He spoke the sort of sense we are used to hearing.

Finally Chi kung to test the legs. Nice wide deep stance don chu think.
Definitely an experience I would repeat; given the circumstances. An eye opener. Grreat for meeting people. Great for experiencing what others do.

Update More pics Of Bulgaria

2009-06-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

It does go on but hey. In the next batch see Lee take a new role;

See th Man from Delmonte on way to gettin mashed with Max.

That'll be that home made( not) Vodka
See dancing by the Car lights

See most but not all of the group.

See natasha with an bug.
.
See what a wonderful time was had.

Some other pics from Bulgaria

2009-06-19T03:10:00.001-07:00

Natasha Irena Natasha Emma Tatiana and Henry.

Isn't that the man from Delmonte? Such a dainty eater as well. Don't let him near that bottle of home made stuff.

Sunset over the next bay along

Pictures of from and by my friends.

When Shoes Go Squeak

2009-06-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Getting to Bulgaria was a breaze Thanks to Lee and Emma's hospitality and Ema's organisational work. Thanks to them both. From Burgas to Sinemoritz is a 2 hour journey by Taxi this worked out at 30 odd euro per head for the trip there and back. Had there been but one other! Still it was a very good price. The pic below is the view from the smokers gallery at bourgas airport.

We were delayed in Edinburg which meant that Tiny the taxi driver had to wait for some time for us in the sweltering heat, trying to sleep. He was a very pleasant big guy. The pic below is the view from my room.

This is the view from one beach along. The coast around the area was like this. There is another very interesting looking bay the other side of the village. Will get to that next time.

Don't ask.

of an evening we went to the Horizon bar restaurant to eat black sea fish and drink wonderful wine.

Below
the evening meal. The Bulgarian guys and the 2 Russian Guys stayed elsewhere. The Russians because the Hotel was full and the Bulgarians, who were Nick and the Lads, because that is what they did.

Half face on the right is Katia who helped me out when the usual camp collapse struck; the reddish lenses. On the left Irena(with an eh). There were 2 Tatyanna's, 2 Natasha's and 2 Irena's. altho one of the Natasha's was called Natalya to avoid confusion. and there was Irena's(first one) friend(who may or may not have been a nightime secret skinny dipper). Irena(1) used to handle our accommodation for us but this year there was a special deal for Bulgararians(thanks Ivan) and it seemed Germans. The place was heaving. Great place for a sun, sea, sand and sangria(ok ok Raquiea..spelling problem) holiday. For families who like to lounge and trough at the buffet and binge at the Bar. I have to get ill to lounge but I was always fit for the others. ...... Till I fell down. Cept I managed to miss out on the Rakia. Apparently the rose flavoured stuff is great because in the morning your breathe smells of roses. Next time for sure.
That about brings me to the Barby which was a Thursday night affair by a bridge, on a river bank, with the frogs and even some mist. There are some pictures on here from the last one. We (the Scots) had taken 3 very different Whiskys with us. The Bulgarians had local wines and raki(easy option) and the Russians had Natasha's gran's home made vodka(no it's not vodka((yes it is)) not 's not). It was called Samogon. It tasted great. Lovely fruit and spice flavour. It sort of knocked me sideways without making me insensible;well thats what I thought. It is a barby with a great atmosphere. we usually end up huddled round the covered over table with a few torches and lamps in all sorts of deep discussion or dancing in the car lights to someones boom boom box. I took Auchentoshan for the Doll's.

Very atmospheric

Anyway for whatever reason I never made it in the next day. Felt fine at breakfast ......... Nothing 3 cups of coffee won't fix, or so I thought. Went back to the room and crashed out.... I won't go into detail.
I have a couple of pics on the camera. I forgot my charger. Well no didn't forget so much as mislay. Tried to take a pic at the Barby with the flash and ended up firing off a burst of flashes and flattening the battery. Will post something later.
The training was also very good. A very interestin range of techniques and variations plus lots of weapons applications often done against multiple attacks.
so whats with the squeaky shoes then. Well no sooner did I get there with my travelling light pair of shoes than the right one started to squeak with every step. At the front of the picture below Roman and Katia practise Box the ears.

high ho

2009-06-05T02:25:00.000-07:00

So thats it am off to Bulgaria on Monday. am Looking forward to meeting with friends in far places again. I have discovered an issue that relates to me and travel tho; I hate packing. It's like i have a suitcase phobia. A fear of the Luggage. Anyway the terror is upon me. What to pack what to pack.
Can anyone tell me is Lug derived from luggage or ....
So lugging time is almost upon us.
I think the japanese should invent a self packing suitcase robot that packed itself and followed you around, checked itself in, picked you up at the carousel and escorted you till you made it to your room then lay down on the room floor and unpacked itself. I would call mine Lug. Lug D'Luggage. It would of course be protected by exotic security devices. That would be the colour of magic.

Over 1000 K on one tank

2009-05-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

I thought That was really impressive. We were not particularly breaking any laws of the road. The drive from Mallaga to Granada was my first time driving on the Continent. Everything went really well till the first roundabout when i realised i was looking in the wrong direction. Rectified the ensuing problems by stamping on the brake pedal really hard and skidding to a halt. After that everything went very well I thought. We had 2 nights in Granada. The first night we took the tourist trip around town finishing with the Gypsy Flamenco show that people(can't remember who) said was a touristy rip off. It was fun and people enjoyed it...... We were tourists. The next day was spent walking round Granada in the morning and the Alhambra in the afternoon. That works out at around 7 hours walking. It is a bit of a theme i know but Granada is also a bit of a hike especially if your hotel is up by the Alhambra as the pictures will show. At the bottom the hill the part of the town we had time to explore turned out to be a warren of shops. Passageways leading to squares to more shops. all very densely packed.
So there we have the view down the hill and a night view of the Alhambra from the tourist trip viewpoint.I like this one.
There is so much I could say about the Alhambra and many pictures I could post, but really it is a has to be seen place.
Next day first thing it was off we go to Cordoba.... and Claire's turn to drive. I only had to shut my eyes and scream once and then only to catch her attention which was wholly caught up in a gps tangle of parallel roads and unlisted junctions. Shortly after this the gps stopped talking to us altogether. Moody. But that was on the road to Valencia. Getting ahead of myself.
When we arrived in Cordoba as when we arrived in Granada the gps had us going round and round. Then round and round. When this happens It seems to be the machine code for park. Either that or the machine is as lost as you. In Cordoba it meant park here..... beside the river where you will incur no parking costs. So the begging parking attendant told us before making off with all my change. It was worth it.
more l8r.
Cordoba old town is a maze of narrow streets with the unusual mix of small shops that you can only find beyond the Mall. It is a town of Patios. Small enclosed squares. Artisan shops and the Cathedral/Mosque. Even on a day of temperatures topping 30degC, the interior of the Mosque remained beautifully cool. Ate some very different regional dishes.
4 pics of the Mosque /Cathedral. It is enormous. The red and white patterns in the arches are created by red brick and white stone....... However when it was extended some time in the very distant past the price of materials had risen to the point that instead of brick, red paint was used. Even the mortar lines between the bricks were painted in.
You can see the difference in presentation between the Christian and Muslim very clearly.

After Cordoba we had a 6 or more hour drive to Valencia. So we set off very early. It probably took us longer to get the otro camina en el habitacion than we spent in the room. Thankfully the car was still there where we left it the previous day. The broken glass belonged to another car. Set the controls(gps) for Valencia(or the heart of the sun) and off we went. Somewhere along the road the gps fell out with us altogether. after many announced roundabouts and junctions and many announced that never appeared, at some point in the mountains with deep gorges, tunnels and mad steep and twisty roads it just shut down and refused to turn on again. It did turn on again when we left Valencia and was extremely useful in the race to the airport. But that was much later... A whole weekend away.
By some chance of good fortune the road we found ourselves driving along took us straight to the hostel. and by some chance of crossed wires we eventually parked the car in a car park just across the road from the hostel. It was about now I realised the wires were well crossed as Claire thought we were not far from the restaurant we were supposed to meet Steve and Dan. We were a couple of miles away I suppose. I thought that was pretty good. Initially Claire was not so impressed. That evening was one of tapas and good wine. Finishing up in the Poetry bar. We finished up in the same place the next night after the football... Valencia beat real Madrid 3-1. There was dancing in the street and that was just us... The Valencianos were letting off the fireworks. The girls bought roses for the guys and we all staggered to our own places at a reasonable hour.

So there you go. All that was left to do was say our good byes. It was a really lovely weekend. On the Monday I went for a paddle in the med after wine n tapas in a very expensive place that we had remembered from another time. Well, remembered the quality not the cost. Claire basked under a beach brolly and our master under went ritual cleansing by way of total submersion.
The last act was the meal in Pepica's. Great food fabulous wine(for a house wine). A must do. sitting getting foo' with a view out over the beach and then on to the horizon over the breaking sea. By now it was very clear that Claire was driving us to alicanted and i would be amusing her with songs, stories and snores.
We were running late.... The gps had started talking to us again. It was time to drop dan back at the hostel and hit the road. Which we did with alacrity. we took the coast toll road. The scenery along this road is wonderful. An area to be explored inland. Everyone visits the coast but the inland scenery and the light make it a wonderland. We had the foot to the floor. We hit empty on the tank. We still had a bit to go and did not know if the gps was wandering or not. In a fit of bursting bladders and high anxiety we arrived, on time and ready to go home.
For me It was one the best times I can remember.

The practise

2009-05-03T03:26:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a decent picture of the Edinburgh seminar.

Toledo

2009-04-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

Toledo is a place of martial arts fantasy.
There are sword, armour, spear shops on every corner of every street. That and Marzipam.
Raquel was my guide for the day.

Cuenca

2009-04-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Cuenca is very much like this....upupupupupup
then...downdowndowndown
The Spanish Gallery of Abstract art is based there. A Hidden Gem

The Brits 09

2009-04-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

Fighters being instructed in the rules which were considerably different this year. For next year to get through the fights quickly maybe we should have more fighters on the mat at the same time. Points deducted if you hit the wrong fighter.
Amir does his stuff. Quite dramatic don't you think. This time it took 2 cars to get us there. And instead of the usual slightly odorous place we usually stay we ended up in the travelodge(i think or was it a premier inn?) beside the football ground. we ate in Brown's for the first time in years; and probably the last. We did have to eat tho and that got it done. Then we had one of our more interesting walks around town before retiring. There will be more pictures of the Following days events. When I get them from Arc and Sarah.
Only two competitors this year. Both did us proud. Gus got two fights n Lucia got 3 medals.
As I said there will be more pics to post shortly. On the day I found myself kept very busy looking after people(yes that's what I was doing) In so doing i managed to miss most of Lucia's contests. It worked tho. This me getting superstitious. I was in Gus' corner and.... No all was not lost.... There was winning as well.
I think I saw less this year than any other year we have been going down. I must have been busy.
The stories of the judging made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But then judges are just people and people will have their hobby horses. We all carry our prejudices with us... even someone so wonderfully insightful as me. I do not particularly agree that people have to do a judging course. I do think that experienced people applying the judging criteria should be able to tell a good form from a bad form in open competition, no matter the style. The other issue that raises its head is that of judging the form based on the way you teach it and or do it. Due to space restrictions it is sometimes necessary to adapt the form being done by adding or subtracting a step here of there(for example sabre Coiled dragon moving Quickly): that should not result in marks being deducted(because i know this form). I think people should be encouraged to be creative with the forms they have. What is wrong if someone changes a technique(for another valid technique not flying somersault sort of stuff)... It only really matters in this case if you are judging your 'own' form. Other matters like taking the weapon to the ground... People judging should know about this stuff.... Judges owe a duty to competitors to know more than just their own stuff and to be actively interested in Tai Chi beyond their own borders. Wu style people seem to feel particularly hard done to. Maybe that is part of the reason behind the judging courses. On the other hand in my opinion it is not a smooth flowing form. It tends to appear jerky and stilted. Last year I saw one of the Wu girls do forms that I thought were much smoother than before and she won... This year the smoothness was gone and the broken jerkiness was back. This is a pity. I don't know if it has anything to do with an excess of Square form. The form I do I practise and teach comes down the line from Wu Jian Chuan. I think an excess of Square form flattens a persons form. I think it should only be used to teach and then dropped.... But then even square form can be done smoothly.
Enough.
In pushing hands and fisticuffs things are easier to judge.
Moan over.
I was having a trawl thru the t.c.u. web site the other day and came across the criteria for judging form for each of the styles(that is the criterial each style uses to judge itself). It was very interesting indeed. Worth having a look at. however in competition at the British Championships the criteria are clear and all competitors and judges are aware of them. By participating you accept the rules. As a judges you apply the rules. anything else is either stupid or cheating or both.
and this is not me judging.
Just me exposing my ignorance.
Being opinionated.
And maybe even confrontational.
Oh well.

Last year in Aranjuez

2009-02-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

Raquel delivers

This is how you pour Cider.
We train at the far end ajacent the royal palace.

Cuenca. Now there is a place for strong legs.

Ramon's bodega

Ok so I was going to add this stuff t th new year revue. Can't figure as yet so this will do. The scene is Ramon's farm housey sort of place. The event the Barby. The cast.. well... The food poisoning was not food poison. It was a viral infection.
A most pleasant evening was spent eating and drinking proper Local delicacies. Ramon loads up the strange drinking impliment and some drown attempting to copy him. i took to it like a fish to water. Then fell over. A mixture of wine and Vermouth.

The end of the road

2009-02-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

This is the end result of the long road south that we took. Fuzzy pictures. They do focus occasionally and on some interesting bits like. Look at the mirrors on the right for example.
Happy folk bashin pads while Big Brian and I Look on. Below more fun to be had. I will tell the story of the journey in a bit. It was worth every bit of it.

I like this picture below. I speaks to me

So there you have it a view of the opportunities to be had at steve n Kathy's place in Gillingham.

The Long Road South

2009-02-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

Chinese new year

2009-01-19T04:58:00.000-08:00

Aye it's almost upon us. The maddness of the old year is hardly gone when we find ourself approaching the end of another.
Last year was a good year. It involved much travelling. Meeting new people.
It also meant spending time with friends made on previous adventures. Bulgaria, Spain and Sweden were the highlights of the year.
Training in Sinemorits. The beach in the bay, the trees to train under, midday refreshing swims, till dan spotted the jelly fish. The after hours self defense class and the friendly security guy who was my escort for the rest of the camp. the free? house wine, the world cup and black sea fish. Make mine a bottle of Mavrud.
Spain was great on both occasions. Training in the city center river bed park, eating wonderful tapas and the working mens restuarant meals at midday. what was not wonderful was waking up lying on the floor of the hostel with no memory of how i got there. Bit tooooo much to drink be the answer to that one. Sunday with a sick hangover in Valencia. I cannot recommend it.
I managed to lose myself twice on the first day. The hostel was just off the edge of the tourist map. 'El Alto's' partner Tai saved me from myself that day and took me round to their flat to meet up with the big guy and do some training.
Madrid. Well Madrid is big. Madrid is expensive. Madrid and the whole Madrid area is beautiful and very interesting. In Spain I have this last year taken to arriving early and leaving late. So far no one seems to have noticed so there has been no 'heres yr hat whats yr hurry'. It is I find most enjoyable to just take a bit of time and wander round a place. both the Steves are great guides when it comes to showing off their respective cities.
My adrenalin moment in Madrid city came when Steve Chisolm was showing a matial arts gym that happened to be situated in a cellar. I was talking to him as i walked through the profered door. then things got kinda weird. It was like time stood still. I thought i was falling. That was ok just roll out and figure how it happened after. Then the vision of reality changed as the walls of a stairwell passed my ears and reality kicked back in. I was falling down stairs...... A full flight of them. I recon now that starting the forward movement to roll probably gave me the momentum to jump. I landed on a step 5 from the bottom and jumped the rest. Only injury, pulled muscle in thight and slightly misaligned spine.
there are lessons to be learnt here.
1/ When it seems that you are falling towards a stripy floor. The stripes may actually be, steps on a stairway.
2/ When you step through a door make sure there is some floor on the other side.
3/ when forced to jump down stairs, do not pick a step to land on, just jump. Then choose the one that falsl under your foot. That way you can't miss.
Claire and I got to stay at Raquel's. Saved a fortune. Claire denies this. But then as i said I stayed on. Had a wonderful time.
Ramon's old farm house style place was wonderfully atmospheric as was his bodega a long way underground. The barby was originally blamed to the first vomiting bug of the season.
After the seminar I stayed on for a few days and had the pleasure of attending one of the classes in Aranjuez(there the seminar is held. It is Madrid but not as we know it ). A beautiful Royal Palace town and world heritage site. Here we train in the Royal gardens beneath a wide avenue of mature trees, beside the running waters of the river and the gardens weirs and waterways.
I recently found out that I had heard of Aranjuez before. There is a very famous piece of music named after it. You'd recognise it immediately.
After the camp finished Raquel, Antonio and Lola took me for a meal in Chinchon. Chinchon has its town square double as its bull ring. It is a must see. The restuarant was just so different. we also visited the bodega beneath the resuarant after eating from our own individual barbies. that was new.
Raquel took me out for the day visiting Toledo. This is a place I have wanted to visit for a long long time. A place of swords. Shops selling swords, armour, all sorts, touristy and real side by side. And Marzepam!
It was a bit of a dream walking round the place seeing the sights and eating again in a wonderful envirenment with a mix of moorish and Christian influences.
The very next day Ramon and I set of for Cuenca.
If Toledo is a city fort built on a hill then Cuenca is a City built on a cliff face. Dramatic stuff. If walkin Toledo requires a bit of fitness then scaling Cuenta requires that you been practising a bit more, maybe on Toledo.
Cuenca hosts the Spanish Gallery of Abstract Art. It is a place well worth the visit. After all the climbing up n down the streets n paths food became an important issue. Ramon n me ate in a character filled place(another one) that fed us with local morsels and then emptied our pockets. It was worth it tho. The last day was spent in Madrid training in the Retiro with Steve Chisolm and eating expensive mushrooms with gratis earwig like creatures thrown in for good measure. They gave us another plate. we were not complaining. Eaten worse in ma sleep.
Brought the wife home a purse made of cork. From a shop that specialised in the stuff; Boxes, bags, pens, unbrellas.... ok parasols. lots of stuff. Thanks to steve C.
Laterly I was in Sweden for the European Championships. Linchopping. The doms Kirke. David Bowie as the Messia. Saw some new stuff, judged some great form and had a great time with The Russians and Evo. Also had some interesting company in Luigi Zanin. Hope I spelt that correctly. Also met Nils Klug. and others....
Bought some great tea from Paul's wife. Lucia reckons it's Dragon tea and I think she is right on that
So you go to Sweden and come back with hats scarves n chinese tea. Seems like a smooth journey. Welllllll If thats how it sounds that how it was. No vomiting getting into fights or falling down stairs. Spent an extra day wandering around the town.
Now here we are on our way again. this weekend we train in Gillingham at Steve and Kathy's place. then it's of to Portugal to visit Pam ahead of her first child arriving(with Claire leading by the hand). Then we be into Feruary, conditioning with the East coast team in Linlithgow. then it'll b March and Dan's seminar in Edinburgh followed by the British championships the next weekend.
And thats all before the seminar season begins.
It was a very good year.
Wistful just like the song.

Bulgaria 07 by night and by day

2008-09-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

The nights were all like this

the days were all like this

what a life

Another Ben Ken

2008-09-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

Yo bro
Just around where the path disapears there is a large rock. Just to the right of centre in the pic. Just to the left of the path. Jelly legged Internals.

This b one

2008-09-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

There they are

The unknown Country

2008-09-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

On top of the Cobler lookin out. And yes internals were done on the way back down. I went thru the eye of the needle but not on to the top. There is a photo tho of someone on top.

Bulgaria 07

2008-09-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

On second thoughts maybe it was not. O7 was the first time and the mystery of Dimitar was fresh and puzzling. We trained in the botanical gardens of the University of Sophia under trees. Claire and i worked on pushing hands(?) with weapons. Very interesting that was. This year(08) I played around with reverse Form. Very interesting that was.
In Varna the hotel was good but the sea and training place was a good walk away. We ate in different restaurants every night sampling mostly Black sea fish. Claire had to put up with some rollicking drunkenness from her 2 male traveling companions. The heat was such that walking slowly was the best to do.
Lee and Emma were there as well.
The barby was a night of strategy. Must post pictures each worth at least a thousand words.

views from the Jaffa hostel roof

2008-08-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

these are some of the pics from an old story. it is a few years now since Claire and me were treated to such wonderful hospitality in Israel.

Ever been there

2008-08-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

This place is familiar. Just a few pictures back. It is an early morning view over loch Awe. It is a sort of a view over a garden. A great place to train when the midges were asleep.

More places to practice

2008-08-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

so where d u think I am

Like the busses none for ages then a whole fleet all at once

2008-08-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

A friend called today to ask me a favour. He asked if it was o.k to bring a friend of his along to a class of mine. But before he asked me he told me a story. Apparently his friend had been in Georges Square very recently and some nutter had tried to plunge a knife into his neck. Fortunately his friend had managed to fight off his assailant. .... However it brought to mind some telly footage I had seen of guys bouncin around with what seemed to be mostly samurai swords. I thought I remembered that the footage was shot recently in Glasgow...... Man what route is this bus on?

this'll be the tourisy stuff for real

2008-08-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

Bulgaria 08 One very interesting time was had. In its own way it may even have been more interesting than 07. Let us just say it was different. The hotel was all inclusive and the European cup was on the telly. For once I did not get ill from the food. The noise the frogs made was unbelievable. Major levels of decibel I thought it must have been ducks or geese not frogs. When I got round to investigation I found that there were a goodly number of species and that over all there must have been thousands. and then there was the snake. The first live one I had come into close contact with since the Hong Kong Snake restaurants; there they took great pleasure in teasing Cobras. Made me feel quite ill. This however was about 18 inches long and swimming like the clappers, as far away and as quickly it could get from me. I almost stood on it.
The insects were a problem for quite a few folk but for me the old marmite worked a treat no bites until just before we left.
It was great meeting all the people again and great seeing how far they had come over the year.
on a few night we went down to eat and drink with the guys and I think if anything the wine was even better this year. The Mavrud was excellent especially. The Gamsa and Melnik were also good. The was also the first time in my life I got to taste some really nice vodka.
This brings me to the point of this whole style of tourism. This is not insular. Tho we may be a group engaged in what could be called an insular activity It is an activity carried out by people from across Europe. This group consisted of Bulgarians(of course(( all male))) Russians(all female cept for Misha and Max), Irish, Scots(East and West coast) and Joe(hi Popeye hope yr hudge has shifted). Local people sharing there local culture, local hospitalty, history, architechture, food, drink. Still there was a beach and a great bay sheltering water that never got very deep, just deep enough. There is also the fact of different training partners. some may say that is stretching the point just a bit too far.
I however am still searching for Dimitar. I spent the whole of last years camp trying to trace him. I thought that was to meet us and maybe that is where I went wrong. All 5 days it went on. So you must be dimitar then. Mo I'm Mitko.... ah so you must b Dimitar then..... No I'm Ivan........ so you must be ..... no I'm Micko. By the end of it I must admit getting a little paranoid and the guys did wind me up a bit.. Who the *7^%? is Dimitar. Eventually it all got sorted.
I must say I really like the Black Sea coast and the people i meet there.

Better late than never

2008-07-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a while to get back to this blog.
I have been trying to figure out how to work with it.
the picture is post Karioke knights night out.
More will follow.
But see Glasgow at night.
Och aye
I will get back to the time line eventually
On the other hand I may just ramble on as usual.

A journey to Deepest Chinese New Year

2008-02-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

And what a journey that was. It was an evening of mythical animals. Symbolic ends and fresh starts. We began the evening in George's square waiting under the horse. there r a few animals in George's square and at least 2 of them are horses. None of them were pigs tho.. the departing year and none were rats the incoming year. We left the counting to the counting house.
When the team had gathered we made our way to the Loon Fung.... Bird and Dragon.... Both creatures of fire. We needed fire as it was rather parky. I had booked for 10 and as it turns out tho i had only counted 10, with 3 people calling off 10 turned up. Another auspicious omen.
It turned out as i had expected and the ordering was done mostly by Lucia. She has after all more experience and ordered a right good combination of dishes.
To make matters even more interesting the restaurant had a house band that started playing up as we were getting down into the meal. Rachel and Lucia managed to ward off John's advances using the very yin tactic of both promising to dance last creating a vortice into which Nicky and Ketron were sucked.
Another mythical flying creature that featured in the night was the great, long sought after Flying Haggis. This strange rare creature features as the name of the ceilidh band Gus plays with. And there was him thinking his band was named after a motorcycle...........
I had an interesting chat with Christine about Buddhist psychology as she works as a psychologist and is a Vagrayana practicioner. The beauty of the imagery and the bare spare beauty. The contrasts that unite and admit everyone.
Eventually when we had eaten enough and tired of the band we repaired to out last mythical animal of the evening... The Griffin. there some of us drank pear cider and some of us didn't. Rachel left in search a karaoke nesting site and returned empty handed. Then much to everyones surprise and pleasure Malky turned up with Angela. More pear cider was or was not drunk and the evening glowed on till it was time for Farah to depart. This heralded the end of the Mythical new year night out as it came close to the end of licensing hours and chucking out time was looming. This was probably a relief for Dave as he was driver designate and we all know how trying it can be being the sober one midst a bunch of jolly inebriates. So after much ado the return journeys were sorted and Ketron Rachel and i walked off into the night to traverse the river city and eventually the river. The evening being nicely rounded off with a set off 4 yin internals in Maxwell park at about 2 in the morning. some things are best left unsaid. But i will say it. it was a most pleasant and relaxing night.

A Journey to inner space

2008-02-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

I recently returned from a trip to Sweden. I was there to experience a Sesshin or meeting of the mind. As a Tai chi person it was very interesting. As a person it was one of the most interesting things i have ever done. Over time i have noticed the link between tai chi and meditation. You only have to look at the meditation and tai chi courses run by Buddhist centers.
One of the most common forms of meditation is breath meditation which comes in a great variety of forms. In Tai Chi we make great of the breath and its relation to relaxation and internal power. Well... The sesshin practice for me was breath breath breath and only breath. For 4 days I did nothing but focus on the breath. No talking. eyes down, beginning at 4.30 every day and ending with sleep.
i learnt a great deal about inner work. The whole experience reminded me of the 'Inward training' Taoist classic because that is exactly what it was. the conclusion i have come to? There is a lot more to sitting with the breath than i imagined. The continued application beyond sitting tho that seems to me to be where the action is.

Moon in a Dewdrop

2008-01-28T01:39:00.000-08:00

So this will be about reflection.
Reflection on journeys.
reflection on going nowhere.
reflection on being.
So we have a reflection reflected in a dew drop.
A light that shines at night.
a mirror that reflects in the dark.
If you sit very very still and listen
you may become aware of your breath.
What does it reflect.

The night out

2007-12-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

We had a night out last friday. I think it went well. think because the end of the evening is extremely vague. so much so that I cannot remember with any clarity the taxi ride home.
So what is this doing in the tai chi tourist blog? well Glasgow is a place that Tai chi tourists travel to.
Now did you ever wonder where the tennage ninja mutant turtles went to? well look and learn.
Now Malky has nothing to do with the turtles.. well as far as I know that is but he can juggles a bit. even after a hard night on the soup. I have no idea where the hat came from.
Anyway as i was saying Glasgow is a destination for the discerning Tai chi tourist. We have been host to the Irish the Germans, French, Russians, Israeli's, Swedes, Danes, English and even some east coasters.

That'll be me

2007-12-11T15:44:00.000-08:00

Well I suppose we are all tourists in a away. Always goin somewhere even if we hardly seem to move. Anyway although the title goes well beyond me I like the idea. Where you go, how you get there and what you do while you are there, are, taken together, defining.
I enjoy practicing Tai Chi Chuan and i enjoy teaching Tai Chi Chuan. I enjoy traveling. For years whenever i went on holiday to seek some sun and other s' I usually ended up in the shade somewhere doing forms or Nei Gung.
When I started training with Cinnibar it made sense to 'do the camps' and see a bit of the world(mostly Europe). What a good idea that was. Over the last few years I and others ,most notably Claire, have found our way to some magical places and met with a very good number of wonderful people.