T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan park - Day 9

Our field was covered in a gentle fog this morning which dispersed as we practiced leaving behind a shimmering expanse of dew-covered foliage. The sun shone revealing a seemingly purple carpet of glistening flowers. I found it quite beautiful and surprisingly bug-free.

We had three today, but Peter joined us mid-warm-up making us four. I kept wanting to do transitional arm-breaks at the end of parts one and three. Fortunately, the others barely noticed and I managed to muddle through. It's an excellent example of what happens when one can't let go of the rest of the world during practice. The rest of the world intrudes. (I was on-call this morning and kept worrying about the time.)

I invited Charlie and Peter to bring their staves tomorrow. Daniel and Lauren were also invited so we'll see what happens.

T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan park - Day 8

That which we should strive to be like pervades the sky in small droplets this morning. I hope everyone had a chance to practice on their own today. Solo practice has its own benefits.

T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan park - Day 7

We had four today, not counting our numerous and pestiferous flying friends. It was sunny but cooler which seemed be an invitation for them to return in force. I'm not sure if I prefer the warmer weather which seems to make the swarming insects "run" for shade or cooler weather which will make them slow to a crawl. The warmer weather is probably preferable, at least for now.

I think I should discuss posture briefly during our next meeting.

T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan park - Day 6

We had an excellent practice today. Daniel joined us which made it all the better and a grand total of five, including myself. The sun was bright and strong which seemed to discourage the insects for the most part. Even the birds were calm and relaxed and went about their daily business paying little heed to our group. We started just a couple minutes late but practice was slower than usual which meant we didn't finish until almost 7:20 AM. We had no time for anything else, but everyone seemed to enjoy what we did.

One additional Invite

I called my instructor this evening, explained the situation and invited him to join us. He seemed delighted at the prospect though indicated he had other plans for a couple of weeks. I hope he can make it at some point. I think it would be a real treat for everyone, myself included.

YMCA interactions and classes

It seems that the correct method for finding the T'ai Chi classes at the Y is to go this link: http://reg.spymca.org/RegOnline/RegOnline.jsp and search for "Tai Chi". Search for Tai Chi from the home page produces no results as the search terms are too short. Currently, the following is displayed:

Department	Sess.	Duration	Fee	Openings	Day(s)	Time(s)	Status
Tai Chi [Code:Tai Chi] [Location: Stevens Point Area YMCA]
Fitness	09FALL1	08/31/09 - 10/24/09	-	14	Tuesday	5:15 pm - 6:15 pm	Open
	View Program Details
	Please Sign In to buy this program.
Note: Program Fee is based upon your membership status. Please click View Program Details for pricing, or click Sign In for accurate fees.
Tai Chi [Code:Tai Chi] [Location: Stevens Point Area YMCA]
Fitness	09FALL2	10/26/09 - 12/19/09	-	14	Tuesday	5:15 pm - 6:15 pm	Open
	View Program Details
	Please Sign In to buy this program.
Note: Program Fee is based upon your membership status. Please click View Program Details for pricing, or click Sign In for accurate fees.

I've also opened a dialog to look into teaching an advanced class some evening that would focus on parts two and three along with push-hands and possibly staff. They're looking into room availability and scheduling. I also asked about a permalink to the above search results. That one might be harder. ;-) I guess I need more Java Script experience. More soon, I hope.

T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan park - Day 5

Colleen joined us today to make a nice little group of four. It was very pleasant for me having more people join. This was our first 6:30 AM session and I think it went pretty well. There were a number of small bugs that decided they liked to fly around us during practice. Fortunately, I managed to ignore them mostly and had only one report of a mosquito amongst the less hostile gnats. We did get a threatening sprinkle shortly after completing part three, so we called it there instead of pursuing push hands. If this growth continues, we may yet get a good-sized group.

T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan park - Day 4

It was only Charlie and me today. We moved out into the field to try our respective hands (or feet, in this case) at playing the form on the very sandy soil usually underneath the ice rink. It wasn't bad. The large turns were interesting. We both felt a certain auguring effect but the energy was so much nicer than by the street/on the tarmac that we will probably continue to meet there instead. After finishing all three parts we chatted extensively about methods of promoting T'ai Chi in this area. We also talked with a park worker. I plan to call Parks and Recreation in Plover soon.

T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan park - Day 3

7:00 AM comes mighty early on a Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised to have both Charlie and Lauren show up today. We practiced on the tarmac again as the ground was still quite damp. The traffic was outrageous. Little did I know that there would be early morning baseball games going on. We were even jeered at by some of the middle-school boys preparing for their games. Hey, at least they noticed us. :-)

After all three parts, Lauren bowed out and Charlie and I did some push hands. He's getting quite formidable. I look forward to our next session and quieter streets.

Invites all around.

I told everyone at the UWSP T'ai Chi Club tonight about my plans for early morning T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan Park. There was some interest, so I guess we'll see. I also posted on Facebook the actual times. At this point, 6:30 AM on weekdays and 7:00 AM on Weekends. I find it likely that only Charlie will make it considering how late I sent out the information, but you never know.

T'ai Chi in Easlan Weslan park - Day 2

I went earlier today, around 7:00 AM, but since the ground was wet, I chose to practice on the tarmac of the basketball court. The energy was a little more disjointed with all the cars going by and the people out for a morning walk with their dogs, but still very nice. I did all three parts today without difficulty, so I think this will work as a group-spot. Time to invite.

T'ai Chi in Easlan Weslan park

Since my normal practice place is being resurfaced, I walked down to Easlan Weslan Park this morning before work and found a nice little copse of trees to practice by. I only had time to do section one, but the energy was nice. A couple dogs yapped at me occasionally but I think this could work out as a nice place to practice.