T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 48

Five gathered for a 37 minute set in HEC 110 today. It was very nice. After the bare hands, four of the five stayed for staff and we were joined by a new person, also for staff. That too, was most enjoyable.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 47

To die, alone, in the rain...

No, Ernest Hemingway did not join us today. - We did have to cross the road and head over to the HEC as Allen was closed due to an extended power outage. The standard three converged and executed a very nice 33 minute set avoiding the leaks and the drips on the floor.

I can definitely tell the energy is different there. Seldom do I feel aggressive while executing the form in the Allen Center, but I almost always feel aggressive once or twice while in the HEC. *shrug* This too, shall pass.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 46

The standard three gathered for a relatively standard 33 minute set. My stances were shallow today and I was extremely careful to avoid over-extending into my right knee. My right foot is also a little wonky after some unusual "fun" last evening. I'm hoping sleep will help put everything right.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 45

The standard three gathered for a 32 minute set. Everyone made at least one notable mistake in the form. As Charlie says, humility is endless.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 44

The standard three attended a 33 minute three part form. - The fog today was intense, but the energy in Studio B was marvelous.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 43

The standard three were back with a form time of about 31 minutes today. It seemed like a good session.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 42

We had four today but only two for staff. Charlie returned but only for the bare-hands portion. The three parts lasted about 28 minutes. We intentionally sped it up today.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 41

Three today, though Charlie was still out. The form lasted 28 minutes but no one showed up for staff. Back in the HEC tomorrow.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 40

Two again today. Charlie appears to still be under the weather. The form clocked in at about 26 minutes this morning. The weather outside is cold, raining, and windy. The weather in our meeting room was overly warm, at least for my remaining student. We'll see if we can lower the temperature a bit in the near future.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 39

There were two today. Two people and two sets for me. The first was very quick lasting only 7 minutes for the full form while the second was also fairly quick coming in at about 22 minutes. We worked on flow today. ;-)

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 38

Only two today. Charlie and I completed the set in about 38 minutes today. My stance was a little shallow and I wanted to do at least one extra Fair Lady Works at Shuttles, but it still went well.

It also looks like I won't make Friday evening though at least the room will still be available.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 37

I'm not old, I'm... ah, never mind. The standard three joined in the pre-dawn dark to execute all three parts of the form in 36 minutes. For whatever reason, the energy felt really good today. Things flowed smoothly and my body responded as requested. Maybe the sleep helped. :-)

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 36

The standard three warmed up and practiced. Three parts in 36 minutes, as is relatively usual these days. I had a bit of trouble in part 3 wanting to shortcut from the beginning to almost the end after the third single whip, but managed to pull it out of the spiraling nose-dive and get back into the correct frame.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 35

We had three today in the HEC dance studio. Our form lasted about 33 minutes after which we practiced staff for another 25 or so. I think it would be nice to have a few more people for staff, but obviously those who were interested showed up.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 34

The standard three today plus one came for bare hands but only two stayed for staff. I'm mildly surprised by the low turnout, but I know a lot of people have been sick lately. Thankfully, I am still well.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 33

On this crisp Friday, the standard three arrived to practice for an almost standard 34 minutes. Both Charlie and I were a bit off today, but we managed to find our way through after all and the flow (other than one fairly major goof on my part) seemed really nice.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 32

The standard three, the standard (35 minute) time. The interesting bit is that it felt rather fast. Yesterday it felt fast, too, but I attributed that to lack of sleep. Today, it still felt quite fast in places and Charlie noted it as well. I think it would be interesting to try the solo form "solo" again in the near future and see how long it takes. Video taping may also be worth my time to see my own mistakes and foibles. We'll see.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 31

The standard three returned today for a 35 minute three part form. It was nice to get back into the morning practice, though I had two other sessions yesterday. More tomorrow. :-)

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 30

Canceled due to yesterdays power outage carrying over into today. :-(

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 29

Three made their way through pre-dawn dark and the lightest of snow this morning to enjoy a 39 minute form. (Colleen was absent but young Daniel joined us.) There were a few parts that seemed to speed up and slow down (it's easier to notice when you're not on an end) but overall, the form was very nice. About half way through the third part of the form, the power went out, but five (or so) seconds later the emergency lighting kicked in. We didn't miss a breath and continued the form without interruption. I am glad the emergency lighting kicked in though or I would have had to start calling the form. ;-)

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 28

We were back in HEC 110 today. Three showed up and we enjoyed a nice 36 minute romp through the three parts of the bare hands. There were no new people for staff, so we just ran through the full set a few times, examined the end position a little more closely and called it a day. It was certainly warmer than if we were still meeting in front of the Allen Center.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 27

We had five today with a 35 minute uncalled form. Peter brought up a good question about leaning during Wave Hands Like Clouds. Although we don't lean at the waist, there is a slight lean at the very ends of the positions.

Only three stayed for staff, but I'm not surprised, as the air was chill and the wind notable. We did get up through the block and sweeps. Tomorrow should be better.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 26

The standard three showed up today and faced the northern wall. It was nice in that it gave me a chance to check out some of my kicks in the mirror. I'm in no way gloating, but from the front, they looked decent. The whole form took us about 36 minutes give or take 30 seconds. I really liked it today and it felt pretty good except for one or two frames near the end of part three.

I still find it amazing that only 75-odd days ago (that's not even three months), 27 minutes was "normal" for our little band.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 25

We had four today with one of my senior students joining the standard three. Everyone seemed a little off today but we still landed about 36 minutes after take-off and everyone seemed to enjoy the flight. - I need to disseminate the information about club placement.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 24

The standard three showed their faces in the pre-dawn dusk. We had a nice three-part set lasting 38 minutes. It felt good today, at least for me. I love the smell of damp raw-silk in the morning. ;-)

Calendar of Practice Times up through December 18, 2009

Click HERE to see the calender. It's only good up through December 18, 2009. After that, dates and times are a little sketchy.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 23

The standard three showed up today with the three part set lasting about 36 minutes. I found it interesting to experience as my perception was that we were moving too quickly and that my breath was too shallow, but then it turned out that we were moving even more slowly than we usually do. Perception may be reality, but reality is also perception.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 22

Four again today clocking in at 34 minutes. One of the students who used to like 27 minutes back in Easlan-Weslan stated today that she really likes this speed. :-) This is good. Progress has been made. For others, progress has been made, too.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 21

Four showed up on this rather chilly and semi-bleak day to practice. Surprisingly enough, the form was again about 33 minutes long, even with the cold and mild to moderate breeze. I'm not sure when we ended, but it was 44 degrees Fahrenheit when we started. The two new people for staff were back again today, so we progressed up through the Sweep right.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 20

Six today for the bare hands clocking in at about 33 minutes. We then went outside for staff. Five of the six remained, at least for a time, two of which were completely new to the staff form. Now if we could just get the other new folk from last week to show up. ;-) The new folk made it up through Upward Cut.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 19

I'm glad we have indoor facilities now. The cold wind and driven rain were unpleasant on soft, pink flesh.

The three regulars were there today and we tried it again without calling the form. It was okay and we still clocked in at 33 minutes. During part 3 at about Fan Through Back, a former student of mine (Carl) joined us for the remainder of the form. He plans to try to make it on weekdays, anyway.

T'ai Chi at the Allen Center - Day 18

Three gathered today while the pink and yellow fingers of a pre-dawn sky stretched over the horizon, though Colleen was not there. Since everyone was relatively comfortable with all three parts, we did the form sans speech. This is the first time for this group to do that and I have to say, it was nice. There were a few foibles by me and others, but by and large, it went well. We clocked in at 33 minutes today.