19-20 Mar 2011 - First international workshop in Cambridge
The GB society had a first over the weekend of 19 – 20 March when an International Workshop was held in Cambridge city centre. It was led by Andrew Hung and attended by 240 people, some from the Cambridgeshire Branch and others from Denmark, Netherlands, Poland, Ireland, America, Canada and other branches in GB.
The workshop was timely, as this year the GB Society celebrates its 30th anniversary. Members of the Cambridgeshire Branch, who hosted the event, assisted by members from further afield, felt privileged to contribute to marking the occasion.
In the midst of a rather grey and rainy British spring, the skies cleared on Saturday in time for a planned outdoor demonstration of Taoist Tai Chi™ internal arts of health, held on a green opposite the sports hall used for the workshop.
This was an opportunity for the Branch to invite local dignitaries, health professionals and representatives of organisations to come and see what the Taoist Tai Chi Society™ has to offer. The Branch felt it had raised its local profile through getting in touch with people and having some local publicity, including a lively interview on the local radio station from the Branch President. The local newspaper came along to do a piece (which can be read here) and local people attended, including representatives from Parkinsons (UK). The sight of all these people enjoying tai chi sets in the glorious spring sunshine was irresistible.
The venue was a large sports hall five minutes’ walk from the very centre of Cambridge, with its bustling market, shopping area and university spires. A big challenge was the lack of a kitchen and accessible water supply – there was only one tap and one Branch member was dubbed The Water Carrier for obvious reasons.
Nevertheless, Branch members rose to the occasion and running the workshop certainly gave people a chance to find out how far they could stretch in many different ways. Local members hosted participants and others stayed at the nearby Youth Hostel. The weeks and months of preparation paid off. Andrew led an inspiring workshop.
To see more of this special event, please browse the Photo Gallery:
159 attend international intensive in Colchester
Following the successful workshop in Cambridge, Andrew moved on to Colchester where many members gathered at short notice for an intensive at the European Centre. There was an atmosphere of excitement at welcoming an international guest, and an enjoyable evening was spent with much laughter in between the dan yus, tor yus and wise words.