Wellness Tai Chi Fan

Qi Zhou

The Wellness Tai Chi Fan class started on January 11, 2011. The very same day the opening ceremony for a 30 foot plus Confucius bronze statue at Tiananmen Square area, in front of the National Museum. When Elizabeth and I discussed the starting date in Nov. 2010, we went through various factors but the Confucius factor. When we chose the date I did not know that such an important event was also scheduled on the other side of the world. Elizabeth might have known but she did not tell me.

So there we go. As the fan class went through some most tranquil class time at the Tai Chi Center of Chicago, some prominent personages were sitting on hot seats at the other side of the world. There was a heated debate going on as whether it was appropriate for a statue of this magnitude be erected on Tiananmen Square area, in the visible distance the is another famous figure (Mao Zedong), and his comparatively miniature scaled painting. By late April, the statue was moved and placed inside the garden of National Museum. At the same time, members of the fan class were experiencing some difficulties with weekday morning schedule, plus I wanted to include more students in class who otherwise would not be able to attending. We eventually moved our schedule to Saturday afternoons.

Tai Chi Fan is a relatively newer exercise, those who attended fan class were the ones who are constantly watching for newer Tai Chi movement. I knew all students were working very hard to try to master this little Martial Arts Fan during many months of our class, but the evidence did not show until late September when I made a class video. After I uploaded the video into my computer, I watched with pride the performance of fan class students - the evidence of their hard working and dedication were beyond my imagination. All students in fan class at that time have had more then 10 years of various Tai Chi, other martial arts and physical training experiences. They brought into my class the Principle, the Energy and the Dedication that reflected the Tai Chi training they have received from Master Elizabeth Wenscott and others. I am thankful to all of those who contributed. You may view the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCpFxRVGb4w

The fan class will learn Fitness Tai Chi Double Fan in 2012 starting on January 7. In addition to continue working on improving overall body coordination, the double fan exercise will also focus working on increasing lower body strength and improving balance. The slowness of Fitness Tai Chi Double Fan movement resembles an effortless dance, but every movement is performed with great deal of internal strength and control. This joyous exercise is to help students to gain physical, mental and spiritual strength, and overall feeling of vitality. I anticipate we will have a fun filled and busy learning year.