PO Box 36235, Tucson, AZ, 85740www.NATSTA.org

2017AnnualReport

2017AnnualReport

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your interest in the work of the North AmericanTang Shou Tao Association. 2017 has been another year of quiet anddiligent work for us. We continue to build a foundation of practi-tioners in both martial and medical arts who are motivated to main-tain the connections to our ancestors in both theory and practice.

The ultimate goal of the association is that the arts we have inherited will continue to grow and thrive in both North Americaand the world. In working towards this goal, you can see that in2017 we have continued to maintain productive contact with ourChinese teachers, to bring members from across North America together to refine and standardize our gongfu systems, and to upgrade members’ medical skills. Our community involvement with veterans in Arizona has expanded and our translation and publishing projects are progressing nicely.

These parts of our project are easy to see and understand, yet for their ultimate success, one of the most important things is lesseasily grasped: that the methods we practice remain essentially unchanged. For them to remain, so we must try to understand the thinking behind the methods—and that means to try to understandthe thinking of our teachers and of their teachers before them. Inessence, we ask why did they pass on the arts the way that they did?

Only by remembering to look back and to think deeply abouthow and why our forebears practiced will we be able to keep theirarts alive and bring the benefits of these old ways of thinking anddoing into the modern world.

In a time when it seems everything is moving and changing faster and faster, people have little interest or ability to connect to the world of yesterday. As you look at this review of the Association’s activities over the year, keep in mind what this might mean for ourlittle organization to make a priority of remembering, in a worldmainly bent on progress and change at all costs.

Sincerely,

Ethan Murchie, Amara Franko Heller, Kathy Reynolds, and Tom KlingelhoferBoard of Directors

1

Caption

Our Vision The rich, complex history of the Chinese martial and

medical arts extends back over thousands of years. Over this timethe intrinsic value of these arts, and the knowledge and wisdomcontained within them, has been one of the cornerstones of Chinese culture. In the modern world this knowledge and wisdom remains as viable and as valuable as ever. The experiencescontained in the study and practice of traditional boxing andself-cultivation methods enrich people’s lives in profound ways.When the understanding of the body, mind and spirit developedthrough these practices is combined with traditional medicine,many simple and direct methods of relieving the suffering of ourfellow humans can be realized.

There is a place in the modern world for these old ways ofdoing and thinking, and there is a need to remember as best wecan all of the lessons of the old teachers. As these arts spreadthroughout the world from their homeland in China, their influ-ence must extend into the deepest parts of our own cultural expe-riences if they are to remain strong and true.

The goal of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association is not only to preserve the technical aspects of our arts, but also to create opportunities for practitioners of all levels to experience the culture of the arts as a way of living, a way ofbeing in the world, and a way of understanding the mysteries of human existence. We are working to create opportunities forpractitioners to immerse themselves in study, and attain high levels of understanding and skill in both the martial and the medical arts. We are also working to help our members cultivatefields of practice that will mature over the generations.

All of this we do for the love of our teachers and of our arts, in the sincere hope that our humble efforts will benefit our communities, and in a small way contribute to making the world a better place.

3

Our MissionThe mission of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association Cooperative, Inc. is the preservation, research and dissemination of the traditional Chinese martial and medical arts. The traditional Chinese internal martial arts that the association focuses on includexingyiquan,baguazhang, taijiquan, and liuhebafa (water boxing).Traditional Chinese medicine practiced and researched by the organization includes all aspects of tuina, acupuncture, herbal medicine, qigong, and dietary medicine. The North American TangShou Tao Association Cooperative, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in accordance with Arizona State and IRS guidelines.

Caption

Association Goals • Preserve the purity of each Chinese internal martial art system

in the lineages that we represent. Through the preservation of each system, we remember our benefactors and keep the definitions of the lineages and practices clear for the historicalrecord and for posterity.

• Develop qualified instructors to provide a high level of competence in the practice, understanding and teaching of the traditional Chinese internal martial arts of xingyiquan,baguazhang, taijiquan, and liuhebafa.

• Develop qualified practitioners to provide a high level of competence in the practice and understanding of the traditionalChinese medical arts, including tuina, acupuncture, herbalmedicine and qigong.

• Attract highly qualified students dedicated to the study andadvancement of these arts.

• Foster and disseminate the martial and medical arts throughan international network of association schools.

• Provide opportunities for students and instructors, such asconferences and retreats, to meet, exchange information, traintogether, and expand the community of dedicated practitioners.

• Conduct field research in China and elsewhere, interviewknowledgeable individuals, and document methods and practices, to ensure the preservation of specific lineages for future generations.

• Cultivate our lineage connections and deepen our understand-ing and expression of our martial and medicinal arts by invitingteachers from China to visit the United States and work with association members across the country.

5

Liu Shuhang teaching his Gao familystyle of Baguazhan in Portal, Arizonaduring a five day retreat in October

7

Discipleship Training with Liu Shuhang and Li Cang In October, Liu Shuhang’s Gao Yisheng Bagua disciples and Li Cang’s Hero Mountain Xingyidisciples brought their teachers to lead a training retreat in Portal,Arizona. This was a week of train-ing focused on developing disciples’ understanding of their systems. The event was on invitation only, allowing the groups to be small and the training detailed and personal.

For the Association this was a milestone event in that for the first time, the disciples took full responsibility for the funding of the event and the association’s role was to provide logisticalsupport only.

Reginal EventsMembers schools continue to develop locally. This year, a numberof local training events were held, in addition to smaller informalgatherings.

Portland Oregon, June: John Groshwitz and Naoko Koeke taughtan introduction to Gao Bagua.

Montreal, Quebec, April: Jonathan McIver taught Dr. Xie Peiqi’sEight Storing Qi and Developing Sensitivity Exercises.

Hero Mountain Tour, Throughout the summer months, Ken Bordignon toured schools in Arizona, Virginia, Quebec, Colorado and Hawaii to promoteHero Mountain Xingyi.

Boston, Massachusetts, October: Dan Harding led a combined kajukenbo and Gao Bagua event.

2017 Association Activities

Chinese New Year’s Retreat and National ConferenceOur two major national events were both held at the home school in Tucson Arizona.Both events focused on reviewing, refining and documenting the Shen Long Xingyi system. In addition to the training at the event whichbrought instructors from across the associationto a close agreement on how the Shen Longmaterial should be preserved and presented,work on both written and video documenta-tion of the system was presented and reviewed.

Medicine SeminarsUnder the guidance of Randy Sevier, the association’s emergency medicine programcontinued to develop with a seminar held after the Chinese new year’s event. The Chinese medicine committee also presented an in-depth introduction to the art of pulse-taking and a complete revision of the Jin Shou TuinaTM system at a medicine seminar following the national conference.

’Õlohe Solomon RetreatIn May, Vince and the association hosted ’Õlohe Solomon Kaihewalu and his wife, Christine, at the home school. Olohe taught techniques from his family Hawaiian Lua system and shared philosophy and insightfrom his lifetime of work in martial arts. Special thanks to Grandmasters Lim & Lim for attendng with their students to support Olohe at this event.

2017 Association ActivitiesPublishingWork continues on all of the association's translation efforts. The Liang Zhenpu committee has a working English draft of theBaguazhang Boxing Manual text they are working on which can be prepared for publication in the coming year. The HeroMountain Xingyi disciple group has begun work on translation of Li Jingxuan’s xingyi manual. In January 2017, Ethan Murchie and Emilie Breton travelled to Buenes Aires, Argentina, to meet with Dr. Li Ding and solidify plans for the revision and publicationof his Jingluo Qigong book.

Veterans Program DevelopmentThe qigong for veterans program is currently in its third year ofoperation. Due to the demand for more classes, the course is nowoffered four times per week at the Southern Arizona veterans’Hospital. Three veterans have undergone extra qigong training inorder to lead these classes the majority of the time.

In 2018, we plan to expand classes to the Northwest Tucson Arizona Veterans’ Hospital location. We also plan to begin a 200-hour veteran qigong certification program to increase veterans qigong understanding, impart teaching skills, and lend credibility to the program for Veterans hospitals.

Veterans who regularly participate in qigong classes report decreased levels of pain and use of opioids, increased energy andrange of motion in their joints, along with an improved emotionalstate. Our long-term goal is to implement this program in otherveterans hospitals around the country.

Free Monthly Kids ClinicThe Four Winds Health Center continues to offer a free monthly childrens clinic. This teaching clinic’s all-volunteer staff treats a full range of health issues, including injuries and birth trauma,and preventative medicine to counter problems in adulthood.

9

2017 Financial Overview

EXPENSES ($)

Bank charges 4,580

Utilities 8,216

Operating expenses 7,639

Rent 12,000

Consulting fees 15,750

Airfare and travel 20,585

Event expenses 18,395

Publishing 3,878

TOTAL EXPENSES 91,043

INCOME ($)

Membership dues 34,000

Event registration 45,665

Private donations 15,908

Retail sales 139

Tucson school income 3,666

TOTAL INCOME 99,378

Board of DirectorsPresident Ethan Murchie

Treasurer Amara Franko Heller

Secretary Kathy Reynolds

Board Member Tom Klingelhofer