Taoist Arts · PDF filevarious Arts of T’ai Chi, Feng Shou and Chi Shu ......

© Copyright is asserted on behalf of individual authors, photographers and the TAO www.leefamilystyle.com TAO Newsletter September 2011 page 1

As taught by Prof. Li Kam Chan and Prof. Chee Soo

Taoist Arts Organisation

The Taoist Arts Organisation is dedicated to promoting and preserving the purity, quality, and completeness The Taoist Arts Organisation is dedicated to promoting and preserving the purity, quality, and completeness The Taoist Arts Organisation is dedicated to promoting and preserving the purity, quality, and completeness The Taoist Arts Organisation is dedicated to promoting and preserving the purity, quality, and completeness of the LI Family System of Health and Martiof the LI Family System of Health and Martiof the LI Family System of Health and Martiof the LI Family System of Health and Martial Artsal Artsal Artsal Arts

NEWSLETTER : SEPTEMBER 2011

In this issue:

Technical article: Why so Many Forms? p 1 –4

Three personal accounts

of Summer School p 4- 6

Other Arts at Ardingley p 6 - 7

Announcements and other news p 7 – 8

More TAO British Champions p 8

* * * * *

WHY SO MANY FORMS? Sometimes, in our system, it seems that the more

we learn, the more there is to learn. Along with

all the K’ai Men and Tao Yin exercises, there are

all the ‘Forms’, whether open-handed, or with

weapons. Then there are all the training exercises

and drills: sticky hands, whirling hands, whirling

arms, roll-aways, foot flows, evasions, the three

star principle etc. It is often helpful to remember

that the same principles of posture and movement

underlie everything in the system. However,

while some exercises are about teaching basic

principles, others are about the different ways in

which they can be expressed: opening up the body

and meridians and promoting good health, martial

applications and the various skills of timing,

balance and judging range and distance required to

execute them, partner work and the development

of sensitivity and the techniques of fascial control

etc. The list is just as long as the list of forms and

exercises. So we see that different material within the system

is designed to develop different skills and qualities

and this is also true of the different Arts. The

various Arts of T’ai Chi, Feng Shou and Chi Shu

are all apects of the single unified Li family

system. These different Arts are generated by

focussing on the diverse applications of the

principles and the way they are expressed. The

T’ai Chi concentrates more on developing the

central core, basic principles, sensitivity and

expression. The Feng Shou on the practical

application of strikes, kicks, ward offs, and take

downs. The Chi Shu, Shuai Jiao and Chin’na

focus on throws, controls and restraints. Any one

Art benefits from knowledge of the others. Just as

with a jigsaw puzzle, the more pieces you have,

the more complete the whole picture; the more

aspects of the system you have studied, the more

detailed and subtle your ability to control any

situation will be. Within the different Arts, we have a varied

collection of Forms and that is the subject of this

article. Why are there so many? Let us start by

looking at them one by one. The T’ai Chi Open

Hand Form is one of the oldest ones. In terms of

practical applications it is spatially contained,

teaching strategies for getting in close, finishing

off your opponent and then being ready for

another one. This is achieved by dominating the

centre ground. However each sequence can be

adapted to multiple martial applications so it is

more about energy expressions and principles

than, for example, the more specifically martial

Feng Shou forms. This is the Form that is most

commonly used to teach whole body movement

through slow practice. The health benefits sought

by many people who try T’ai Chi are most likely

to be delivered in the context of this Form as it is

the one with which the largest cross section of

people can achieve the greatest competence. The companion open-handed form is the Flying

Hands. Like the T’ai Chi Form, this also teaches

general strategies whose application can be varied.

The moves are larger and more expansive and you

learn how to move around your opponent rather

than remaining in the centre ground. To do this

successfully you have to maintain control of your

opponent in various ways including using them as

a shield to defend against multiple opponents, and

throwing them. The principles of maintaining your

balance and centre are more difficult to maintain

in the movements required by Flying Hands. You

have to learn how to prevent the momentum of the

body and arms from taking over.

Li Family Style


As already indicated the open- handed Feng Shou

Forms are much more application specific. One of

the oldest is the Active Mist: a series of sets where

different strikes and ward-offs are practised within

the framework of a stepping pattern which

remains virtually consistent throughout. While

these sets contain both offensive and defensive

moves, the main emphasis when practising is on

the defensive moves: the ward offs. These are

practised on both sides of the body. Once the set is

learnt, these ward-offs are then practised at speed

to improve your reactions and speed in

application. Traditionally Active Mist was also

practised with long and low stances to develop leg

strength. The companion to the Active Mist is the Dook

Shou or Poison Hands. The stepping pattern is

again mainly consistent throughout the sets and

integrated with a different combination of

offensive and defensive moves in each. However,

in this Form there the emphasis is on the offensive

moves: the strikes and kicks. Once the set is

learnt, the offensive moves are practised at speed

to develop speed and focus in application. The

groups of 3 strikes are carefully designed. The

second strike is designed to build on the disruptive

effect of the first strike, and the third on the

second, so the total effect of all three overwhelms

the opponent. So Dook Shou teaches you, not

only what effect a particular strike has on the

body, but also how to combine them for maximum

effect. The Ping On sets are about the explosive use of

the body and energy [fa jing]. Because of the

internal nature of fa jing the expressive moves are

quite small and abrupt making it harder to keep

the internal fluidity of movement and relaxation

within this form. These are about energy

expression in a Feng Shou way and are not

recommended until you have developed the ability

to relax and rebalance the body after performing

the movements. Failure to do this could leave

energy imbalances, which, unadressed, would lead

to illness. The tradition within Chinese systems is that a

senior student is required to devise a new form to

demonstrate to their Master that they understand

the system, a kind of doctoral thesis! Chee Soo’s

Shou Pay Fah, to give it its full name, is such a

form, designed by Chee Soo for his teacher, Chan

Lee. It demonstrates defensive and offensive

moves as well as throws, takedowns and evasions.

The applications are specific to each move and are

practised on both sides of the body. It is both

about the general principles of movement as well

as the practical applications; a sort of summary of

the whole system. Chan Lee’s Chi Shu form has a similar origin –

his qualifying piece of work for his teacher. It is a

collection of throws and takedowns. The

applications are specific to the moves and this

form illustrates why it is always important for full

mastery of any of the forms to know the

applications of all the movements. One of the

moves in this form is not currently relevant, as it

is designed to move aside a long tunic to allow a

clean step out into a deep riding horse. This is

unnecessary for people in modern western

clothing. Thus we see from the open hand Forms that the

first reason why there are so many Forms is that

there are so many different aspects to our system

that we can’t practise absolutely everything at

once. So the different forms concentrate on

different aspects of the system and may

complement each other e.g T’ai Chi Form with

Flying Hands or Active Mist with Dook Shou. The Weapons Forms take this idea even further.

They complement all the Open Hand Forms in

that they are designed to extend your control of an

opponent to a greater range than the reach of your

arms, through using an inanimate object. With the

Open Hand Forms you are accustomed to the need

to continually adjust your balance and centre but

the length and weight of the weapon requires you

to do that in different ways so that “you plus the

weapon” are in a dynamic state of balance, in

accordance with the principles. In Weapons Forms

the empty hand is generally either supporting the

weapon and weapon hand directly, or extended to

balance the weight and movement of the extended

weapon so as to maintain this balance. Weapons

also require that you extend your sensitivity and

ability to control your opponent by working

through the weapon, without direct touch. Small weapons like the Fan, are a study in

precision and adaptation. The dynamic of the

weapon includes the opening and closing which

must be allied to the energy expressions from the

body to be used effectively. Medium length weapons introduce another

element: the angles of defence or attack are


magnified by the extra length of the weapon. In

the Tai Chi Open Hand Form, if one hand is

striking, the other is usually controlling your

opponent so that they are in the correct place to be

hit easily. With a medium or long weapon the

context is different so that stepping for optimum

range and position offer new challenges. The two Sword Forms, the Sword and the

Broadsword, demonstrate further how, in weapons

forms, understanding the particular characteristics

of the weapon is crucial to learning how to use it

effectively. The two Swords are very different due

to their different physical qualities. With the

double-edged straight Sword, the main striking

parts are the point and the top third of the blade

while the whole length of the sword and the hilt

can be used for defence. The Sword will pierce

and stab with deadly precision or cut so as to

disable an opponent. It becomes necessary to

understand the correct targets for optimum impact

from a weapon with these characteristics. By contrast, the main striking element of the

single-edged Broadsword is the upper part of the

outer edge and the point. The blade is heavier and

that advantage can be magnified by the application

of the empty hand to the inner edge to support its

action (obviously not an option with the straight

Sword!). In defence, the lower outer edge, hilt

and inner edge of the Broadsword can be used.

The weapon cannot stab effectively but it can

slash, disembowel and dismember. To use these weapons you need to develop a

different persona to suit the characteristics of

each: a light-footed duellist suits the Sword while

the Broadsword demands a bit more of the

marauding pirate. The Stick is a long weapon with 6 striking areas

(the tip and inside and outside of each end). The

Spear and Halberd have a similar shaft but with

additional of a piercing facility at the tip. The

Halberd has a tripod at the butt end for crushing.

Their length means they require two hands most

of the time. This helps ensure both sides of your

body are working together but also develops

flexibility in the hips and upper body strength.

Again also the stepping is very important due to

the effect of changes being further magnified by

the length of the weapon concerned. The

applications are extremely specific as they include

strategies for dealing with opponents carrying

varying lengths of weapon or open-handed.

The Silk form is unusual as, though it is

technically a long weapon and requires you to use

both hands most of the time, it can only be applied

at short range. The way the silk is extended as part

of the body’s energy expression bears some

comparisons with the Fan. Since it so flexible it is

a very Yin weapon and its effective use requires

great skill in yielding. Therefore it is a weapon

that develops and extends sensitivity and

‘listening’ skills. The more varied characteristics of the weapons

point up more clearly the need to develop in

yourself the specific persona required by each

form. We have touched on this with swords – the

duellist and the pirate – but it is equally true of all

the forms including those without weapons.

Anyone using the techniques in the Form needs a

strongly grounded centre from which great power

can be generated. The Flying Hands techniques

require a more dynamic, light-footed exponent by

comparison, still balanced but more mobile. The

strikes have a more whip-like quality compared

with the crushing blows of the Form. From the

character of the movements in each form we can

deduce the persona we need to develop in

ourselves to best execute them. Traditional Chinese medicine uses the elements as

complex metaphors for these personas and how

they interact in both health and martial terms. This

becomes a very complex subject in its own right

and this article is not a comprehensive guide. But

put simply: Forms particularly cultivate either

one, or a mixture of two elements over the others.

For instance the Form and the Flying Hands are

single element forms: Earth and Fire respectively.

The different personas required for Sword and

Broadsword (both metal weapons) are explained

by their each being a blend of two elements.

Sword is Metal in Water and Broadsword is Metal

in Fire. The weapon of preference is likely to be dictated

by the predominant elements of the student’s

normal persona. Someone with strong wood

energy is likely to work well with the Stick.

However, training with the Stick will consolidate

the wood characteristics and too much could lead

to an imbalance. The traditional way of training

would be to work with weapons associated with

other elements. This keeps you in a more balanced

state of health as the elements you lack or only

possess weakly are cultivated as you work your


body in uncharacteristic ways. Martially it gives

you an understanding of weapons that your

opponent may use against you and how to use

your preferred weapon most effectively in every

potential situation. To conclude – in addition to the need to present a

wide and complex variety of training material, the

numerous forms within each of the Arts are there

to satisfy the various training needs of students

with different body shape, athleticism, dexterity,

size, levels of experience and varieties of

character. At the outset students will be much

better suited to some forms than others. However

the ultimate goal is to understand the different

characteristics of all the weapons and master all

the different personas. In doing this you learn to

adapt your body to so many different styles of

expression of the principles that you develop

conscious control of the manifestation of all the

elements in your body.

James Lumsden,

Tony Swanson and Anne Manasse

* * * * *

WEEKEND COURSES The autumn programme for weekend courses

begins with the Weapons’ Course on 1st – 2

nd

October in Leamington. A few places are still

available so if James’ article has inspired you to

learn a new weapon to balance your persona then

please contact [email protected]

to reserve a place. There will be training in Boston on the evening of

Friday 4th

November as well as Saturday 5th

.

This split venue weekend finishes with a day in

Kings Lynn on Sunday 6th

. Booking will open in

late September. The content will be on this year’s

theme of developing structure for better central

core movement. The last UK weekend course of the year is in

Newcastle when Tony will guide us through the

subject of Tao Yin exercises on Saturday and

Sunday 26th

and 27th

November. Booking will

open in October. Booking information for courses is being sent by

email to member. If any members did not receive

the information about the weapons course in the

last few weeks, would they please contact me to

check I have the correct email address.

[email protected]

SUMMER SCHOOL 2011 This year’s summer course took place in

Ardingley College Sussex. As ever it was a very

special time, difficult to describe. To help give

you an idea of the many aspects of the summer

school experience we have reports from 3

students with very different points of view. First a Black jacket who has not attended for a number of years: Several years ago I took a

decision to take a break from training in the TAO,

mostly for personal and family reasons, and so I

stopped going to Twyford and residential courses.

It was meant to be a much shorter break than it

turned out to be… and it was only early this year

that I returned to training. Once my membership and insurance came through

I signed up for the Summer School, which was

going to be interesting having only recently

recommenced training after such a long break. I

wasn’t sure if I’d be able to take the amount of

training due to some lingering physical problems

although I did a bit of cardio-vascular work in an

effort to try to be physically fit. One thing that stood out was how much the group

generally wanted to attend all the sessions. Many

years ago when I first attended a summer course at

Gaunts’ House there were free sessions, which we

used for R and R – I remember taking my children

down to Durdle Daw in Dorset for an afternoon. It

was, and probably still is for many, a summer

vacation as well as training. In later years free

sessions were replaced with optional ones when

training in competition fighting techniques etc was

offered to those who were interested. This year

some of the sessions were optional but offered a

choice of different content and the majority

attended everything. I found the extra sessions

better for me as it gave me a chance to practise

forms at a level of intensity that I wouldn’t

normally get to during such a course. I have to say that the training was taxing,

particularly in a mental way. At first I thought that

it was me, but several others remarked on this. It

showed how hard people worked and also how the

Technical Director had set us challenges that were

making us work at our own level for our own

betterment. As usual there was the 7 a.m. start in the training

hall with K’ai Men and it was great to experience

the depth and quality during those sessions that


will live with me for years to come. The quality of

the forms these days was quite evident. I was

worried about how far I could remember, but

when I looked at the various groups, from

beginner to more advanced, it was evident that the

groups were concentrating on quality and

technique and not lots of numbers of dubious and

floppy content (always a bug bear of mine).

Usually the groups were going through similar

content at different levels and really working at

smaller components. After such a long absence, I recognised several

new black jackets and knew that the last time that

I had seen them they were red tops. What struck

me was how they’d stuck at their training and had

an amazing structure and quality to their training.

Often these students also travel great distances to

get to summer training. The Technical Director spent a good amount of

time demonstrating technique and getting a variety

of individuals up to do things like putting markers

on his body to help us see some of the details in

technique. This can inform our practice so well, as

we then get the chance to practise the detail and

give feedback to partners. This teaching method is

so different to what I have found in other

organisations where you can be wowed by

somewhat flashy demos, maybe get cannoned

though the air, but without really getting the

opportunity to get the basics behind it. To be

honest in such cases it’s cheaper and more

satisfying to put on a Jackie Chan movie. I think one thing that struck me was how nice it

was to be back with the Technical Director and his

often humble and straightforward approach. He

has an endearing love of the system and gives us

the opportunity to get into it and try it out for what

it is. My perception now is that, sadly, a lot of us

didn’t recognise this all those years ago. It’s nice

to see that now students are working within the

system, generally with less ego. Well where did it leave me? At the end of August

I’m practising the K’ai Men which I hope I

remember quite well and I’m going over three

forms I chose to work at in Sussex – the Form,

Flying Hands and Broadsword. In the past I have

struggled to engage with large amounts of content

or to retain it when training opportunities are

surrounded with the pressures of travelling and

family and work responsibilities. This year I seem

to remember much more than usual, so the longer

training period, with its opportunities for detailed

study has worked well for me. On reflection after the course and the talk the

Technical Director gave to us, I would say one

thing: mix your training and experiences up with a

greater variety of people in the hall. This can help

your learning and perceptions. So try to push back

the boundaries and offer your experience or open

up to somebody else’s. Try not to judge – just try

it out and move on. We need to develop our mind

and psychology as well as the physical side

because they are so linked. When we have the

right attitude and are striving to make progress, as

clearly many are doing, then the Technical

Director is more likely to give us experiences to

develop us in ways not yet experienced – but

alluded to in the books.

Dave Howarth

Next a student who has been doing T’ai Chi for less than a year: I became aware during my week

at Summer School of how well my T’ai Chi

instructors, Gillian and Frances, had prepared

me. Over the preceding months, on the drive to

our Monday evening class, I had listened to

Gillian’s anecdotes of her experiences at Summer

School and I looked forward to putting faces to all

the names. Frances had prepared me in class for

the different forms. I only took up T’ai Chi last

September and, thanks to this, came to Summer

School with some experience of using the swords

and the fan as well as flying hands and sticky

hands; I found this very helpful. I had prepared myself by meditating regularly and

freeing myself of my petty fears and concerns so

that I could come with an open heart. I’m so glad

I did as I was met with such openness and

acceptance. The energy of the group was so

friendly and supportive with such a strong element

of humour. It was quite awe inspiring to see the dedication

people have and their years of experience in T’ai

Chi. Everyone I came into contact with was so

happy to share their knowledge . Summer School

gave me the opportunity to live and breathe T’ai

Chi; to be immersed in it. Having spent years struggling with poor body use

and being in pain a lot of the time, T’ai Chi is a

challenge that is incredibly rewarding. I was so

happy to be discovering an alternative way of


being and so grateful to be surrounded by such

skilled people. I had plenty of opportunity during the week to

have a go at using the weapons as well as getting

a feel for Flying Hands and Feng Shou. I

particularly liked the T’ai Chi straight Sword, and

focussed mainly on this in the optional sessions.I

found it to be both thoroughly enjoyable and very

energising. I found the week to be extremely insightful as well

as uplifting my spirits. I have also come away with

more awareness of how to move within the Form

and this has given me so much more to work with

when I am practising at home. I am looking forward to the next Summer School,

thank you to everyone for making it such a

memorable week.

Heather Moon

Lastly one of our Scottish Instructors who comes

regularly to summer school as one of her very

few opportunities to train with Tony each year: I would just like to say how lucky we are to have

such high quality training. On every course, Tony

seems to tailor the content according to the ability

of that group, and for every member of that

group. Even if Tony does not interact with you

personally, he is aware of your ability and there

will be something in the course that will help you

in your training. On each course that I have been

on, I may not remember or achieve some

technique but there is always a gift or “seed” to

take away and nurture with practice, patience and

perseverance. Be open and vigilant for a valuable

gift, do not let false expectations make you miss

vital guidance. Also remember the only way to progress is

practice, practice and more practice. Failure,

frustration, impatience, despondency and

sometimes anger are all part of the learning

process. Examine your emotions and the tensions

that you hold in your body, for these are hindering

your progress . Forget the destination and enjoy

every minute of the journey, otherwise you may

miss some amazing experiences and insights.

Frances Pearce

The only thing remaining to complete the picture

of Summer School is an account of what we got

up to “off piste” . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OTHER ARTS AT ARDINGLEY After 3 consecutive years the social and concert

seemed to be a fixture in the Summer School

timetable, but earlier this year a shocking rumour

started to circulate – Julie Stanton wasn’t coming

to Ardingley. Julie, a former professional singer and dancer, has

always organised and compered the concert, and

each successive year she has cajoled more and

more people into participating, producing some

spectacular and unforgettable group

extravaganzas. Rehearsals for these have kept us

so busy we sometimes wondered when we would

fit in the training, but these groups have forged

strong links within the groups and led to new

friendships. Who can forget the Can Can and the

Chippendales in 2009 and the numbers from

Grease in 2010. They say nature abhors a vacuum and that proved

to be the case here. The contstraints of the

Ardingley curfew (!) required us to finish by 10 so

a shorter programme was required. The vacuum of

Julie’s absence drew two relative newcomers to

residential courses, Neil Rodgers and Kieran

Concarron, into the hotseat. Both are gifted folk

musicians – and of course folk music makes the

most of the talent available to make sure everyone

has a great time. This is exactly what they did and

a variety of fok combinations played during the

evening, culminating in “Whiskey in the Jar” sung

by Caroline Pinoteau backed by the full combo. The pool of talent within the TAO has always

been remarkable and the summer concert has

inspired several members to develop their latent

talent by studying musical instruments. This year

we were treated to performances by 2 new

pianists, Cliff Dowler and Kathrin Meier. The

audience greeted their achievements with

enthusiastic cheers. Performing at the concert can be nerve racking,

but the two youngest students didn’t hesitate.

Megan Swanson performed an astounding magic

act (How did she do it?!) and Melissa duetted with

her dad, Nik Kerwin, revealing a lovely singing

voice. The old favourites – Horst with the poi, John

Zetterstrom and his guitar (who also, as usual,

made the show possible by providing technical

support), Tony “ the Songbird” Swanson and a


monologue from James Lumsden – made up the

rest of the programme. However this was not the end of the contribution

made by Neil and Kieran. The next morning these

two helped organise a ritual for the close of the

course. Involving circles and spirals, touch and

silence, it helped us, as a group, express our inter-

connectedness and inter-dependence in learning

and preserving the Li style Taoist Arts. Thank you

to both of them for such a special contribution.

A.M.

* * * * *

LETTERS

Hi Anne I wonder if you could put something in the

newsletter thanking people for helping to raise

£262 at the Summer School social towards

children's competition training. Please thank

Cliff for his kind donation of the Chee Soo books

and well done June for winning them. Finally, well done François – he was given a raffle

ticket which, quite by chance had the same

number as his age - and he won First Prize!

Thanks Jane Thanks to Jane Frew and her team for

organising the social evening and

congratulations on raising so much money.

- - - - - -

This letter seemed to me to contain a useful

suggestion. Hi Anne,

I have just rapidly downloaded the Newsletter and

have scanned it greedily as it continues to give

pleasure and information concerning the TAO!! I am just practising my next sequence of moves in

the Form and Flying Hands, ably assisted by the

TAO DVDs. I have to arrange a TV behind me to

which I turn my back, plus a mirror in front of me

and make valiant attempts to follow and memorise

the movements before adding all the layers that

will inevitably follow. If I learn from just the

DVD in front of me I am in danger of learning the

entire form the wrong way round!! Oh well, it's back to the DVD for me, thanks again

for your work in Editing the Newsletter Kind regards from Sue Davies.

WEDDING On 3

rd September 2 of our members, Gareth Pryce

and Renee Sharpe were married. Gareth is a black

jacket and committee member: the TAO Club

Liason Officer. Both of them train in London.

We wish them much happiness and lots of T’ai

Chi in their lives together.

* * * * *

SITUATION VACANT: PHOTO EDITOR

As you have probably realised from the frequent

email bombardment, I have recently taken on the

role of weekend course organiser. This means I

tend to be busy doing administration at courses

and results in me forgetting to take photographs

for the newsletter (which the more observant of

you will notice I have forgotten to do at Summer

School – sorry!)

I would like someone to join the newsletter team

as a photo editor. You don’t have to go to all the

courses and take the photos, you just need to

remember to ask someone who is going and make

sure there is some visual record. I am planning to

revamp the newsletter sometime next year, upload

it to the website and just distribute a link to it.

This will get over the problem of email file size

and allow us to include more photos. Please

contact me if you can help. A.M.


NEW PRODUCT FOR SALE

Summer Memories If the account of the Summer School concert made

you want to see what you were missing, or if you

were there and want a souvenir of a wonderful

evening, there is now available a DVD of the

summer school 2011 concert. Price £6 each (profits to Kombat Kids

competitions)

Please contact Jane to place your order.

[email protected]

* * * * *

TAO Bags Just in time for the new training season and the

approach to the Europa competition next year,

new blue sports bags, with the TAO logo, have

been designed in Germany and are now available

to order. (The photo is not of the finished design –

they have the name of the organisation around the

logo like our T shirts.)

The large bag is 57 x 33 x 33 cms.

It costs £28 or 30 euros

The small bag is 45 x 30 x 30 cms

It costs £24 or 26 euros For an additional charge of £2 or 2 euros, your

name can be added. On the smaller bag, this will

be on the front panel. On the larger bag, it will be

on top near the zip. If you would like to order a bag, please contact

Jane - email: [email protected] or text:

07722 644746. If you want your name added, please write out

clearly exactly what you want written so we can

make sure we get the spelling right!

MORE FUNDRAISING Two masterclasses were held at Falconwood in

Welling on 17th August to raise money for the

TAO. Organised by Julie Stanton – to replace her

normal Summer School fundraising work for the

TAO – these featured Sally Grinhey, teaching

Flying Hands and Paul Millington, teaching

Broadsword. Roving reporter, Sue Davies, attended. “The

Masterclasses were great. Thanks to Sally and

Paul for their patient, innovative and thorough

training. Also thank you to Julie for arranging

the classes for us. Fab tuition. fab location

(despite the alarmingly squeaky floor!) and fab

participants one and all! Here's to the next

time!!"

* * * * *

STOP PRESS COMPETITION RESULTS On Sunday 11

th September a small team of 6,

comprising 2 over 18 and 4 juniors, took part in

the BCCMA British Sparring Championships.

Every one of them is now a British Champion

having won at least one gold medal.

Quinda Push Hands Ava Miller – G Christian Grebenstein – G

Gemma Salter – G Ava Miller – G

Jake Sharkey – G Megan Swanson – G

Megan Swanson – G Jake Sharkey – S

Jessica Wood – G Jessica Wood - S

Christian Grebenstein – B

Shuai Jiao Christian Grebenstein – S

Congratulations to the whole team and their coach

on such fantastic results.

* * * * *

My sincere thanks to all who have contributed to

this issue. I have decided that in order to sustain

the high quality of the newsletter over the long

term without undue strain on our contributors

who are all volunteers, I am going to reduce the

number of magazine type issues to 4 a year.

There may be other e-bulletins with essential

reminders and announcements in between, but

the longer issues with the substantial technical

articles will become a quarterly fixture. The next issue will therefore be in December.

Please send contributions or suggestions to Anne

Manasse 7 Gowan Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle

upon Tyne NE2 2PS. 0191 2816476. email

[email protected]

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