So, what do you fancy?

I'm going to be posting the dates for the new term shortly, but before I do I wanted to get a feel for what people actually wanted.

Essentially I have 2 choices:

• I can run the classes the way they have been up to now, with a class for beginners and a separate class for improvers; those who want to extent their tai chi skill past Part I of Yang-style Long Form.
• I can run a tai chi 'hand form' class for all levels that will, primarily, concentrate on Yang-style Long Form, but may also include Short and Simplified forms and a separate class teaching various 'Fan' forms.

Now, there are advantages for both you and me in both of these options. Running different levels of 'hand form' classes (what we've had up to now) means that there is, obviously, a greater concentration on the form at the level you're currently at. Running a combined level class and a separate 'fan form' class means that for those working on 'hand forms' there is a greater opportunity to learn from your peers - I can teach you, but other students will be able to help you understand the issues they had to overcome in learning.

Please don't under-estimate this last point; learning about the problems that others have overcome is a big plus. Many 'junior' students in the improvers class have gained enormously from having a more senior student explain how they overcame their own problems with a particular bit of the form.

As far as the 'fan forms' are concerned, well it's not a case of having to choose between doing one thing or the other, you could do both. Now, obviously there's a cost associated with that and if we run 'fan form' classes and any of you want to attend both, we can work something out. However, the first question is, is it worth it?

I'll be honest, there's absolutely no point in running a new class for the 'fan forms' if there are only a couple of people interested in joining, so I need to know how many of you would actually want to attend such a class. The 'fan forms' class is not just open to experienced tai chi students; the forms can be learnt by anyone whether they have any tai chi experience or not. The class would initially aim to teach the '18-Form Taiji Fan' form. You can find an short video here on YouTube showing a demonstration of this form (it's not a very good one, sorry it was the best I could find) . Later classes would go on to look at other fan forms like this one. There is, I'm sorry to say, a greater degree of mobility required for these forms than might be needed for the 'hand forms', but as has always in our classes, we'll do everything it is possible to do to make the form playable to anyone that wants to take part.

So, it's up to you. You get to shape the classes, or at least have you say about how you'd like to seem 'em. But please, don't wait too long as I need to make some decisions soon. You can mail me, leave a comment here or call to let me know what you think.

I look forward to hearing from you.

--
Stuart