Great River Open House and Summer Tai Chi Classes June 3

Sunday, June 3rd, 7 pm, come to our GREAT RIVER OPEN HOUSE at our new space at Zorongo Flamenco, 3012 Minnehaha (directions below). Find out all about tai chi, meet the teachers, enjoy refreshments, demonstrations, and films.
For further information, explore our website, or call 612-822-5760. Our new location is just off Lake Street, in South Minneapolis, not far from the Lake Street Light Rail station.
New Beginners' class starts Sunday, June 10th, 7--8 pm. Learn the basics of good tai chi, for health, relaxation, self-defense, posture, alignment, golf, running, stress reduction...you name it! Tai Chi is a wonderful practice; come explore it with us.

Summer Workshop with Weiming Yuan, July 26-29. Contact us for further information.

Great River is Moving!

Exciting news!
Great River Tai Chi will soon be moving to a new location! Stay tuned for information about our new space and class times. New classes will begin in June.

Great River Winter Tai Chi Classes: Free Open House Jan. 8

Make Tai Chi part of your New Year! This ancient Chinese art can give you piece of mind while strengthening and stretching your body and improving your  balance and posture.



WINTER OPEN HOUSE
Join us for a taste of tai chi! Demos, movies, refreshments. Find out how tai chi can improve both your health and your golf swing!
Sunday, January 8th, 7-8 pm
1940 Hennepin Av. S. Minneapolis, 2F
NEW BEGINNERS CLASS
If you're interested in getting a great start to the new year, there's nothing better than tai chi. This ten-week class will give you a solid start in tai chi. Tuition is only $150.
Sundays, January 15-March 18, 7-8 pm
BEGINNERS LEVEL TWO
Sundays, 6-7 pm, ongoing.
INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED
Thursdays, 6-8, ongoing. Continue work on solo form, push hands, and sword.
Don't forget, you can follow us on our blog, or on Facebook! And keep up on tai chi news and reviews at http://www.taijiquanjournal.blogspot.com

Great River Tai Chi Gift Certificates

Treat yourself or someone you care about to tai chi classes! Great River T'ai Chi offers classes year-round, with quarterly new beginners classes. Our beginners class is a perfect way to learn about what tai chi can do for you, and is an affordable $150 for ten weeks. We teach the Yang-style short form developed by Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing. Contact us for information about purchasing a gift certificate! 612-822-5760.
Winter class schedule will be posted shortly.

Ed Young, children's book artist and tai chi teacher, will be having an exhibit of his works in Abiline, Texas,  November 11, 2011-January 28, 2012 at the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature. Young, who is about to turn 80, immigrated to the United States as a youth, and studied architecture, before turning to illustration.
In 1964, he happened to meet Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing, who was visiting the United States. After  Cheng decided to stay on, Young became one of his assistants and translators, and became a taiji teacher himself in the New York area. Great River Tai Chi has hosted many visits from Ed Young over the years, and head instructors Barbara Davis and Cheryl Powers studied taiji and Chinese calligraphy with him at Naropa Institute.

Young's book Lon Po Po, the Chinese Red Riding Hood story, won the Caldecott Medal, the highest US honor in children's book illustration. Two other books, The Emperor and the Kite, and Seven Blind Mice, by Young himself, have won Caldecott Honors. Recent books include Wabi Sabi (with Mark Reibstein), Moon Bear (with Brenda Guiberson),  Hook, and Tsunami (with Kimiko Kajikawa). His newest book, The House Baba Built, a picture-book memoir about his boyhood in wartime Shanghai, is meeting with critical acclaim.
For an article about the exhibit, see the Abiline Recorder.
A video of Young discussing The House Baba Built can be seen at the BBC's site.

Nathan Menaged Tai Chi Workshop in Minneapolis, November 20th

We are pleased to welcome for our fall workshop, Nathan Menaged, of Columbus, Ohio. Nathan is a long-time student of William C.C. Chen and the late Tao Ping-hsiang.
The workshop will be held Sunday, November 20, 2011, 9 am-3 pm, at the Great River Studio at 1940 Hennepin Ave. S. in Minneapolis.
Please contact us for further information at 612--822-5760 or editor (@ ) taijiquanjournal.com.

Tai Chi Free Open House and Fall Classes at Great River in Minneapolis

Explore the interesting art of tai chi this fall at Great River Tai Chi. This Chinese exercise is used for health, relaxation, and as a martial art. Athletes, dancers, or golfers use it. People with stress, or with chronic illnesses use it. Teens even use it to polish their dance steps!
Learn more about tai chi at our Free Open House, Sunday, Sept. 11, at 6 pm. We'll have demos, movies and refreshments. Free and open to the public. 1940 Hennepin Ave. S. (at Franklin) 2F. For further information, call us at 612-822-5760.
Our beginners classes commence Sunday, September 18th at 6 pm, and cover all the basic information you'll need to get going with tai chi. The classes are one hour in length, for ten weeks. Tuition is $150 for the complete series.
Intermediate and advanced classes are held Sundays, at 7 pm (intermediate form work), and Thursdays, 6-8 pm (advanced form review, sword, push hands). Tuition is flat fee of $88 per month for unlimited classes.

Explore the Many Benefits of Tai Chi

A recent article in the Marlborough, New Zealand newspaper gives a great look at why tai chi practice is good for you.
"Seventy-year-old Lynda Neame said she started modified tai chi classes in 2008 after suffering from concussion, which caused vertigo and dizziness. "I thought I would learn how to stand up straight, walk in a straight line and get control of myself." The benefits proved more extensive.
Mrs Neame also suffered from osteoarthritis and had resigned herself to gradual loss of mobility because of the pain in her shoulders, legs and hips.
"I spent an hour recovering after half an hour in the garden and thought `this will be my life'."
But with the tai chi, she can now also enjoy pilates, bike riding, swimming and her beloved gardening."

How can tai chi benefit you? Find out at classes this fall at Great River Tai Chi. Our beginners' classes will be held Sundays, starting September 18th, at 6 pm, 1940 Hennepin Av. S. 2F. Tuition is $150 for ten weeks of class.

Robert W. Smith, Student of Cheng Man-ch'ing

We note the passing of our taiji "uncle" Mr. Robert W. Smith, July 1, 2011. Mr. Smith studied taiji with Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing in Taiwan, and went on to teach in the Bethesda, Maryland area.
Mr. Smith's copious writings about Professor Cheng and other great masters of the Asian martial arts helped set the stage for taiji and other arts to spread to the United States in the 1960s. Mr. Smith gave workshops in the Minneapolis St. Paul area in the 1970s. For more information, see the Taijiquan Journal blog.

Tai Chi for Body, Mind—and Fishing? Summer Tai Chi Classes in Minneapolis-St Paul

Summer's the perfect time to try tai chi at Great River! Tai chi will help your golf swing, improve your running, and enhance your fishing, not to mention help you get in shape for gardening. Did we mention that tai chi is also known as "moving meditation," as a martial art, and as a calming, health-enhancing exercise?

• Join us for a FREE class Sunday, June 5th, 6-7 pm, at Great River Tai Chi in Minneapolis to explore this fun art.

• Beginners' Class starts Sunday, June 12th, 6-7 pm. This 10-week class will give you a solid foundation in tai chi moves and principles. Tuition: SUMMER SPECIAL TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! $150 for complete 10-weeks. Offer good through June 17th. Registration is the first night of class.

We are located at 1940 Hennepin Avenue South (at Franklin), 2F.
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• On Sunday, June 12th, from 11-4:30 pm, you can also take part in our free tai chi presentation at the Minneapolis Institute of Art's Free Family Day: Your Choice: Animals! Roar. Growl. Stomp. Flutter. Artful animals are all around the MIA. Bring them to life by making your own animal sounds, movements, and shapes. Try tai chi with instructors from Great River T'ai Chi Ch'uan, and see how tigers, cranes, and monkeys have inspired this martial art. Mimic a variety of animal sounds as you make your way through the galleries. Hear incredible animal tales in lively storytelling sessions. Plus, take a closer look at some of nature's most magnificent birds, including an eagle, with educators from the Raptor Center.