COVID -19 Update
Push Hands has resumed on Thursdays (7:30-9:30 pm), at Roda Movement located at 7014-A Westmoreland Avenue in Takoma Park, MD. Participants should be vaccinated, and temperatures will be taken prior to push hands play. Masks are being worn at present.
We are scheduled to resume classes at the Dance Exchange on Saturday September 11, 2021.
We begin classes at 10 am in this order: Tai Chi form at 10 along with Kids Kung Fu. Push Hands class at 11am, Internal Self Defense at 12, Xing-I/ Bagua at 1 pm and a possible Swordplay (if there is sufficient interest), class at 2pm.
We plan to have a second day of classes at the O’Day- Parcelli Training Center located on Nicholson St NW on Thursdays from 6-8 pm. Further updates on this to be given as all elements pertaining to this location are confirmed.
Please contact Paul at longmen987@gmail.com to say whether you feel ready to get back to class or not. (you may text response to 301-651-3617).
Also, we continue to offer Zoom classes in form, theory, history, principles and in Qigong/ meditation. There are also students who come to Gaithersburg to do private outdoor or indoors instruction in or outside of the Clear Circle location. Contact Paul via email or phone (301-651-3617) to discuss options. Summer is here and outdoor classes have become more fun and popular so if you’d like to schedule your outdoor lesson do so quickly because available time slots are disappearing rapidly!
KUOSHU INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT
The annual Kuoshu International Championship event was held at the Delta Hotel in Hunt Valley MD on July 23-25, 2021. As expected, the number of competitors was less than in previous years’ but the COVID situation made that inevitable. The events spanned two floors of ball rooms and proceeded in an orderly and efficient manner.
The US Kuoshu Championships this year included Qualifying divisions for the World Championships which are to take place next year. Our own Terance Nicholson moved up to Judge level this year and did a fine job of learning the ropes. Stephen Genus, the current World Champions in Bagua Zhang decided to only do three events this time around from which he earned three gold medals. He was top qualifier by winning Advanced Yang form securing his spot on the US team as well as winning both Limited Step and Moving Step Pushing Hands divisions. Evan Colton our second Push Hands competitor won Gold in Moving Step Pushing Hands and came in second behind Stephen Genus in Limited Step Push Hands. Joe Dudley gets honorable mention for a good performance in the Advanced Tai Chi weapons division. Marketa Ebert who was originally supposed to compete had to, unfortunately, withdraw from competition due to injury but came to root on her teammates and to take photos and video. We would like to thank the WST students who came to the event to support their classmates and see some high-level Kung Fu forms, weapons, sparring and pushing hands.
QUOTES of the Month
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
-Marthe Troly-Curtin
The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.
-Conan O'Brien
