News & Events
Events
| June 2008 onwards..... | Visit http://www.jdiatcc.com/ for the latest info on Events | |
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News
20/10/2009......Congratulations to our Northampton students Richard Tebbut and Ian Hay in qualifying as JDIATCC Tai Chi for Health instructors following the recent weekend training course with Master Ding. They are now focussing on achieving the next goal: becoming fully fledged JDIATCC traditional Tai Chi instructors! Ian is based in Birmingham, so expect JDIATCC to be spreading there at some point in the future.
20/10/2009......With the help of my trusty assistant and with a core group of hard working students established, things are easier to balance, so new students can join whenever they want! For more info do visit the classes page .
11/08/2008......The Tai Chi Tasters at the Northampton, Abington venue are proving popular. From September they will be on the 1st Monday and the 3rd Thursday of each month. In about a week's time access to the public classes in Abington will only be through the Tai Chi tasters. I am taking this approach because even those with previous Tai Chi experience are finding our approach to explaining and training Tai Chi quite different. It is easier for people to 'feel' and get a 'hands-on' idea of what we do in a larger group of new people when they will have my undivided attention.
18/06/2008......Just a quick note to say that we have finished the Mums, Dads and Carers with tots sessions until September as the numbers attending didn't justify them. I think that this sort of idea will need much more advertising and awareness than we anticipated when we set it up. Word of mouth is too slow when it is a new concept - people with kids know you can do Tai Chi in the evenings, but are not aware that anyone would run a daytime class that allows your kids to come and play while you train. So they are not looking for the class! If you think you would be interested in coming to sessions from September, please visit the mums 'n' tots page for more info and register your interest with us (by calling or emailing).
24/05/2008......Earlier today I did a quick 10 minute slot on BBC Radio Northampton for Andy's show. It was good to talk to the public about Tai Chi and plug the Taster sessions I'm doing, that I am sure will continue to prove popular throughout the year as more people get to hear of them. The first one went well and the next is soon (June 2nd). This week was also the first Applied Tai Chi session for Mums, Dads and Carers with tots. It was a free first session that went down well. We'll be running one every week up from after half-term until the summer holidays. The challenge here will be getting known within the mums 'n' tots circuit, so this could be a slow builder. But definitely worth doing. The attendees felt the benefits immediately and left feeling more relaxed, centred and calm. If you would like to come, go to the mums 'n' tots page on the website for more info!
14/04/2008......It's been very busy since November, when I last updated this News page. I've been to the Xmas weekend at JDA HQ, 2 further seminars, intensive training, a week in Dusseldorf learning Master Ip Tai Tak's Snake Style Form and a week on the JDIATCC Annual Instructor Retreat - almost 100 of us made it this year. With the expansion that is currently happening, the organisation will definitely have more than 100 for next year's instructor training. So what has been the highlight of this busy schedule of mine?
Undoubtedly learning Master Ip's Snake Style Form. There has been a lot of talk about it that has heated up over the last few months so it was great to learn the heart of the 'Snake system' - this special From that Grandmaster Ip put together to record his learning experiences as Great Grandmaster Yang Sau Chung's 1st disciple. When performed low (the way Grandmaster Ip intended it to be done), the form quickly compacts your force (chi) and throws all your errors into sharp relief. Those of us who attended will be working on this for a long time.....
10/11/2007......Since last writing I have been to 2 Master Ding seminars - Self-Defence and Fa Jing. In the Self-Defence one we had the usual suspects from around Europe and some first time visitors who came all the way from Rome in Italy. They had a great time, fitted in immediately and took on board a lot of new information. As ex-Shaolin practitioners they were fun to play with. The Fa Jing seminar attracted a few new people from up North and I had great fun playing with and talking to 2 of them who are training in Tai Chi and Wing Chun. As Wing Chun was my art of choice prior to learning Tai Chi it was easy for me to open conversations with them and it was good to see that their Wing Chun lineage is open to new ideas and skills. Best of luck to them: they came across as dedicated and genuine and I hope they continue to grow. I also bumped into some JDIATCC members that I have not seen in ages - you know who you are and it was great to catch up!
17/09/2007......I have decided to end the Wednesday Grange Park class (last class is on 26/09/07) and to use this time slot to teach for the Balance Studio - Northampton's full-time Yoga club. The owner, Kerry Clarke, has a keen group of people interested in holistic self-improvement and I would like to see how far JDAM can take them with their endeavours. There will be a different cost structure for this class. For more information on the Balance studio please contact Kerry on 01604 714714 or email her: kerry@balancestudio.co.uk.
01/09/2007......Sifu John Ding's Centering and Rooting workshop was the usual busy affair, providing ample opportunity to train with varied group of people. What I love if the difference in peoples' reasons for being there (health, martial, spiritual), the age range (20's to 60's) and their different states of health...and how none of that matters. There is always a way to train fruitfully when it comes to Tai Chi. This time there were some new faces from outside of the organisation, who had only practiced the Tai Chi Form. After an understandable degree of nervousness towards pairing up to work on new ideas with strangers, they loved every minute of it. You could literally see the gates of understanding opening in them during the course of the day. Another great one, thanks Sifu.
14/07/2007......The first JDAM workshop at the fulltime Balance Yoga studio went very well. Feedback was very positive, with 3 hours passing fast. As there was limited time and some participants had no prior Tai Chi experience, the seminar was based around using a few natural movements to explore the basic ideas of Yi (Intention) to drive internal movement from the centre. The non-confrontational self-defence ideas were well received. People we suprised at how simple, in principle, it can be to turn the tables on someone. What seemed to be enjoyed most was the linking of Tai Chi practice to everyday life and how it is based around building and maintaining a different way of using your mind and body. Although JDAM is taking a break over summer, I hope we can organise our next workshop soon.
07/07/2007......Sifu John Ding's Push Hands and Applications workshop was a great success (as usual). More than 40 people were there with some having travelled from the North of England, Ireland, Germany, Belgium and Italy. Sifu concentrated on the four concepts of rollback, push, press and ward off contained within Yang style Tai Chi's single hand push hands practice. Experience levels varied from beginner to advanced, yet content was tailored in a way that satisfied everyone. We all worked on the sensitivity, merging, energetic linking and the hows and whys of the four concepts being explored. In addition the martial crowd were happy to be scrambled by the explosive force of Sifu's more intense applications. For some reason he never tires of throwing me on the ground - much to the amusement of everyone else...shame there's no mats. Great stuff. can't wait for the next workshop.
18/06/2007......A Tai Chi workshop on the topic of Working with Internal Energy ('Chi') will be taking place on Saturday 14th July, 1-4pm at the Balance Studio. 12 places only in this small, but friendly venue, so probably better to book early. The Balance Studio is Northampton's full-time Yoga centre.
12/06/2007......Negotiations have started for arranging JDAM's first Tai Chi Workshop. Likely to take place on a Saturday or Sunday afteroon, places will be limited. As soon as I know more, so will you.
07/06/2007......Likewise, once the course had finished the Abington Class opened to the public as well.
30/05/2007......With the course successfully concluded, the Grange Park class opened to the general public.
26/04/2007......6 week introduction course begins in Abington. Like the Grange Park one, participants are great. Tai Chi attracts such an interesting and varied bunch - I feel very lucky to be involved. An open class was made available on the same evening, immediately after the course.
18/04/2007......It was with great pleasure that the John Ding Academy Midlands started teaching on this day with the first installment of a fantastic 6 week introduction course at Grange Park. The students were great. Enthusiastic, open and above all ready to have fun!