Category: Students

I became a student of Andrew Rohowyj in 2012. My enjoyment of tai chi has evolved, quite accidentally (or intentionally), over a number of years. I practised yoga for a number of years and enjoyed the peace that it brought. I then decided to practise meditation for a number of years and experiment with a more passive form of exercise. This led to my discovery of Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan, a wonderful coming together of the two.

I now find myself on a patient yet potent journey to achieve a heightened state of awareness which, I believe, tai chi will bring. I feel as though I am at present only scratching the surface. As a primary school teacher, my commitment to tai chi seems to be directly proportionate to my capacity to create engaging learning experiences in the classroom.

 Storia del Yuan Chi Tai Chi Italia

Ho sempre amato  fare sport, in particolare il Tai Chi ma erano diversi anni che non  praticavo più nulla perchè sentivo che in qualche modo portavano la mia energia o verso un eccessiva attivazione o al contrario mi “scaricavano”,  fino a che un giorno la mia carissima amica Parvati, compagna di un meraviglioso percorso spirituale, sposa un Maestro di Tai Chi: Ric Lum.
In poco tempo nasce in me il desiderio di conoscerlo e di praticare con lui questa antica arte marziale, unico piccolo problema viveva e vive tutt’ora in Australia.
Avevo da subito intuito la grandezza di questo stile e del suo Maestro. Così nell’Agosto del 2010 in concomitanza con il suo arrivo a Roma per le vacanze riuscimmo ad  ad organizzare il  primo seminario a Trevignano Romano e Roma.
Fù un’esperienza incredibile per tutti quelli che parteciparono che ancora oggi ricordano anedoti e momenti di  intensa profondità e gioia.

In quell’occasione ebbi la conferma delle mie intuizioni: avevo incontrato, per la prima volta, un vero Maestro di Tai Chi e il Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan era uno stile Puro.
Sentivo mentre lo praticavo che i suoi movimenti morbidi e fluidi, simili ad una danza, richiamavano il flusso spontaneo della mia energia donandomi uno stato di quiete e pace interiore.
Erano molti anni che cercavo un’attività fisica che in qualche modo non si opponesse alla mia evoluzione, che armonizzasse il mio corpo, la mia mente e il mio Spirito. L’avevo trovata.
Dovettero passare però due anni prima di riuscire a far tornare il Maestro a Roma. Per pagare il biglietto aereo decidemmo di fare  dei gruppi di pratica a Trevignano e Sifu (Maestro in Cinese)  si autofinanziò la rimanenza con i corsi del seminario.
Finalmente nel Maggio del 2012 ci fu il secondo seminario di Trevignano e Roma.
Durante la permanenza il Maestro espresse il desiderio di creare una vera e propria scuola di Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan qui in Italia. Questo sposava perfettamente il mio desiderio di diventare istruttrice e diffondere la conoscenza di questo meraviglioso stile nel mio Paese.
In sintonia con questo desiderio a Luglio io e Parvati fummo invitate ad insegnare Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan all’Arts Accademy di Cabella.

Era chiaro che per  creare le radici della scuola era necessario che Sifu tornasse almeno tre o quattro volte l’anno in Italia. Fu così che di ritorno dall’Accademia  partimmo subito con l’organizzazione e dopo tre mesi Sifu era dinuovo ad insegnare per gettare più solide basi per la scuola. Nuovamente il costo del biglietto aereo fu ammortizzato con le quote dei corsi.
Il seme era piantato molte persone avevano potuto gioire dei suoi insegnamenti e io ero pronta a poter insegnare ai principianti.
E così da Settembre decisi di organizzare  corsi a Roma e dintorni volti a creare un fondo per poter far tornare ancora una volta Sifu.
Ed eccoci qui ad oggi. Questa volta l’idea è di organizzare un tour tra Roma e  dintorni, Cabella e altre città tra cui Praga dove un carissimo amico ci ha invitato ad  insegnare.. Un bellissimo progetto che sta prendendo vita.

In questi anni ho avuto la fortuna di poter percepire il valore vibratorio di questo meraviglioso stile, la profondità che si raggiunge praticandolo ma anche la gioia che si ha quando si trasmette ad altri.
Ogni volta che Sifu torna in Italia è una meravigliosa opportunità per noi Italiani per conoscere, praticare, approfondire la conoscenza di questo meraviglioso stile.
Una meravigliosa opportunità per imparare a danzare la danza del Tao.

Claudia Casetti
Naturopata
Medicina Naturale
Cell. 347/8269066

I am a teacher, researcher and writer and have been so for over twenty-five years during which time I have worked in a number of schools and universities in both England and Australia.

I have long enjoyed physical activity like running, cycling and swimming which I find beneficial from both a physical health point of view and in terms of mental wellbeing. However as I get older – I am 57 now- I am aware that there are limits to how much of these things one can do without injury. In addition, although I like exercise, I am a touch uncoordinated and awkward in my body. My initial motivation for joining a Tai Chi class then was to find a gentler form of physical activity and one in which I might find a better sense of balance with my body. I have also been involved in meditation (in the style of Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Naht Hanh) for many years which is relevant to my involvement in Tai Chi since I approach it with a sense that Tai Chi has a dimension of what we might call ‘meditation in motion’.

I have been attending Tai Chi for over 18 months now and I have learned the basic 108 moves but I know that there is a way to go before I approach the level of grace achieved by Master Ric and the senior students. That said, I do feel that I have gained more surety and confidence in my movements as the months have passed by and I have a confidence that I will continue to grow in that way.

However, perhaps the biggest challenge in Tai Chi for me- and the also the greatest reward – has been mental, that is, in terms of thinking, attitudes and personal qualities.
Tai Chi does not come naturally to me, I have to work at it and much of this effort and my frequent mistakes took place under the eyes of others so that at first I felt under scrutiny as if I had farted at the Queens dinner table. And however much people might say that everyone makes mistakes, or there no mistakes in Tai Chi, it is all a learning process and so forth, that ain’t how it felt. My head can fill with thoughts while I am doing Tai Chi which is a distraction and so I have had to learn to overcome the desire to run away and hide.

I have had to stick with it and trust I would get there (wherever there is, because there is no ‘there’ to get to) in the end. I think then that as much as I have gained an improvement in physical balance – which I have – I have also gained a certain resilience and inner strength of character through perseverance in which, as long as I try my best, then I accept that whatever I do in Tai Chi is OK. And indeed, there are times when I feel relaxed and at ease as if I was in a state of meditation and at least in my mind I can float like a butterfly.

Chris Barker
19/03/13

Last year I started drinking tea, and I began to read about the history and culture that surrounds it. One of these books introduced me to the idea of Dao, and I found the rhetoric compelling, this in turn brought me to Tai Chi Chuan.

I originally come from the country, and spent my childhood and teenage years doing classical ballet, so I can safely say that Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan is unlike anything I have previously tried or been exposed to. Instead of rigid structure, which made me feel like a disjointed collection of parts, I feel as if my body is one piece. The effect that each move has on the whole and the way the movements connect and flow from one to the other is magical.

I am studying science at university, so my life is generally overwhelmed by stress and the need to be doing, to be done. These classes leave me feeling peaceful and removed from the stress and the push to be doing. I feel like myself rather than a tool for completing tasks.

Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan is one of the few things for me that isn’t an obstacle to surmount or an objective to complete, it just is, and I am enjoying being carried along by it.

Sara Rose
13th Feb.’13

Despite “dabbling” for a few months several years ago, I only truly discovered Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan recently, joining Master Ric Lum’s class in January 2013.

As a scientist and an artist I felt drawn to Tai-Chi for its beauty, its diversity and a sense of curiosity and wonder.

So far, I have come to see Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan not as a set of tasks and goals to be rushed through (of which life has plenty) but as a journey to be enjoyed at its own pace, and one which I am only just starting. This has proved a wonderful stress relief and an escape from the world of deadlines and commitments. Additionally, Tai-Chi is giving me a new awareness of myself, those around me and my environment.

*Gerard O’Connor*