Vancouver Push Hands Day: Sunday, 2009 Aug 09

[cgtomash]

Sorry for the late notice, hopefully list members around Vancouver can attend. Nice people, good snacks, good fun. Diane Kehoe & John Eastman of Riverbank Tai Chi host this event in Ladner, BC, just a stones throw south of Vancouver.

Guy
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Hi Everyone!

Sorry that this Riverbank Push Hands Day has been so long in coming this year. Every possible date seemed to have something else planned for it so we have done our best to find a date for August that might be free for people to attend.

Since it has been a long time since the last Push Hands Day, and there are a number of new people who have asked to be added to our list, I will explain how a Push Hands Day works in a little more detail than most of you need to know.

John Eastman and I held our first Riverbank Push Hands day in 1994 and these free ‘play days’ have been held regularly ever since at our home, known as ‘Riverbank’, at 4126 River Road West, Ladner (Delta), BC, Canada, V4K 1R8. Our phone number here is 604.946.4983 and our email address is [email protected] . If you need detailed instructions for getting here, please let us know.

Push Hands Days are held ‘rain or shine’ as we can play in the garden if the weather is good or inside if it is raining. Remember that Ladner is in the ‘banana belt’ and it is often sunny here when the rain is pouring down in Vancouver. Push Hands Days start at 1:00 pm and continue until around 06:00 pm. We usually make a reservation at Danny’s Restaurant in the Ironwood Shopping Centre in south Richmond for 07:00 pm and everyone is welcome to join us for a good Chinese dinner, whether they have come to the Push Hands Day or not. Please call us if you will be meeting us there so we can include you in the reservation.

On sunny days when we all practice outside, there is lots of room in the garden for children, and other family members and friends who might be interested in seeing some of the applications of T’ai Chi. We practice traditional martial T’ai Chi that is based on the principles of centre and relaxation. While some of the applications are martial, there is an emphasis on correct body structure and the use of core muscles that apply in many areas, from dance and Dressage to rehabilitation after illness and body injuries.

‘Push Hands’ at Riverbank has only a couple of rules: Play gently within your abilities. You must be able to fix anything that you break. If you break your partner, you will not get another one to play with!

Everyone from beginners to Masters are welcome and martial artists from any internal art can come and see how T’ai Chi works with their style. If the weather is good, we will bring out swords, knives, and spears so that people can practice their weapon’s forms where there is lots of room. There is no charge for Push Hands Days. Most people bring snacks to share with others and we provide tea and cold drinks. Riverbank is an alcohol and drug-free zone.

If you know that you will be coming to a Push Hands Day, please let us know in advance if it is possible so that we can let you know if there is a ride coming here that you can share. We are happy to meet the buses at the Ladner Loop and the ferries from the islands at Tsawassen if you want to save money or gasoline. There is lots of on-street parking available at Riverbank but we would like to keep the use of gasoline to a minimum, if possible.

Feel free to bring friends who you think would like to come and play and let us know if they would like to have their names on our email list so that they will be informed about upcoming events. Keep your fingers crossed for another lovely summer’s day under the Willow Tree and we will look forward to seeing you on Sunday, 2009 Aug 09.

Diane Kehoe & John Eastman, Riverbank, Ladner, BC