Chinese Wushu & Tai Chi Academy : From the Seattle Times
Ancient workout's 'forms' put meditation in motion: Deceptively simple tai chi clears mind, helps balanceSunday, December 22, 2002 The last shopping weekend before Christmas found a handful of adults balancing their chi in the Seattle studio of Yi Jiao Hong. Tai chi, sometimes translated as "grand ultimate boxing" isn't really a drop-in style of exercise. Seemingly simple movements belie what are actually the foundations of ancient Chinese martial arts. "It looks like nothing is going on, but a lot is going on," said Jeanne Bretschneider, 61, of Tukwila, who took up tai chi to mend an injured knee. She stuck with it when she found it worked the mind as well. "It's definitely a moving meditation. Your mind totally empties out," she said. Like yoga and pilates, tai chi is gaining popularity in the U.S. Drawing not only the injured and the stressed, its low-impact movements also attract those seeking the spiritual side of exercise. "People are coming and staying," said Jason Mix, who runs the martial-arts program at the Enso Center for International Arts in Redmond. "It used to be they came for a couple of months and got what they can out of it." Improved balance is one upshot of tai chi. A study of older Americans by Emory University found seniors who practiced tai chi gained a better sense of balance. The upstairs studio of the Chinese Wushu & Tai Chi Academy is in the Chinatown International District on South King Street. It's an old room with lavender carpet, but airy and sunny. The mechanical hack of a wall-unit heater masked sounds from the street below. In the class of 12, large men looked dainty and small women oozed power as they shifted back and forth, left and right, crouching and twisting, slowly executing tai chi movements, or "forms." "My husband says it's like fighting an invisible ninja your exact height, very, very slowly," said student Kate Grubb, 45, who likes the sense of balance tai chi gives her. Students worked through some of the easier sequences, with 24, 40 and 85 forms apiece. They worked up to form 17, called "Step Back to Repulse the Monkey." It didn't look too difficult, but some students lost their balance and stepped out of the movement. "If you do it right, it's really good exercise," said student Pauline Zeestraten. Hong, the instructor, is a world-recognized tai chi champion who placed first in the U.S. in 1997 and seventh in a world competition in 1999. A native of China, Hong came to the U.S. in 1994. She runs the studio in Chinatown and teaches seminars throughout Seattle. "It basically is good for everyone," said Hong. At the end of the class, her students were visibly relaxed. "It's like you've been holding your breath all day," said Grubb.
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