Vivian and her sister began Tai Chi classes in 1997 or 1998.  They did two terms and Vivian enjoyed it immensely.  “The crazy thing is,” she says, “I started because I’d just begun school teaching and it was very stressful.  I had terrible headaches and I thought Tai Chi might be helpful.  It seemed like a wholistic solution and I thought it sounded good.  It was but I stopped after two terms because I was too stressed out to keep attending lessons.  It was mad.  The headaches actually stopped while I was at the classes.  I should have kept going.”

She met her partner, James, soon after and last year they decided to come along because it was something they could do together.
           “People kept mentioning it.  There’s a shop in Manuka which has the pamphlets and the lady was very enthusiastic, saying how good it is and we should go.”
           Neither realised the other had already been to the Academy’s classes.  James had started way back in the early eighties when Chief Instructor Brett Wagland first began teaching in Canberra.  He’d practised for several years, even reaching the level of learning the sword form.  He too has begun using the exercises as a means of alleviating discomfort, in his case, caused by indigestion.
           “James likes the chest stretching movements.  I suppose we both adapt the exercises to suit our needs.”

Now in the Refinement level, Vivian and James usually attend two classes each week.

“I try to practise four or five days in the week.  We hardly ever find time to practise together but when we do, we go through the Hun Yuan Qigong.  When I practise on my own I don’t do the Qigong, which is silly because I love it.  I don’t know why I don’t practise it by myself.  I love doing it in class.  I try to incorporate the feeling into the exercises I do during the day, though.

I never had too much trouble with the co-ordination aspect.  It’s the sequence, the memory, that was a problem.  I suppose more practice would solve that but it was Level Two I found most challenging, I couldn’t remember the pattern.”

Since resuming classes, Vivian has noticed increased flexibility in her shoulders and her knees don’t make such strange noises when she bends now.  The headaches caused by stress sometimes recur if she is under pressure in her studies but they are far less frequent.  She knows that a Tai Chi session will alleviate the pain.  

Having reached Refinement level (completed the form), Vivian is enjoying exploring the intricacies of the form.  She is able to appreciate the areas she needs to work on in her own movements and understand why certain aspects are not quite right yet.

“I think I’m finally beginning to feel what Fontane means by ‘sitting’ into the stance and using my waist more.  The movements feel quite different.  Going over the form in detail, I see just how far off base I was at first.  It’s amazing.” 

Vivian is working on her graduation piece, a silver tea service.  One of the objects is a tea strainer with a delicate pattern of tiny holes and a handle which will partially impede the flow from the teapot.  “I want the act of pouring the tea to be slow and thoughtful.  I want the user to be aware of the action, to concentrate on that moment, not just fill the cup and move on.  I deliberately made the strainer so the tea can’t be poured quickly.  It’s like Tai Chi.” 

(This is an actual interview, but the names have been changed for reasons of privacy.)

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