The Dragon's Head Blog

117 members from 10 countries happily practising Taoist Tai Chi in Ballina, Ireland. We began the morning with chanting, The 10,000 Buddhist Sutra and started the workshop with 2 sets followed by Standing Meditation. Even the hall was smiling after our 3rd morning of the Ireland International Workshop. Smiles continued as we did our tasks. Many hands […]

It matters not how strait the gate How charged with punishment the scroll, I am a master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.                 (from Invictus, W. E. Henley)   Hello, my name is Simona and since last year I decided to commit to the practice of Tai Chi because I […]

On the 27th of May 2017, 54 members were gathered in Oslo for a one-day intensive followed by a banquet in the evening to celebrate ten years of Taoist Tai Chi® practice in Norway. Members were gathered from Scandinavia, Great Britain, Italy and Slovakia. We were grateful to receive instruction from a representative from the European Regional […]

Jook Lei Sahng Yet Fai Lok (Happy Birthday), Tony was sung repeatedly during our regular classes while practicing tor-yus and dan-yus. Both came in handy as we celebrated Tony Kwong’s birthday at our June 3rd to June 4th international workshop of Taoist Tai Chi® arts in Pleasant Hill, California. There were over 100 participants from Texas, […]

Over 100 people, including 25 new participants, enjoyed a beginners’ weekend at the European Centre in Colchester. While the weather was unusually hot, the group succeeded in getting all the way through the set. There was also some storytelling about Master Moy and how the Fung Loy Kok Taoist Tai Chi® arts came to Great […]

There were 120 participants who spent the last weekend in May, 2017 attending a central region program at the International Centre near Orangeville, Ontario. Program leaders John Balinski and Jim Gazzard emphasized the importance of learning by watching so that we can disengage our “thinking” mind and access our “feeling” mind. Although the weekend started […]

Denver, Colorado hosted just under 100 participants for the June 10-11 international workshop with Tony Kwong. We started with an invigorating session of tor-yus and then another one of dan-yus. Next,Tony led us through the first 17 moves of the set. Later, he surprised us by asking the group “what move in the set do […]

During the last fortnight we were fortunate to have two opportunities to explore chanting for health in two-hour sessions on Saturday afternoons. We chant sutras twice a week at the clubhouse, but these sessions provide another type of opportunity to gain an introduction to these arts. For some it was the first experience of chanting […]

The Kingston Heritage has reported on a demo tour by Kingston participants in Ontario, Canada, to celebrate their 40th anniversary. “We wanted to get out in the community and really show people what we are all about,”  Kingston branch leader Terry Kirkham told the news organisation. “We want to share what we do and the […]

  A sunny afternoon in early June found 56 participants from the southwest Ontario area performing a tai chi set outdoors for all passersby to enjoy. The southwest instructor meeting started with the set and then moved back inside to engage in discussions on donations,the Eight Virtues and the health recovery program. Each of the […]

    Monday 12th June was the first day the long-awaited renovations started. These first two days the work has been mainly demolition on the top floor. There is lots of noise and dust to put up with.  But how great it will look in September!

It was a busy weekend at the Southern European Centre: a rich intensive with around 30 members from different branches, followed by a refreshing and nutritious meal. And for the rest of the weekend, many helping hands to finish clearing things up so all the areas are ready for the renovations. But, of course, we still […]

Time is reporting that while tai chi may look mundane—even boring to some—experts who’ve studied it say its benefits are vast and hard to oversell. It also holds up when compared to other more strenuous types of exercise. It says one study in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded that tai chi was nearly as […]

How many times have we heard elbows down? How many times have we heard push up or hands first? Not enough we hope, as there is always more. There is a profoundness in the simplicity of instruction that can help connect the dots of what we have been working on during a period of time. […]

A new survey by American magazine Consumer Reports  of more than 3500 adults who have had back pain in the last three years confirms that tai chi helps provide relief. Nearly 90 per cent of respondents who used tai chi for back pain (or yoga or a similar exercise) found it helpful. In comparison, only […]

                          Thank you to the 3,000+ USA participants who completed the health questionnaire. Your support of this project made it an overwhelming success and provided our organization with a wealth of information demonstrating the benefits of Taoist Tai Chi® practice. The summary report […]

Construction is underway at the International Center Florida in the southwest wing. After many long weeks of waiting, the steel has arrived. The local osprey enjoy having dinner atop the 30-foot tall beams. Site work on the north side of the building has brought the attention of the neighbors back to the site. Many gather […]

                      The International Center Florida hosted the a sword program lead by Dr. Karen Laughlin, over the Memorial Day holiday. Over 82 participants joined in the fun. For many, this was their first workshop. First-time participants reflect:   I took sword just to have fun. […]

The Vancouver branch raised approximately $800 during our Marathon of Moves event on May 18. Seventy people participated in the day, which involved 10.5 hours of continuous sets at the Pacific Region Centre. People came and went, with as few as two or three people doing sets, and as many as 25, and always a […]

As the doors of the practice hall opened the warm wind wafted in giving new life to the space. The tai chi practitioners filtered in a few at a time on this lovely spring day. I was about to come alive again! I am the twenty-legged green dragon resident at the International Taoist Tai Chi […]