The Dragon's Head Blog

  After attending the the Lok Hup workshop at the Fenway, I travelled, via Miami, to the Caribbean island of Aruba for the First Anniversary of the centre there. Irena the President and other members told me about how they had raised funds for the new building over the last 17 years. They all seemed so […]

Coming to the International Centre in Orangeville as a volunteer, I didn’t know what to expect or what I would be doing for the next six months. It only took a couple weeks for me to be pulled into the FLK Archive Project. Since I’m currently living at the International Centre, Southern Ontario seemed like […]

The International Center Florida continues renovations.  Now renovations have begun on Building C. The terrazzo floor located on the main floor is in the process of being resurfaced. Building A work continues with framing crews working throughout and a portion of the patio wall was removed to make access for the new ADA (Americans with […]

During the week of Dec 7, 2015 the Ottawa Branch held their third annual Christmas Cookie Bake Fundraiser. The Cookie Bake has been a great success growing from 125 dozen orders for cookies the first year to 275 dozen orders the second and this year we had a huge demand for cookies with orders for […]

In November 2014 I accepted an invitation from the International Directors for an extended stay in Orangeville. The hardest bit was leaving my family for 9 weeks; they are grownups and live independent lives but it was still difficult and I missed the regular contact. We hadn’t been separated for that length of time before; […]

A study by Dr. Wang to evaluate the effectiveness of Tai Chi in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms concluded that tai chi reduces pain and improves physical function, self-efficacy, depression, and health-related quality of life for knee OA.   “Dr Wang has been quoted as saying: “The value of Tai Chi goes beyond physical therapy because […]

On the 14th of November, with an intensive and a banquet, we celebrated in Sopron the 10th anniversary of the founding of the first club in Hungary to practice Taoist Tai Chi® arts. Members from all five locations (Eger, Győr, Budapest, Fertőszentmiklos and Sopron) were represented among the 108 participants who took part in the […]

We celebrated this banquet on Saturday, October 17th, 2015. As usual, the final preparations began in the afternoon with people helping to set up and decorate after sharing lunch together. Around 70 guests started gathering at 5.30pm, including many special guests like several doctors who have been recommending us to their patients, and the board […]

With an Intensive in the morning followed by Potluck lunch our evening meal was prepared by Aberdeen Angus, Highlands and Islands and Edinburgh participants. Guests were greeted with a very palatable non-alcoholic punch and canapes around the Christmas tree; the tree was set up by the Friday morning class. A delicious meal with all the […]

International Center Florida Construction Update for the week ending Dec 6, 2015 Roofing has begun! Photos below are of the NW wing of the International Center Florida. New window openings are being prepared to accommodate hurricane resistant windows. 1st floor structural repairs are continuing on the first floor. Three teams of carpenters are working in the […]

Des participants de plusieurs sections de la Région de l’Est (Canada) se sont déplacés pour la Journée des aînés qui a eu lieu vendredi dernier à Longueuil. Parmi la trentaine de participants présents, plusieurs ont constaté à quel point ils avaient réussi à travailler plus en profondeur après une journée de tai chi, comparativement à […]

L’emplacement de St-Hubert (Région de l’Est) a reçu, trié et distribué aujourd’hui près de 200 kilos de fromages pour leur levée de fonds annuelle de coffrets-cadeaux, juste à temps pour les Fêtes. Plus de 175 coffrets ont été achetés et la levée de fonds totalise 1 675 $, bravo aux participants qui avaient l’air ravis […]

For Ireland’s 3rd Tai-chi-athon in Ballina 71 participants gathered together throughout Saturday 29th November in a constant cycle of sets. Working together in harmony we benefitted ourselves whilst raising funds for our International centre in Florida.

Thanks to all who participated in the cooking in Florida the past 2 weeks. It was hard work, but a job well done! Its hard to believe but we served over 2000 meals during two workshops.  Thanks to our local kitchen friends for catering us lunch on Saturday from Home Plate, and our favourite local Walt […]

The brains and bodies of identical twins were compared over ten years and for the first time, a connection has been found between power in the lower limbs and healthy cognitive ageing. So, if you need a little extra motivation to get up and do your danyu’s (or any of our moves!) ….. Read article published on […]

Last weekend, the annual Holiday Banquet took place at the Dim Sum King in Toronto. Many participants, friends, family members, musicians and of course Santa Claus joined the party. Check out the pictures! 

On Wednesday, November 18, fourteen Stratford Branch participants enjoyed the tour arranged by the Stratford Branch Seniors Committee. Our tour was conducted by a festival volunteer. We were privileged to visit the Archives containing clippings, costumes, and props from the beginning of the Festival. The collection of costumes, furniture and props in the warehouse was […]

That there is much more than the moves learned during a program is something that we have known for a long time. But knowing and understanding are two different things. We know all about picking up people from the airport and getting them assigned to a bed because typically we are the ones being picked […]

Construction inside of Building A and surrounding property is increasing…. Trees that had been scheduled for removal in the new parking lot are being removed to make room for more heavy equipment. Workers are continuing to rebuild the first floor and new elevator shaft that is taking the place of the old stairwell. New test […]

Australian members celebrated twenty-five years of practising Taoist Arts in Sydney on November 7th, 2015. Fifty participants enjoyed a national workshop during the day. Members attended from ACT, SA, QLD, NSW and WA. At a banquet in the evening, sixty people, including a representative for the Premier of New South Wales State Government, a Director […]