Fall begins

Now that the Olympics is over it's back to the present and getting into gear for the new semester at City College........which I am really happy that they finally have finished most of the renovation on campus..........the school is  finally  using up the money voted  for capital development ........we got a new recreation facility.....which I have inquired into the possibility of having classes in.......normally my Taiji Class on Campus practices in the Cloud Circle Plaza..........which newly renovated is very spacious.........but it lacks shade and won't protect us when it rains........I will get the students started with Taiji Qigong this week.....and work on the form..........which this semester will be Sun Taiji 1..................total enrollment in my class about 75 so far............goal to get about 200.........which doesn't seem that impossible......there is a lot of interest .......some of it generated by the Olympics!

Speaking of the Olympics, the IOC just announced that it has rejected Karate's bid to be part of the 2012 Olympics in London.  The IOC also said that for the 2016 Games there will be two slots for new sports....and they have notified the following associations that they may apply: golf,softball,baseball,rugby, squash, karate, and roller sports would be considered.......but no wushu still.  The IOC will probably make a decision during a meeting in late 2009.  Certainly, this means Wushu has a lot more work to do before it can be recognized as an international sport......just consider that wushu is still only practiced in this country by at most a thousand athletes...........though if you add Taiji the number goes up.........but China is trying to steer the Taij Community to the Competition Taiji.........which is just not Taiji.................it's slow motion Chang Quan........with it's jumps and twists........lol..........this completely cuts off Taiji from it's roots.......which are as a way of healing and improving health.........the competition Taiji is a good way to blast out your knees and ankles................offers nothing for your health and no longevity as an athlete........................so instead of creating a sport accessible to everyone wushu has become an elitist extreme sport............wushu was created by the masses to improve health and protect life and limb.........the contemporary sport has wandered away from this objective............and partly to blame is the desire to make it an Olympic Sport........the leaders in the CWA.......merely looked at how other sports were organized and just tried to graft rules and organizations on wushu........but I do think Wushu must find it's own way......so we'll see where it goes in the future.

This the newly rennovated Cloud Circle where our Taiji Class will practice each week....too bad they took aweay the shade.......use to be higher trees here.

On the other side of the Circle is the Science building.......they have enlarged the whole area so that I should have no problem practicing Taiji here.

Well, gotta go and prepare for class................hoped everyone enjoyed the Games............for 16 days only thing to worry about was to compete...............the world would be so much better if that was all we did!!  By the way, now it is our turn to take a shot at change........let's elect  Obama in 2008!  Cya!!