The Dragon's Head Blog

The Winnipeg branch celebrated Chinese New Year on February 24th, 2018 at a local Chinese restaurant. Nearly ninety of us enjoyed nine different Chinese dishes of delicious food which left us extremely full.  However we managed to find room for the oranges and custard tarts for dessert.   The master of ceremonies shared many of […]

Volunteers and staff prepared for the joyous Lantern Festival for days and weeks beforehand. The kitchen was busy into the night on Thursday so that Friday was not so hectic. The lights blazing in the practice hall were a warm beacon all Friday night until Saturday dawned chill and bright and clear. As visitors, guests […]

On February 24th the participants of the Windsor branch in Ontario, Canada came together to celebrate the Chinese New Year, the year of the Earth Dog. Fully 110 participants gathered to share a delicious meal while renewing connections with family and friends from all locations around the Windsor-Detroit area. Windsor Tecumseh MP Cheryl Hardcastle joined […]

Something’s cooking in Majorca where after years of trials and tribulations the building owned by the Society in Palma now has a fully operational kitchen. It was a long and winding road, starting with winning over the neighbors and raising the funds. But everybody rallied to the cause and finally the big day arrived. The […]

Fung Loy Kok Taoist Tai Chi® Western Region in Canada warmly welcomed the President of Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism, Marsha Eberhardt, as we celebrated the Year of the Dog with a national program on February 24 and 25, 2018. The program was preceded by a delicious Chinese New Year banquet held in the […]

On February 24 -25 Ottawa Branch welcomed participants from the Pacific Region, Peterborough Branch and Kingston Branch to celebrate the Year of the Dog with a Chinese New Year Banquet and a National Program at the Ottawa Branch Centre. MP Anita Vandenbeld, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, and Arnprior Councillor Daniel Lynch joined our celebration and […]

There were 57 members from Belgium and the Netherlands who gathered to celebrate the Year of the Earth Dog.  The day started with an intensive, focusing on softness of the hands, continuity of the moves and how the roundness can help us find our feet, giving a stronger structure to our foundations.  Anchored well in […]

When the international workshop day began there was chanting in the morning for those who wanted to do it, followed by quiet sitting and then two sets, making for a very peaceful, soft start to the day. Then it was time for lunch.     In the afternoons we worked on circles and coiling in […]

On February 17/18, the Atlantic Region in Canada celebrated the Year of the Dog with a workshop and a banquet. Participants worked hard on don yus, tor yus and segments of the set during the day. Members of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly, Tony Ince, Larry Harrison, Brendon Maquire and Halifax councillor Shawn Leary joined […]

On Saturday February 17 participants from the Windsor, Ontario branch answered questions and discussed different topics on Taoist Tai Chi® practice. Topics included building a strong foundation, mind and body connection, balance and harmony, health benefits, the importance of daily practice, and benefits for both younger and older practitioners. Upcoming open houses and new classes were discussed in the […]

The Portland branch celebrated the Chinese New Year with lots of energy and a great spirit of community.  As our branch grows so does this event.  For weeks, days and especially in the last hours before the event the branch was a beehive of creative activity.  The decibel level was high during the social hour […]

Jackie Mei from the Ithaca, New York branch offered a class in making dumplings. People bought raffle tickets and the lucky eight people chosen made a couple of hundred dumplings.  Some of them they ate right away but most were the appetizers at the branch’s Chinese New Year banquet on Saturday.  Money was raised for the […]

Weightshifting, smiling and diligent practice: The difference in Birgit’s tor-yu from last year until today couldn’t be more significant, as Andrew pointed out to us at the International Instructors Workshop in Helmond. From having to learn how to walk using donyus and toryus to demonstrating the toryu to all of us – it required effort […]

During my regular class people asked me about the workshop. I realized how different it was. Although we seemed to practice less, much has changed for me. Surprisingly, I am able to remember the “new things” achieved during the international workshop. They pop up on their own :-). Moreover, I am already able to integrate […]

As tradition dictates Prague hosts the first international workshop in Europe and did so last month.  Almost 230 participants from nine countries went to the heart of Europe. Many of them were prodded by the good intentions that we make at the beginning of each new year, wanting to do something beneficial for our health. […]

Participants from all over the USA and Canada came together to participate in the weekend workshop lead by Joé Thibault and Nicole Morency.  Dr. Tatiana Huguenin from the Sarasota branch also gave a brief presentation on how Taoist Tai Chi® practice affects the body. Participants had many wonderful things to say after the program. “A […]

On February 10 and 11, we explored the importance of coiling and dropping in various foundation exercises and moves of the set. It was the first international workshop in the area of Lausanne, Switzerland and a great adventure we happily shared with 68 participants from 11 different countries.  This is just a small sample of […]

On February 3rd a pancake brunch was enjoyed by Stratford’s Saturday morning continuing class and the weekend beginner class which ran Friday evening and Saturday. The seniors’ committee organized a selection of three kinds of pancakes plus bacon, fruit and coffee. Our own maple syrup from the International Centre made everything taste that much more […]

The Dunedin branch held its annual high tea this past Tuesday. Ladies wore their best hats and gentlemen wore suits. We started with lovely British tea and scones freshly baked by our participants. They were followed by a variety of tea sandwiches and ended with fresh Florida strawberries — plain and chocolate-dipped of course.  During all of this […]