THE TEACHER

I began T’ai Chi at my local Adult Education Centre in Boscombe, Bournemouth when I was about 14 years old. The class was run by a great Yang Style teacher called Richard Siwiak, who is still teaching and working with T’ai Chi in York. His classes were very friendly and it was easy to learn well in the supportive, calm atmosphere. That year, and for a further six yearly retreats during the following 15 years, I studied Yang Style T’ai Chi and meditation at Newbold House (part of the Findhorn Foundation) with Kajedo Wanderer, a student of Petra and Toyo Kobayashi, students of Dr Chi. Kajedo’s ‘Gentle Warrior’ courses were excellent, and I am still in touch with him and am grateful for his breadth of teaching, especially for emphasising T’ai Chi principles in action in everyday life.

I have been studying T’ai Chi with Mark Raudva at The T’ai Chi Centre since 2001. I attend his classes, workshops and intensives and assist whenever needed. The syllabus of Great River is based on what I have learned, and continue to study, with Master Raudva. I am deeply indebted to my teacher for his patience and understanding in teaching me this wonderful art.

I moved to Scotland for five years to build a recording studio, record and tour with my band. Whilst there, I started a beginners class, mainly so I had folks to do T’ai Chi with. I had looked around for a class to join, but found nothing to compare with The T’ai Chi Centre. Slowly my classes grew and I continued studying by travelling the 1200 mile round trip to London for 121s every 2 months or so. After a while I began to organise workshops for my students with my teacher, at my home. After I left Scotland we continued these workshops at other student’s homes, and then at local halls, when we outgrew the houses. I continue to organise these events, and the 5th Annual Intensive was held in July 2010 at Fetternear Hall, with 27 attendees.

During 2006-7 I attended the BTCCA weekend workshops with several of my Scottish students, as well as a term of evening classes with Grandmaster John Kells along with some of my colleagues from The T'ai Chi Centre. With permission from my teacher, and purely for my own interest and research, I attended a year of regular London workshops with the Chen Style Master Wang Hai-Jun, with whom I learned the Chen Short Form at Taichi Caledonia in 2007. At these monthly classes we studied the Lao-Jia (Old Frame), a little push hands and silk-reeling. I moved back to London in 2007 and was asked to take over a long-running class in Hackney by T'ai Chi Master Steven Moore, when he emigrated to Israel. Since then I started teaching 121 sessions with private students and small groups. My senior students took over instructing beginners' classes in Aberdeenshire and I visit monthly to teach them and to run workshops.

I was invited to teach T'ai Chi to the physical theatre students at Central School of Speech and Drama from January - March 2009. Great River also runs a lunchtime class for Amnesty International as well as providing occasional demonstrations and special classes for local schools and other organisations, groups, and firms such as Procter and Gamble. I attended four weekend UK workshops held by Canadian T'ai Chi Master Sam Masich. I attended Hanover Push Hands Meet 2008 and Taichi Caledonia in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. Among the notable teachers with whom I studied for the four-day sessions are Fernando Chedel, Faye Li Yip, and Henk Janssen.