Raised in Rank - Don Nonini

A belated congratulations to Don Nonini for a very successful Red Sash Test!

Supported by his partner, Sandy Smith-Nonini, Don finished the year 2023 by testing for his Red Sash, leading his classmates in the entire Wudangshan 108 Taijiquan form. This is a major accomplishment that Don has worked towards steadily for the last couple years.

Learning and performing the entire long form take patience, dedication and determination. And Don has sailed through with flying colors.

Congratulations to Don, who raises our rank when he raises his own. He is a great help to his fellow classmates and helps encourage us in our (poor!) pronunciation of the Chinese terms we attempt to use.

As we all know - NOW the true learning really begins!!

Congrats to Danny R!!

Congrats to Danny Rappleyea on his successful Red Sash Test!!

Danny has been working diligently to learn the entire Liehubafa form and the hard work has paid off! On December 6th, 2023, Danny lead his form class in the entire form and passed his short vocabulary test.

Danny is an great example of making progress even though schedules might get in the way. When he’s out of town and not able to come to classes, he always comes back well practiced and ready for a new posture.

This accomplishment is also a credit to his senior student. When one of us is raised in rank, we all are. Steve Cox, Susanna Henley, and Dorothy Wright can stand proudly with him!!

Congratulations again to Danny! As you know, the learning really begins at this point. And we all look forward to learning together - the fun is in the details!!

Glossary of Chinese Terms, Names and Phrases

Any student of LaoMa’s will be very familiar with his admonishment to use a Chinese dictionary to look up terms for yourself! And he was committed to providing documentation that would allow students follow his example.

He also wanted information to be easy to find and available to his students - so they could start begining to assess things for themselves and build a deeper knowledge of the martial arts world and larger culture.

Many students who have attempted to follow this lead will be familiar with the difficulty finding some definitions and terms used frequently. It’s even harder for those used infrequently!

In order to make it easier, LaoMa and his senior students compiled a Glossary of Chinese Terms, Names and Phrases into one spot. As his Number One, I feel it important to continue this tradition and have this resource available to anyone who would find it valuable. So we’ve done a new printing of the collection and have it available for those who would like a copy.

This glossary contains 94 pages of terms, with Chinese characters, pinyin and often Wade-Giles romanizations, plus tones and definitions and a newly introduced index. It is the most extensive glossary of terms useful to taiji students that we know of. The table of contents is presented here. Click here to view sample pages.

His summary of this document is below or you can read about it on our website here. Please contact me if you’d like a copy. They are $25.

A unique reference work with a short history of romanization systems, a bibliography of 19 sources, and the characters, pinyin, and tones for over 640 Chinese names and terms related to the study of Taijiquan, arranged by category. An invaluable aid for students interested in deepening their understanding of Chinese language and culture.

This glossary contains 94 pages of terms, with Chinese characters, pinyin and often Wade-Giles romanizations, plus tones and definitions and a newly introduced index. It is the most extensive glossary of terms useful to taiji students that we know of. The table of contents is presented here. Click here to view sample pages.

Chinese terms are in the pinyin romanization. Terms in brackets, [ ], are in the Wade-Giles romanization, or in the romanization most often seen in literature. The names of notable Chinese persons are in the romanization most commonly seen in literature.

A limitation in the computer program that was used to create this document prevents the displaying of a tone mark on an uppercase letter. In those cases where this occurs in this document, we have used a lowercase letter with the proper tone mark, even though it may make the word or phrase appear unusual. In addition, the Chinese characters for the Taijiquan techniques lu and lie are specific to Taijiquan and are not generally available in computer fonts. In this document, we have substituted those characters most often used by Chinese Taijiquan players when they refer to these techniques in computer-generated documents.

This glossary is a living document. The authors welcome suggestions and additions. Readers may contact LaoMa with comments regarding this glossary.

Raise in Rank - Brian White Red Sash

I’m delighted to congratulate Brian White on a very successful Red Sash test!

Brian completed the first stage of learning taiji by completed and performing the complete Wudangshan 108 Taiji long form on Sept 18th - a little shy of his 2 year anniversary!

Janice, his wife, joined his classmate to cheer on the performance.

Last week, Brian completed all the vocabulary recitation that goes along with the performance part of the test and we were happy to wrap up the dantian in a new Red Sash!!

As LaoMa would say “NOW is when your learning starts”.

Pit Fired Artwork

We wanted to share an update of our favorite potter’s work.

These days Selden Lamoureux, of Earth Ox Pottery, has been working with pit fired pieces and figures that are striking. Many of you will know Selden as LaoMa’s wife. But I am thrilled know her as friend and a fantastic potter!!

You can catch her work on her website: Earth Ox Pottery.

Her work has brought joy to so many hours in the kitchen and drinking coffee in the mornings for us. And I’m blown away with the depths she is achieving with her pit fired work - the pieces are striking.

Or on the Chatham Artists Guild’s Studio Tour. She is number is 38, and the location is 508 Thompson St (in Pittsboro).

Tour dates are the First Two Weekends in December:

Saturdays (December 2nd & 9th) 10am - 5pm

Sundays (December 3rd & 10th) Noon - 5pm

Steve Cox: Raise in Rank!

A big congratulations to Steve Cox for completing Yellow Sash!! After many years of study, I’m so happy to be able to officially recognize his hard work and dedication to our art form.

We are all lucky to have Steve with us in classes. He is dedicated and focused with a curious and critical mind that serves all taiji players well! His classmates also benefit from such a patient elder brother!

We recently reinstated the advancement program based off of the program that was originally established for Magic Tortoise with Dr. Jay and LaoMa. The program provides a good guide to levels of study and can give students a pathway through the vast components of taijiquan!

Yellow sash indicates growth in taiji principles.

A student is eligible to wear the yellow (earth) sash when they are able to demonstrate significant command of internal principles in form: empty stepping, relaxation, proper structure and posture, good stance work, whole body movement, matching, hip mobility, knee stability, lightness and agility as examples.

Knives, Bows, Arrows and Practice

Dao by John Neu

Left to right: John Neu, Wanda Neu, Dorothy Wright, Violet Anderson

As many people know -there is NOTHING like having the right tool for the job. This holiday l got the rare treat of someone creating that for me and his classmates.

Let me take a second to show off the new practice daos (knifes) that John Neu made for myself, Dorothy and Wanda. There is nothing like a perfect weapon to make you feel like a form is elevated!

For those that don't know John, he is a very skilled woodworker who also happens to be one of our senior students. He also that entertains us with so many colorful thoughts and stories. John is also is a very dedicated student of Japanese archery - kyudo. He recently shared this short blurp with me. While he wrote this about his kyudo study, I see it as a good way to approach training in any discipline and thought this the perfect time to share this with you all.

Why Kyudo (or anything)? 

January 4, 2022 

It starts with a little boy who likes bows and arrows: The arrow made of a cat-tail stalk with a beef-bone point is in mid-flight towards a stump thirty yards away. Too far. Impossibly far. But it is going to hit. He knows. An acquaintance presuming the role of a teacher once said: ”Your Kyudo is no better than my nine-year old son’s skateboard obsession.” I say: ”Then I am so happy for Lance.” Happy? Why? In formal practices, I’ve heard about ”deep intimacy with your own body.” What is that? I also heard: ”Many trees in the forest, like us. Now descend through the trunk of any one of these into the subterranean net of living tendrils. Down there, the identity of ’this tree’ is lost. Even its ’thingness’ dissolves into energy and movement.” For the Kyudoka with his years of formal training, may his Kai (full draw) be just such a descent as this. Like the little boy, but different. 

May we all feel our energy sink to our roots to mingle together!

Out over my skis

Yesterday I got out over my skis.  For those who don’t know the term – it means ahead of myself.  My mind started adding up all the tasks that need to be done for work and I started leaning forward into it.  Anticipating the pandemonium that might set in as tedious and cumbersome tasks all collided into my schedule at the same time, I got caught in a mental tizzy.

Students in my classes know these as things we don’t do – get ahead of yourself, anticipate, lean.

We know that taiji is a martial art.  We talk about it all the time in classes.  When we interact with other people with push hands, or just talk about it – what are the things we say….?  Stay centered in yourself, Don’t lean forward, Don’t anticipate your next move in form or your opponent’s next move until they make it.

One of my favorites is that we don’t go to them – they come to us!!  We don’t reach out, compromising our own form while we try to grab an arm… No – we HOLD and wait for them to make the move and come to us.

Don’t rush towards problems tomorrow

Over the years of attempting to practice taiji, I’ve found it creeping into my daily life in many ways.  Taiji isn’t just a way of standing and moving.  The philosophy that our art is based in can help us navigate our lives – at least it can if we stop long enough to figure out how to apply it.  Unfortunately, we don’t always slow down and recognize when we’re failing to apply our weekly lessons to our daily life. 

Yesterday, I failed to listen to my own lessons.  Instead of waiting for these potential issues to manifest themselves, I cultivated the chaos, reaching out and grabbing issues that weren’t here yet.  When I finally stopped and thought, ‘From the position I’m in now, how do I prepare for if these issues finally reach my desk?’ And then taiji brain kicked. 

Stay Centered… Don’t Reach - if the problems want to come, the know how to get there.

What would taiji do? We make sure our posture is correct; that we’re grounded.  And then we wait in the position you’re in for the force to meet you.   Reacting too soon creates chaos in your own mind and body.  Reacting to late creates chaos in your own mind and body.  Don’t lean, don’t anticipate, just be mental aware and watch for change.  Don’t respond to change that isn’t there… wait for the change – then respond.

Don’t be like me…  Instead remember our weekly lessons in standing up straight and not reaching out to draw opponents close.  If they want to pass us by, we let them.   

Can you Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail?

The ever elusive Sparrow. Sometimes it feels as if it is not for mere mortals to grasp the tail… surely those who manage to do so have been blessed by celestials.

Thanks to our fabulous student Steve Cox for sharing this delightful work of art! And for sending us into our weekend with beauty and a smile on our face!

Join us on Saturday and we’ll be attempting our less graceful attempts to capture that tail!

Helping LaoMa Celebrate 80

Today my dearest friend and mentor would have been celebrating his 80th birthday.

LaoMa and Selden would be filling their house with Magnolia blossoms that envelope you in the most beautiful fragrance when you went into their home this time of year. I remember him telling me once that I would never be able to forget when his birthday was because the blooms would always remind me. Just like him to believe a whole species of tree was put here just to remind the world that he had been born this time of year.

And, often, he got his way when he wanted something.

Thus begins a new tradition of walking through neighborhood and capturing images of “LaoMa Flowers”. May we all have the time stop and smell the flowers today - remembering his stories of days as a big nose foreigner in China, his passion that prompted him bring back many wonderful forms, his fondness of the “guess what I’m thinking” game as he taught classes, his very big heart, his sharp tongue, his disappointments and his larger that life laugh that would envelope us all.

Today, I celebrate all the things he taught me, all the off-color jokes that made me cringe, all the lectures that never seemed to end, all the class-time story hours, all the (not so gentle) reminders that I still had so much work to do, all the pride he had in his students, all the encouragement and admonishment he used to bolster us with, and all the never ending insistence that I was still to fast.

Today I ran cane… just a little too fast …

Picture it! - Memory Strategy

One of the main problems we face in learning a form is remembering what comes next. We have all been there - frozen in a posture, wracking our brain for what the next move is. If your teacher is looking at you, it’s even worse - the panic and embarrassment will almost certainly prevent any quick retrieval from that memory archive currently locked to you!

What to do….

Dorothy Wright has created a memory device for Liuhebafa! She’s drawn stories for each section. Liuhebafa consists of 12 groupings of postures, each with very colorful names. By creating a picture for each posture, Dorothy has an ingenious representation of each section in her mind!

Remember when we were kids and had to find a picture? Can you find each posture name for the first section?

 1.   STOP CART ASK ROAD                                         

2.   REIN IN HORSE CLIFF EDGE                   

3.   CLOSE GATE PUSH MOON                                    

4.   STIR CLOUDS SEE SUN                                        

5.   REIN IN HORSE CLIFF EDGE                              

6.   PLUCK STAR CHANGE BIG DIPPER                    

7.   WILD GEESE & SWAN FLY AS PAIR                    

For fun, we’ll share these over the next weeks! Dorothy has insisted these are only sketches!! But they are so much fun - we hope you enjoy them with us!

Tranquility and Taiji Training Effecting Daily Life

Taiji is commonly practiced for health and mediation. Moving our bodies regularly improves our health! Standing on one leg is good balance practice. Stance work strengthens our legs. Moving slowly with full attention is very meditative. And on and on….. The benefits of practicing taiji are many and can be expounded upon at length by many - those that practice and those that don’t. I enjoy hearing them all and often agree (who doesn’t like to hear that their favorite activity heals all ills and soothes all souls!) However, often these benefits feel superficial to the deep internal training that can happen with a continued and focused practice.

I rarely run across good explanations of how our minds in our daily lives are impacted by our taiji practice. Brisbane Chen Tai Chi has managed to do just that here. This depiction is a near perfect representation of how earning to do form with mental relaxation sneaks into the rest of our lives.

And, as a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll end mine here and leave you with these images.

You can follow Brisbane Chen Tai Chi on facebook at :https://www.facebook.com/Brisbane-Chen-Tai-Chi-128273090553599/?__tn__=-UC*F

In Memory of Ron Thrower

It is with great sadness that we must share the passing of Ron Thrower, good friend, dedicated student, and wise mentor. Ron was a longtime student of taijiquan at the Magic Tortoise School having studied Chen Style with Dr. Jay and Wudangshan 108 style and tuishou with LaoMa. Ron was always generous with his knowledge and skill, mentoring many of us from newbie status to seasoned senior student. He often assisted with teaching form for many years at the Raleigh Tuesday class, and whenever one was paired up with him in tuishou class one could expect to have a good opportunity to learn. Outside of class, Ron participated in weekly taiji meetups on Sundays at the Raleigh Rose Garden and regularly attended Push Hands events around the RTP area. 

Ron owned Reef And Ridge Sports, a diving shop on Hillsborough Street across from the fairgrounds. He was always glad to give a parking space to LaoMa and to  friends when the NC State Fair was in town. He also taught me to use a divers ballast bag to train for Master Joe's  dantian challenge. He generously sold me a ballast bag at cost at a time when competition in the business was getting tough. Ron's knowledge and practical experience with breath work was encyclopedic, owing to his long experience in both diving as well as in taiji and qigong.

 Ron's absence will be keenly felt by those who were close to him, and he leaves a lasting impression on all who knew him.

-Garry (JiRui) Williams

---

As a young whipper snapper in push hands classes, I affectionately called Ron “Ron that Shan (山)” . He was on of my first experiences with a gentle, immovable taiji player. We shared many laughs over my inability to begin to figure out how to move his center. Through his calm and patience, I was able to learn so much - both about accepting loss and laughing through the learning process.

Ron was a long time student of LaoMa’s and the Magic Tortoise Taijiquan family. He taught me form and was a steady presence in the lives of LaoMa’s junior students. Despite his years, his attitude was never one of superiority. He served as an example that, no matter how long we have studied this art form, we are all learning and sharing that journey.

We will miss his example and patience. And we thank him for his contributions to our learning - something that we will carry forward with us in our taiji journey.

-Violet Anderson

Please find Ron’s Obituary here: https://rfhr.com/obituaries/ronald-adrian-thrower/

Taiji classes celebrate the Ox New Year

A few weeks ago, we co-hosted our zoom New Year Party for Year of the Ox! We missed seeing everyone in person. In past years, we have celebrated the new year by sharing forms we are practicing. Taiji is such large art form; it’s very nice to see the variety of practices in the area.

Some local teachers compiled short clips of classes to help bridge our gap of demos this year. We are posting these here in hopes that you’ll enjoy seeing such a variety of forms. We are blessed to have such a supportive community that supports each other and continues to grow together.

Happy Year of the Ox! May great fortune come your way!

新年快樂 Xīnnián kuàilè!!

Demos in order:
1. Tangquan - Black Bamboo Pavilion (BBP)
2. Tangquan -BBP
3. Master DongBin Yang – Gabe StClair
4. Master DongBin Yang – Gabe StClair
5. Paired Staff – Entwined Dragons; Dan Pasek
6. WuDangShan Taiji - BBP
7. WuDangShan - BBP
8. Paired San He Dao – Gabe StClair
9. Chen Taiji - Magic Tortoise; James Sutton
10. Green Heron Tai Chi at Euclid Pond with Barbara Karas in Durham
11. Flying Phoenix Qigong – Gabe StClair
12. Taiji Staff – Gabe StClair
13. Paired Taiji Stick - BBP

Schools and Teachers seen here:

Black Bamboo Pavilion - www.blackbamboopavilion.com
Magic Tortoise Taijiquan - http://magictortoise.com/
Gabe StClair - https://sites.google.com/view/gabeteachestaiji/home
Green Heron Tai Chi; Barbara Karas - bskaras@live.com
Entwined Dragons; Dan Pasek - https://dojos.info/EntwinedDragonsTaijiquan/

LaoMa remembered

We celebrated the Ox New Year this past weekend with our sister school, Magic Tortoise and it was great! Although, we were unable to celebrate in person, we were very happy to enjoy the vibrant spirit of gathering together each year.

At the party, we shared a video remembrance of our teacher and very dear friend. It is with such great joy and sorrow we’re able to share it now. There is great joy in seeing LaoMa in younger days and in more recent days. What a pleasure to see him moving and laughing with us again. And what sorrow in our hearts feeling that space so open and empty now.

Please indulge us in this remembrance of our cherished friend. We have leaned on the words of his close friend and taiji brother, Dr. Jay, as well as one of his Senior Students and friend Debra Dean. You’ll hear Violet’s voice speak Debra’s words. Dr. Jay voices his own remembrances.

Teaching ourselves through teaching others

Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain

As you all know, Black Bamboo employs a teaching style common to many martial arts: seniors teach juniors. Often this helps the seniors more than the juniors because when we are forced to explain what we are doing to someone, we understand it better ourselves. We’re also come face to face with our own failures; therefore we begin to rework our form - fixing deficiencies we’ve have discovered!!!

I have been working my way through LaoMa’s library of taiji books that were left to the school and have been reminded that this is true for ALL levels of teachers! We’re all junior students to our art form - needing to refocus and learn a new level.

As we all progress, I wanted to share this observation that Al Chung-liang Huang makes at the end of his book “Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain”.

Suzanne reflects my day-to-day inconsistencies: “You must not have been as centered as you think your are.” “Your teaching certainly hasn’t affected you.” The ego-me becomes furious: the real me accepts. What one knows and can say to others often has little to do with what one really is. As I proof-read the final draft of the manuscript, I begin learning t’ai-chi all over again. I get excited about the ideas and become involved with the practice, forgetting that I actually said it, did it and knew it , once. Wisdom is. It is not mine or yours to keep. Recognizing it intellectually is only the beginnings of learn. The great learning happens with the experience that fulfills and renews as life moves on.

As I remember our teacher, LaoMa, and reflect on my own teaching and practice, I hope that I can rise to the humility and excitement that teaching, learning and sharing brings to us all.

“Wisdom is. “ May we all share it freely.

---

-Huang, All Chung-liang. Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain. Moab , Utah, Real People Press, 1973.

Park King

Hector Morales has been training with Black Bamboo Pavilion Taijiquan since 3/27/14, obtaining his senior status Red Sash this past summer on 6/1/19. Hector had previous training with a Taijiquan Master in Puerto Rico. Besides taijiquan, Hector is a sign maker extraordinaire! This is his latest creation of a Chinese-style (along with appropriate color scheme) Parking Sign for our parking bays. He says the sign is authentic Chinese because the characters say, PARK KING😁!

In this “Time of Coronavirus,” he is also taking time out from home projects (are he and I the only two people heavy into home improvement and pre-spring cleaning?) to restore a sign made by my oldest friend from Norfolk, Virginia days, Stain Glass Master, Jerry Brannin (now, perhaps on John Prine’s welcoming reception committee in the Other Place). He made this sign some 45 years ago based on Dynastic eras when each Chinese city had signage of a uniform color and design. Beijing, as I was to discover in Grad School, had all shop signs in black and gold, hung vertically over the street, and had a single character or symbol painted in gold on the black background. Being left here in a shed for a quarter century has not been kind to my wooden sign or the metal bar from which it hung. Hector will resurrect it in all its past splendor, and it will be as good as when it was originally created!

Hector’s wife, Claudia, is aso a Shufa/Calligaphy sudent of ours, and so the couple that trains together...stays together!

Raymond Kressmann - A Remembrance

Raymond performing form on a Senior Saturday Morning

Raymond Kressmann, my oldest student, and at 87 years, also my oldest senior student (completed the entire Form) passed to the “other place” on Friday, 3/27/20, at 2:45 p.m. Though his death was unrelated to the virus pandemic COVID19, it was related to his diabetes that almost resulted in the foot’s amputation. He was having trouble in recovery and last week suffered a fall that resulted in a concussion causing hospitalization. Related to the coronavirus, his family just got him released from hospital before new rules and regulations would have kept him there to die without any family members attending. He was able to be brought home to have them comfort him in his last hours.

Raymond and LaoMa at a birthday party

It is always a sad experience to lose a student to the afterlife, particularly not knowing what may lie on the other side, and this is no exception. Raymond had been training with me for over 15 years in our Raleigh class. Garry Williams, Associate Teacher, was appointed teaching responsibilities there 5 years or so ago, and has been Raymond’s principle teacher, my role being reduced to 1 or 2 visits a month, mainly for senior corrections and sash ceremonies. Although Raymond did not join classes for martial art purposes, he became excited and ‘alive’ when we focused on Function through application of postures, and basic 2-person examination of them. His excitement at these times never ceased to surprise and please me! Garry noted that it was when we explored the inner construction of Form, and the martial Function of postures that Raymond brought his sharp mind and intellect to bear on the understanding of deeper levels to the Art of Taijiquan.

Raymond in his Raleigh class

Raymond outranked me in age, but at the same time our experiences were of a time closer together than the majority of students, and it bonded us in a way that I miss already. He was an Internationalist, speaking French, visiting family and friends in France annually, married a French woman, Anne, having children together, and pursuing the wine business on both continents. A man of great interests. The last communication I had from him was just a week or so ago. In replying to something I posted on Facebook, he said, and I paraphrase, “I’ve heard a lot of your stories over the years, and y’know what,...I’d listen to them all again!” Of course, anyone that wants to revisit my stories is just a super good guy!! I wish I could have retold a few to you Raymond, or even a few you never heard before! That will be first thing on agenda when we meet again...

Raymond Kressmann

Home: Apart and Together

I have been reminded that time at home can be used to our advantage. While we might prefer group classes and shared practice, a period of forced quiet, self reflection and isolated practice can have its perks. We are spared the judging eyes and can really be present in our practice.

However, during this time, it is also nice to be reminded that we are not alone in our practice - even though we might be the only one in the room (or backyard fighting mosquitoes). To that end, I’ll be sharing thought and practices of mine over the next few weeks and encourage you to do the same!

I’ve found focus and centering in a daily shufa (Chinese calligraphy) practice. A very short practice of 15 minutes allows my brain to start the day with simple strokes and then one character, or perhaps characters from the last couple days. These can be words that have a special meaning for the day or just mundane words that are on the next page of the book.

This morning I thought “home” was appropriate since this is the place that many of us will spend so many hours this month. Why not take a second to write it in a beautiful language and learn to love it.

My amusement mounted when I read the description next to it: “combines meanings: “pig” under “roof” = home. I don’t think we should quote this to our housemates on a regular basis!!

Importantly, I’d inadvertently also chosen the character that we use for our school. The character can also translate as family. Take a peek at the banner on the home page and you’ll see it there.

And so, while we are told to stay HOME, we’re also told stay FAMILY. I thought I’d share this with our greater family! We’re are in separate homes and the same family.

For our inkslingers, I’m including the stroke order here. You’ll recognize the strokes and find the character a fun one to do! I don’t have LaoMa’s fancy PDF skills - maybe I’ll develop those over this month! In the meantime, this should get you through the character. Please share your version!

Send me suggestions of other characters to try during our time away from classes. We can share our practice pages this way!

Garry Williams Raises His Rank - and Ours!!

We are very proud and excited to announce the long awaited (and overdue) raise in rank of Garry Williams to Associate Teacher in the Black Bamboo Pavilion Taijiquan School.  An Associate Teacher teaches a class on their own, with limited ongoing teacher training via private lessons vs. an Assistant Teacher who assists a primary teacher and is indispensable to classes.

On Saturday, February 1st, 2020, Garry was presented with his brown sash by LaoMa and honored with the rank of associate teacher.  This is a long overdue distinction as Garry has been teaching the Raleigh Tuesday class for a long time.

Garry has been with Black Bamboo for 18 years.  During that time, he has distinguished himself as, not only dedicated and knowledgeable, but also a great support and welcoming classmate and teacher. 

The use of sashes in our school originates from LaoMa’s time in China, where he was presented with sashes by his classmates when he was accepted as a student of Yeye’s.  Once he was part of their group, his classmates brought him homemade sashes.  Many were not the silk sashes we traditionally associate with Chinese Martial Arts today.  Rather they were elastic belts with snapped fasteners; they were cherished for many years afterwards. 

Garry’s brown sash serves as an outward signal to our students that he holds a higher rank than the majority of our senior students, who wear red.  We do not have a series of sash colors in our school, choosing to keep it simple with three colors.  The green represents a commitment to learn this art form, much like LaoMa’s acceptance into the Yeye’s school.  The red indicates a student who has completed the form and is working on a higher level of corrections and understanding.  The brown sash is reserved for students who have moved to some level of teacher status.  Garry has occupied this special status for many years now and we are happy to publicly recognize his achievement with us.

Many congratulations Garry!  You raise our rank along with your own!