On Saturday 27th April we celebrated the wonder of Tai Chi and Qigong with millions of people around the world. In 1999 Bill Douglas introduced the world to World Tai Chi and Qigong Day (WTCQD) and every year at 10am local time hundreds of people and many events burst into action. So throughout the day there is a wave permeating the globe of positive energy and connectivity.
Here in Liverpool we held our 7th WTCQD event. The day is organised by North West and North Wales Tai Chi and involves getting together a group of instructors from various Tai Chi schools. All instructors are either qualified through YMAA, Deyin Taijiquan Institute and/or BHQA.
For the last three years we have been indoors at St John’s community centre in the Dingle and we are fortunate to have the use of two hall spaces. At 10am we all gathered in the larger of the two halls, introductions were made and we began with warm ups and qigong, this year led by Joanne (Deyin).
After this we split into two groups for a 40 minute session with one hall hosting a Tai Chi activity and the other a Qigong activity. Both halls were buzzing with people and attendees could come and go throughout the day as they were able.
We were also lucky to have ATTIC Teas in attendance who put on a wonderful stall and plenty of tea samples from China. Thanks to Ric for his knowledge on Chinese tea and for the tasting sessions that we enjoyed between training.
Our final session was a coming together to try out the first parts of the 88 step (Deyin) and 108 step (YMAA) Taijiquan routines. Although the same sequence each had its own interpretation on the moves which made for an interesting comparison. Thanks to Jane (Deyin) and Martin (YMAA) for leading this.
This year we also had a collection for the charity Tommy’s and raised £35. Thank you to everyone who made a donation.
There were many photographs taken over the course of the day and these can be seen in the gallery.