This June, a group of enthusiastic Londoners have been participating in a series of therapeutic Taiji lessons in Regents Park. These Taiji sessions were hosted by the Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine (CITCM) and helped participants experience a new culture whilst getting some exercise and enjoying some fresh air.
This is the 6th consecutive year that CITCM has run this event and this year saw a record number of people joining in, with a total of over 130 people registering for the event.
During the sessions the participants learnt a style of taiji called 24 Form Taiji. This involved learning a series of independent moves and successfully linking them together. Shen Yujie, a taiji instructor who works for CITCM, explained that ‘this is a very popular type of Taiji in China and perhaps one of the most famous forms of taiji here in the UK.’
Professor Zhang Qilong, another taiji instructor working for CITCM, explained that ‘the event was a huge success; people of all ages joined in and gave it their best go. The level was also really high as the participants picked up the skill very quickly.’ He went on to express how much he enjoyed spending time in Regent’s Park teaching these students – ‘it is so great to see people enjoying this sport and taking such great interest in it.’
After the final session, Clare Jones, a participant in this year’s event, expressed her thanks to CITCM – ‘Thank you so much for this season of taiji in the park. The instructors were all incredible, so knowledgeable and patient. I had a wonderful time as, I'm sure, did everyone else in the class’. Atsue Turner, another participant, also expressed her gratitude – ‘I enjoyed the whole set up of the course, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity’.
Taiji in Regents Park is one of CITCM’s many activities which aim to promote Chinese language and culture. For further information on future events, check out our events calendar.