Grand Master Eng Chor, Andy Law, Zaineida Calderon and myself arrived Tallinn on 22 February, 2011 on a bright and sunny afternoon.  The pilot announced that the ground temperature in the city was -12C.  It didn’t take long to get our luggage.  We came out to the arrival hall to the welcoming representatives of the Games Organizing Committee. They whizzed us away to our hotel – the Clarion Euroopa.  We certainly felt the freezing cold air the minute we left the heated airport terminal.

The Clarion Euroopa would be our home for our entire stay in Tallinn.  We would have our 3 meals there buffet style.  It’s a very nice hotel situated near the port area; however, couldn’t see any water though because it’s all frozen.  The hotel is right next to a small shopping mall with a supermarket.  It’s also quite close to the old town, a good 20 minutes walk.  Everywhere we looked, it was white.  The streets were all very icy.  Walking on ice certainly posed some challenges.  

The next morning, we did some Tai Chi practice before breakfast.  We continued our practice before breakfast throughout our visit.  Then we got our badges with photo done.  We were then informed that we would be demonstrating at the opening ceremony with a 5 minute performance.  Grand Master Eng Chor selected the Beijing 24 form and the appropriate music to fit in with the timing of the performance.

Some photos can be viewed in the Photo Gallery in the Cultural Tours folder (see -Feb11 tag). 

Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE’s Faculty of Business recently had its annual Professional Development Conference 2010 with a theme “Facilitating Excellence in Learning”. The guest speakers and participants discussed 21st century skills for new teaching and learning environments, focusing on quality through flexibility.

This year again they invited the Celestial Tai Chi College to conduct a workshop. Titled Tai Chi & Chi Kung – refocus with the ultimate form of exercise, the workshop offered participants the basic steps in traditional Yang Style Tai Chi, Chi Kung, self-massage and meditation. With an open mind, they experienced gentle exercises and breathing techniques and learned about their benefits for the body, concentration and general well-being.

It was interesting to see how some of last year’s participants eagerly returned while some of the others enrolled in Tai Chi classes around Melbourne, including the Celestial Tai Chi College.  Feedback was very positive, ‘I love Tai Chi, it relaxes me’, ‘my favourite martial arts exercise’, ‘no tension, I feel energized’, ‘makes me feel happy’, were amongst other comments shared by the participants after the workshop.

Snezana Dabic
Senior Tai Chi Instructor

The Celestial Tai Chi College was honoured to be asked to perform at the opening of the 4th International Martial Arts Games.  The Games were held in Tallinn, Estonia during 24-27 February 2011 with 17 countries participating. Grand Master Eng Chor Khor and 3 others from the Celestial Tai Chi College performed the "Bejing 24" routine - watch .

Grand Master Eng Chor Khor is on the IMGC (International Martial Arts Game Committee) Executive Board and has led delegations of students and Instructors from all Martial Arts Organizations in Australia, including the Celestial Tai Chi College to this event.

Recently the College was asked to perform Tai Chi at the official opening of the Chuan Spa at the Langham Hotel Melbourne. The Chuan Spa provides services "founded on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine", thus Tai Chi was the perfect accompaniment.

Eight instructors, including Master Chin Min, entertained guests for nearly two hours with Tao Yin, Shibashi, Lotus, Lohan and selected Tai Chi  and weapon forms. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable, if a little chilly, and was topped off nicely with a glass of bubbly and some  Asian-inspired canapes.

Suzette Hosken (Assistant Instructor -Camberwell/Doncaster)