Sept. 23 (2008) on this side of the international dateline, a day marking the official beginning of autumn. Great weather for waking up early, working through Sha Family tai ji quan routines before starting the day's work (= cleaning).
I recall one of the best nights I spent in Wenzhou, China some ten years back. It was an autumn festival. We had an excellent kendo practice, typically small, just me and a handful of students in the dance studio we borrowed. Afterward, it was beer and eats as usual, but that night we sat by the river and really feasted, swapping stories and drinks under the brightest and fullest of moons. Tales were told and Tang Dynasty poems recited, though the last were lost on me. Was it before or after that night that a great typhoon swept southeastern China and flooded much of Wenzhou? Four of us from the same group went wading through the waist-deep water in the streets in the night and I knew then that Wenzhou would always be a special place for me.
My time in Beijing has been much too short for such experiences. But I did feel something special with the sticks in the street group and feel sure that I will get back to do more training with them. Nor have I had time yet to make deep, close friends as I had in Wenzhou, though I feel that is coming in the future.
Pix above: In addition to the clacking wooden instruments (kuai bar), Mr. Liu also plays a pair of instruments made from the shoulder bones of cows. Though I didn't have a chance to make music with them, he insisted on some photos. As with other items used by group members, it turned out they could also be used as weapons and fit together into various routines both musical and martial. I am not a big fan of posed pictures but these are what I have to work with for now, until I can engage in some serious study in the future.
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