Grandmaster Eddie Wu made his annual visit to the Ann Arbor Academy on the weekend of September 8th and 9th. He was accompanied by his disciple, senior student Paul Dempsey. Saturday afternoon he held a beginner's workshop. This workshop included students learning either the 108 or 54 form. He went over the tai chi walking, the warm-up exercises, and some parts of the 108 form including Cloud Hands. Everyone said they worked hard, learned a great deal, and really enjoyed themselves. Beginners who were intimidated at the idea of studying with the Grandmaster of all of Wu Style tai chi chuan were delighted to find out how accessible he is, and how he makes everyone laugh even while they're training intensively!

Saturday evening, a number of students went to dinner with Grandmaster Wu and Sifu Genie. The dinner at Great Lake Chinese Restaurant was a banquet; an array of wonderful Hong Kong-style dishes were enjoyed by everyone present.

Sunday, Grandmaster Wu worked with Sifu Genie's disciples in the morning. The afternoon was dedicated to teaching the intermediate and advanced students. This workshop was for students who had finished either the 108 or 54 form and started pushing hands. As with the beginners' workshop, students from all of Sifu Genie's classes attended. At this session, the focus was on fine-tuning the movements of the Standard 108 form. A discussion of applications of parts of the form helped explain the positions and their correct implementation. Balance training and rooting, as well as gaining an understanding of stickiness, rounded out the afternoon.

Everyone now has a lot to work on! Sifu Genie's students are grateful to the Grandmaster and Paul for visiting, and to Sifu for preparing us so well for these workshops. Next year, a tai chi retreat in Toronto is planned and it is hoped that many of us can attend to continue working with Grandmaster Wu.

On Sunday, September 10 students from both beginning and advanced classes gathered for Sifu Genie's workshop on the changes to the Standard 108 Form. Most had been to the workshops this summer when Grandmaster Wu had introduced the changes to standardize the form around the world; this workshop was a chance to re-learn and practice the changes in depth.

This was the first in a series of workshops to re-work the 108 form. Sifu went over the changes through the first Cloud Hands during this one. Now we hope we can remember them while doing the form!

Requests from several students have lead to a change in plans. Instead of workshops every other month, we'll continue this series to rework the 108 on the first Sunday of every month until it's done. You can join at any time and learn the changes being practiced for that section.

The workshops are from 1:00-3:00pm on the first Sundays for $20. The next one will be on October 1st.

Grandmaster Wu visited Ann Arbor the weekend of July 29-30 to conduct a series of workshops and preside over the discipleship ceremony when Sifu Genie took on six new disciples.

Grandmaster Wu was accompanied by his wife, Simo Winnie, and his two highest-ranking male and female disciples, Jonathan Krehm and Evonne Tan. We were very happy to host everyone, and were especially gratified to see how pleased everyone was with our school - its setting, and the level of training which Sifu Genie has given us.

Saturday's workshop was for beginners, defined as those not yet through the 108 Form. Student attended from almost all of Sifu Genie's various classes. Everyone enjoyed working with Grandmaster Wu, and all were amazed at how approachable he is, even while encouraging great efforts.

After the workshop the ceremony was conducted to welcome the new disciples and then everyone enjoyed a light potluck supper. Six students demonstrated the 54 Form and we were pleased that Grandmaster Wu encouraged us to come to Toronto to compete in the group form category at the next tournament. He repeatedly praised Sifu Genie for her excellent teaching!

On Sunday the workshop for intermediate/advanced students began at 1pm. During the next three hours, Grandmaster Wu took us through the entire 108 Form, teaching us all the new changes which have been documented on the DVD to promote a standardized form worldwide. There was great excitement, and everyone worked really hard. There is a lot to absorb! It will take us many months to incorporate all these changes in our form. Many folks felt that this was the best seminar Grandmaster Wu has conducted for us. We were very happy that his senior disciples joined him; we look forward to strengthening our ties with the Toronto academy. We are very honored and grateful that Grandmaster Wu devoted a whole weekend to our school , and look forward to more such visits in the future.