Challenge 8: ACCOMPLISHED!
Challenge 8: Study a martial art with an old master.
As we took a walk last night, between the walls of the ancient city of Xi’an (a city famous for its warriors) and its former moat, we came across an old woman who lurked in the shadows wielding a long sword. We watched her unnoticed as she moved in and out of the trees in front of us. When she’d finished we made our move…not away from her, however, but towards her. She was exactly what we’d been looking for and it wasn’t long before this lovely lady had invited us to join her Tai Chi association at 6 AM the following morning!Every day at dawn and dusk, hundreds of retired people can be found in parks across China. Every activity from sewing to ballroom dancing to whip cracking is represented. So is learning and practicing various forms of Tai Chi. It’s really quite a sight. As music blares out through speakers, dozens of people can be seen standing in rows moving slowly but deliberately in perfect unison.Despite our lacking all of their grace and poise, the Xi’an Tai Chi association welcomed us to join them with open arms. Whether it was performing with a fan or a sword, they never stopped encouraging us. The man everyone in the park calls “Shifu” (master) happily answered our questions and politely said we had potential to learn, although you’ll see from the photos below that we spent a lot of the time facing the opposite direction to the rest of the group!All in all, it was another highly successful challenge, another fascinating story for the book and a lot of fun.
