You might ask, what good is a fat coach who I can’t look up to as an example and role model?  To which I would respond, a fat coach who’s good at what he does is a thousand times better than a skinny coach who sucks, and a skinny coach who sucks is still way better than no coach at all.

Most people who aren’t professional athletes and aren’t aspiring to be have no coach to help them get and stay fit and healthy.  And how do they do as a result?  Well, just look around you.  The average person is in terrible shape and lousy health.

A coach serves vital functions that we rarely can fulfill on our own:  She motivates us, guides us, teaches us, holds us accountable, inspires us, reprimands us, and regularly holds a mirror up for us to look in.

Left to our own devices we are mostly unmotivated, floundering, unsure, ignorant, undisciplined – and unwilling to hold up that mirror.

If you want to get fit and healthy, the bottom line is you need a coach.  Coaches go by various names:  Trainer, instructor, teacher, mentor and so on.  Call them what you like, they are indispensable assistants in the quest for health and fitness.

Enjoy!

Beginning at 10am sharp, our World Tai Chi Day festivities will include an informative workshop on tai chi and qigong. Learn about the history of these practices as well as their unique martial applications and health benefits. Participants will also have a chance to learn and practice tai chi and qigong movements, which have been shown to improve balance in the elderly, alleviate pain from arthritis, help Parkinson’s sufferers, and offer a myriad of other health benefits.

Free and open to the public, this workshop is suitable for anyone (ages 14 and up)– those with no tai chi experience to advanced tai chi practitioners from every style are welcome.

Read more here: http://thepeacefuldragon.com/specialevents.shtml#taichiday

In our latest video, Master Sbarge discusses this controversial concept, and he examines the more practical (instead of magical) aspects of qi.

Watch the video here.

If you’re in the Charlotte area, come out and join us for what will surely be a great time Saturday, January 21 from 11am-2pm. Admission is at no charge with a non-perishable food item, which we will donate to Loaves and Fishes of Charlotte; otherwise, admission is $3.

Read more about our upcoming celebration here.

In this short video, Master Sbarge offers more insight in answering the question “What is chi?”

See the video here: What is qi?

Welcome to 2012, a new year, which for many represents new opportunity, new growth and new achievement. This year also is the Year of The Dragon (January 23). In addition, The Peaceful Dragon celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, so we’re definitely excited to reach this milestone as we spread traditional Chinese martial arts, and the concept of mind/body/spirt fitness throughout the Greater Charlotte Area.

With this first blog post of the year, we’d like to take a moment and look back at some of the fun events of 2011. Last year, Master Sbarge did a series of informative videos using throws from bagua. If you haven’t had a chance to see them yet, or if you’d like to see them again, go here: Bagua Throws

Best age to begin martial arts training

The catastrophe caused by the earthquake and tsunami that just hit Japan reminds us of how important living in the moment can be — we are never assured of future moments.  Figuratively or literally, we can be swept out to sea at any moment.

Many of those who survived the disaster have a grim immediate future.  They can perhaps reflect on happier moments in their past to find strength to deal with the future, but still they can only try to improve the moment.  In accord with Chan’s principles of cultivating  kindness and compassion, we can help them by donating to the International Red Cross or other charitable organizations.  Their suffering is very real, and our kindness is very much needed. 

This would be the right moment to make your donation.

I have hardly been to every clear and quiet place, and even the ones I’ve been to have occasionally been smoggy and noisy.   But at least I’ve reached a point where I better understand inner clarity and quiet when I see it.

With that said, now I do enjoy traveling in the conventional sense:   Seeing other cultures, meeting people whose habits are surprising, being surprised at both the inadequacies and superior qualities of my own culture and habits.

As one who has practiced meditation, kung fu and yoga all of my adult life I particularly enjoy visiting the countries and places where these practiced originated and evolved.  This October, I’m looking forward to training in the Wudang Mountains, where Tai Chi came from; Dharma Drum Mountain in Taipei, founded by Ch’an (Zen) Master Sheng-Yen; and other sites in Hong Kong and China.  I welcome any students and friends of The Peaceful Dragon to join me, and look forward to the comraderie.

On a daily basis we explore our thoughts and inner habits — a kind of intranotional travel if you will.  But once in a while, when the budget can be stretched, good to stretch our minds with some memorable international travel.