A Seattle Weekly reader asks:

Credit: Rod Filbrandt

Dear Uptight Seattleite,

Please explain the compulsion some Seattleites feel to practice tai chi in public. This week on the Seattle-bound run of the Winslow ferry, I observed a middle-aged man practicing tai chi who looked like he was going to mate with the bulkhead, until he almost fell down. Note that it was a calm day and there were no swells. A regular on the ferry told me the man does this every morning. My dog and I always see this other guy who’s tai chi’d to death all the grass around a tree in a park near my house. I see the same thing at Volunteer Park, Green Lake, and other places around the city: middle-aged white guys sweeping the air in elaborate, self-conscious slow motion. Why do they have to do it in public?

Signed,
Why Chi?

Dear Mr. Chi, [Read more →]

Reader and contributor Rick Matz tagged me to participate in the 7 things pyramid scheme writing project.

The rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random or weird things about yourself.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here we go… [Read more →]

Last year, I predicted that Qi Gong and energy medicine therapies would become big business over the next decade, possibly eclipsing both Yoga and the UFC combined.  I also predicted an increase in qigong fraud, where inadequately trained therapists operate expensive, ineffectual energy devices on desperate patients.

Sorry to say, I was right. [Read more →]

Last weekend, I attended the third annual World of Martial Arts demonstration in Seattle. The event featured local Karate, Hapkido, Iaido, Tai Chi, and other groups.

Karate demonstration

As in previous years, the show had some positive qualities, and a few negative ones. In the spirit of constructive criticism, I would like to offer some suggestions to participants in future demonstrations.

• Every spectator should have an unobstructed view of the action. Seating your audience in chairs where they cannot actually see the demonstration is obscene. If you are performing in a flat gymnasium or some other ad hoc arena, pay special attention to the seating arrangements.

[Read more →]

Downtown Seattle

Did you know there are more than 80 active martial arts clubs in the Seattle area? [Read more →]

The annual celebration of World Tai Chi and Qigong Day will be held this Saturday, April 28, 2007.  Many Seattle-area groups will meet for practice at this auspicious time, weather permitting. [Read more →]

Watch martial arts experts and masters perform their precision techniques and forms. Various martial arts styles from China, Japan, Okinawa, and Korea will be presented!

Seattle I.D./Chinatown Community Center
Saturday, October 14, 2006
6pm to 8pm
Admission: $10/person

If you decide to attend, please post a review afterwards.