or T’ai Chi Chuan or taiji or Tai Chi Ch’uan or whatever.

When I moved here to Burb-Ankh (the suburb of life), my husband & I noted the presence of a Tai Chi dojo & stopped by to check it out. It was run by a very nice, very open guy, who started his training as a judoka, which endeared him to my husband & I. So we resolved that we would sign up! and do Tai Chi! which, of course, we never did. When I quit my job, I thought, that’s! what I can do. So I looked into it, but they have three classes a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. I wanted to skip the last because it was at the same time as Judo. So I still didn’t go. But, while biking around the other day, the guy who ran it was in and I talked to him. He assured me that a lot of people don’t show up for the Saturday one and it had been added as an “extra” class.

So, last night, my husband & I went to tai chi! finally!

It was so much fun. Obviously, I went because I thought I would enjoy it, but not as much as I ended up enjoying it! I also seemed to take to it like to skiing, so that was nice. It seems to fit between judo and yoga: it’s a martial art, but it’s also a mind-body exercise. Which is not to say judo’s not, but somehow, it’s more so. The forms make sense to me because of their martial applications, but the energy it raises is I guess what I always expected from (but never experienced with) yoga.

So I’m a convert! I shall be attending Mondays and Wednesdays, with Saturdays continuing to be reserved for judo. I whole-heartedly recommend it to everyone! but I agree that there is no one-size fits all. Moving meditation has always worked best for me and, while yoga to a mantra ain’t so bad (although I sometimes lose my place in the mantra…), tai chi shuts up my inner dialogue, rather than replacing it.

What are your best ways to tame your inner monkey?