I start my first White Crane kung fu and White Crane taiji this week.  I am fortunate enough to have met someone who lives 15 minutes walk from where I live, and he has agreed to teach me.  This type of generosity seems to be typical of dedicated martial artists:Rob – for that is his name – is happy to teach me at my home, in his spare time, and no cash will change hands.  Rob tells me he has trained with the monks on the hill in China, and has been practising for some 20 years or so.  How lucky am I?  Rob joins a long list of lovely people I have met, most of whom will be giving up their precious time this year to train with hungry students at our Martial Arts Summer Camp.

I read some articles on Wikipedia about White Crane, I won’t regurgitate them here and now.  Suffice to say I am excited to augment my training, and feel the health benefits of regular taiji, especially as I find my taekwondo training increasingly difficult due to back pain.