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DDA’s 2013 Shanghai Camp began on 22nd November, with guests attending from overseas to train in taiji
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This year, Jane & Ian Phillips from the UK, frequent participators from our UK taiji seminar tours, Alan Williamson also from the UK, who has previously attended two DDA camps in 2008 & 2009, plus Larry Kinsler from the USA, a participant from this year’s DDA USA tour to Chapel Hill and Durham in North Carolina, attended our Shanghai Camp.
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Camp set off with a banquet for the participants and the camp teachers, including Masters Liu Ji Fa, Liu Hong Cai, Shou Guan Shun, Wang Ming Bo, Yu Hua Pei, Rose Oliver, plus several DDA disciples and students acting as assistants and translators throughout the camp.
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The welcome dinner gave everyone a chance to get to know one another, make friends and settle in after their long journeys.
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Saturday 23rd November was dedicated to sightseeing and some fun activities, kicking off with a family-style home-cooked dinner at Ms. Lu Jing Hua’s home. Ms. Lu is one of our Cao Yang Park taiji students, she and her husband Mr. Zhou, along with DDA students and disciples, prepared a magnificent welcome feast for our international guests, including Chinese teas, home-made dumplings (which the participants themselves helped make!), casseroled pork and a variety of delicious fare.
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A film crew from The International Channel of Shanghai (ICS) also came to film some of the day’s activities and interview the participants, as part of a programme about Rose, to be shown later in December on “Cultural Matters”.
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With homemade wine to complete the meal, the camp guests enjoyed a wonderfully warm welcome to Shanghai and the local community.
Thank you to Ms. Lu & Mr. Zhou for their wonderful hospitality!
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Later Rose, Master Wang, Jane, Ian, Alan and Larry went to Pudong New District to travel up to the 88th floor of Jin Mao Tower to get a brilliant panoramic view of the whole of Shanghai, especially the Bund and the old sections of Laoximen and the river.
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After a spectacular view, we then took our camp guests to Xintiandi for a stroll around the “older” Shanghai scene, with its beautifully restored and remodeled architecture and little shops and restaurants.
After a long, but very pleasant day, we took our guests back to the A8 Hotel for a good rest, ready for the early start on Sunday.
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Every morning, camp began with early morning exercises and Yang style taiji form with our large group of students in Cao Yang Park, followed by private classes with Master Wang Ming Bo.
Private classes mainly worked on tendon stretching exercises, dantian exercises, silk-reeling spiral exercises, joint opening and mobility exercises, Wu style 13 pattern push hands, plus large frame Yang style ward-off, roll-back, press & push, push-hands patterns.?
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On Sunday 24th November, the group also had their first class with guest teacher Master Shou Guan Shun, (with Rose translating) primarily working on tendon stretching and joint opening exercises and then Yang style push hands and form applications.?
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In the evening class the group worked on tuina massage techniques and skeletal realignment therapy, as taught by Master Liu Hong Cai in our regular DDA Tuina classes.
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On Monday 25th November the group worked mainly on dantian exercises, foundation exercises and tuina, with the camp guests taking part in our regular DDA Tuina class with Master Liu Hong Cai on Monday evenings.
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With lots of hands-on practice and plenty of willing volunteers to act as models for the massage therapy, everyone had a chance to try out the techniques for themselves.
Although the Chinese students were a bit shy at first to practice the techniques on the international guests, Jane, who is a massage therapist in the UK herself, soon encouraged them and everyone had a wonderful time working on each other.
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On Tuesday 26th November, the guests had their first sightseeing trip, where they had a chance to see around the lovely little water town Qibao and enjoy some local food and culture.
Accompanied by Master Wang Ming Bo, plus DDA disciple Cai Da Hu and Rose’s student Lillian from Shanghai University who helped take care of the group, they had a wonderful day out.
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Wednesday 27th November, camp continued with its normal daily training itinerary, this time with an afternoon workshop with guest master Master Liu Ji Fa, who taught dantian training and Wu style 13 pattern push hands basics.
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Although the group were a little unfamiliar with the patterns, Master Liu, with Rose translating, worked on the basic pattern to help familiarize them.? ?
Evening class was again dedicated to Tuina massage, but this time with Dr Li Yong of the Conjoint Health Advisory Service, who gave a talk on the efficacy of TCM food combining and “appropriate healthy eating”, plus some tuina energy channel massage techniques for overall good health and longevity.
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Thursday 28th November was the group’s second outing, this time to Feng Jing. DDA disciple Professor Luo Ji Feng accompanied Master Wang, and DDA Taiji student Mr. Yang Yue San drove the group and showed them around the ancient city and its park and gardens.
After a full day’s activities, the group returned in the evening to A8 Hotel for a much-needed rest.
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Friday 29th November was our last full day of training. After our normal morning and daytime session, the afternoon training session was with Master Liu Hong Cai, who worked on dantian training and energy work.
With Master Liu’s unique energy and charm, it was a lovely end to the guest teachers’ workshops.
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Saturday 30th November, the guests had their normal morning taiji practice in the park with DDA’s local group and then were treated to a wonderfully soothing and relaxing foot massage at the Lanxi Rd foot spa.
Afterwards, the group had a tour around Shanghai’s Yu Gardens, buying gifts and souvenirs to take back to their homes and families.
In the evening, Professor Luo Ji Feng and his parents, who were visiting from their hometown in Jiangxi, hosted us at Professor Luo’s home, treating us all to another home-cooked feast!
Rose and Master Wang also reviewed of all the material learned at camp and took individual questions from the camp participants.
Thank you to Professor Luo and his family for their wonderful hospitality and delicious food, and to Cai Da Hu for all his help, it was a fantastic night!
The last day of this year’s Shanghai camp was a special masters’ performance at the DDA International Culture Exhibition, organized by DDA’s Rose Oliver and Wang Ming Bo, along with assistance by Mr. Yu Huan Pei and DDA disciples and students, including: Cai Da Hu, Luo Ji Feng, Song Wei Feng, Fu Rao, Fan Xing Dong, Zhang Xiao Lan, Cai Yu, Mr. Zhou, Ms. Lu, and Ms. Liu among others.
The morning show, held at the Shanghai Retired Officers Club, was a chance for many of Shanghai’s top martial artists and cultural performers, like Qu Shi Jing, Liu Ji Fa, Liu Hong Cai, Shou Guan Shun, Chen An Tian, Tian Bian Yuan, Wan Yong Nan, Yang Yi Xiao, Wang Xiu Hua, Yan Cheng De, Sun Guo Qing, and Ms. Cao Hui & Mr. Li Chun among others, to entertain the large audience attending, with performances in Taiji, pushing hands, calligraphy, Streetdance and Peking Opera among others.
With our international camp guests also coming on stage to perform their own forms and special acts, including dantian tiddily-winks by Larry, tendon stretching by Ian, Wu competition form by Alan and Yang style by Jane, everyone got into the swing of things and had a great time.
Highlights were Larry’s dantian challenge, which was ultimately won by Mr. Yu Huan Pei’s ingenuousness! Larry’s thumb push-ups, Sun Guo Qing’s street dance duo and the grand finale performance by Ms. Cao Hui & Mr. Li Chun, performing a dual spear fight from Peking Opera.
After the performance, all special guests and VIPs were invited for a banquet lunch at the Xin Min Shi restaurant on Lanxi Rd, where camp participants and guest masters who taught at camp, were all presented with a commemorative plaque and certificate.
With free-flowing wine and delicious food, the banquet was a wonderful success and a great chance for everyone to enjoy each other’s company, share fun and make and cement friendships.?
Thank you to everyone who attended our camp from overseas, they were all a pleasure to meet and work with, and a very big thank you to all the teachers, assistants and supporters who helped and attended our 2013 Shanghai Camp.
We look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s 2014 camp and enjoying another spectacular immersion in Chinese traditional culture!