All this diversity, and no tai chi?

Two weeks ago, after days of working behind a computer and spending days in the car (which I do for my job as a housing/relocation consultant) I longed to get up on Saturday morning, stroll down to the pond, and partake in a tai chi session. I thought it a brilliant idea, wished I had thought of it sooner, and embarked upon what I thought would be an easy task of finding someone within my diverse neighborhood of High Point who practiced tai chi and would be willing to share it with others in the neighborhood who wanted to learn. I contacted the homeowners association, the neighborhood association, I posted to the neighborhood blog (www.highpointneighborhood.org) and even went to the Town Hall/Neighborhood Association meeting last week and with the help of a translator spoke to some of the Asian leaders in my community about my desire – and the desire of so many others who I had mentioned it to thinking it was also a super idea – to find someone within the community who could lead tai chi on nice Saturday mornings this summer down by the pond. It’s a perfect walk to the pond to warm up, and an hour of tai chi to greet the day would be great for my back and my state of mind.

According to the Vietnamese and Cambodian community leaders there are no Chinese living in High Point. I thought perhaps someone of another nationality might know tai chi, and they agreed to ask around, but it didn’t sound promising. The thought behind finding someone in the neighborhood to teach would that they would be willing to donate their time to create this great cross-cultural experience for all of the residents of High Point. I personally am happy to pay for something like this, but many of the people in our community can not afford to.

I remember a summer of weekend tai chi at Don Armeni Park not too many years ago. A local martial arts studio led a free class down there on Saturday mornings. That studio on California Avenue recently closed because their building is being torn down to make way for new development. It was this memory, my aching back, and the desire to have something within walking distance that has launched this search.



Since High Point doesn’t seem to have any tai chi practitioners amongst its rumored 27 languages and/or dialects, I am forced to cast my search into the larger West Seattle community. As you can see by the photo we have a beautiful park by the pond with a waterfall that would be the perfect place for a group of practitioners to greet the weekend. This is located at 31st and Juneau and there is plenty of street parking for folks who come from other neighborhoods to participate.

I am convinced summer is eventually coming and would love to try to launch a group practice of tai chi in High Point. If you would like to participate as a practitioner, or you or someone you know would be interested in teaching people from the surrounding communities about the soothing and healthful practice of tai chi, please email wendyhj@greenspacesrealestate.com

Wendy Hughes-Jelen
High Point : West Seattle