Sue Seto (2003)

   I Think it was my neighbor, John, who got me started with Tai Chi five years ago. I was not doing any exercise, although I wanted to because my poor posture while working on the computer or carrying too much stuff in my backpack. I joined the Tai Chi group in the park in Chinatown, where I live. I practiced everyday with a group before going to work and got to know Ada Tang, Agatha Chiu, Irene Lee and recently Agatha' s  brother, Jerome.

    One day, about a year and a half ago, we noticed a group of ladies was doing some sort of exercise that we had never seen before. Agatha went to investigate right away and said it looked like fun. I hesitated because I did not think I had the time for more exercise. Eventually I caught Agatha 's enthusiasm and joined the Yuanji group. On Saturdays and Sundays after we finished with our Tai Chi, the four of us would run over to the other park and practice with Wong Ying, Chan Yee and a group of ladies.

    It was hard for me because Yuanji appears to have many more moves than Tai Chi. We did not have classes per se; we were just following the others. Of course we wanted to know each movement because that was how we practiced Tai Chi with a teacher.

    During the winter there was no more Yuanji in the park. The one day Agatha and Irene said we should go to Queens to take lessons with Mr. Huo and practice with the other group. I held out for a while, but caved in and started taking the van with Ida from Chinatown to Queens. Mr. Huo, our Yuanji teacher, is a dedicated teacher. He takes the time to explain each move and to make sure that we do each correctly. I started to appreciate and understand the purpose of the moves. Each Saturday there are almost twenty of us in a separate room taking lessons from Mr. Huo .Mr. Huo started with the first set, and step-by-step he showed us how to move our body. For example, when moving from one side to the other, we should use the waist to turn, instead of the shoulder. We take the practice very seriously and you could see the improvements from week to week.

    If you practice Yuanji, you need to make a commitment to learn and to improve. It is not easy to do it well because you can't move too fast or too slow. The arms, legs and shoulders have to be in the right position. but, ah, once in awhile when you do it correctly, the flow in the movements feel so natural and so simple. Right now I am not very good with the names of the moves, but I have an idea of how each movement benefits the different parts of the body, such as the head, shoulders, chest, belly, legs and ankles. I found the stretching moves make my shoulders and neck less tense, and the walking in half circles helps my rhythm and balance. I am bad with directions so when we do the four direction from the others But eventually I know that I will remember the exact sequence. Already I feel more energy in my body. I find that I can never go bake to not doing exercise because my body has become used to it.

    I have fun with my friends and have made new ones at same time. I enjoy the fellowship during the breaks between each set when we help each other. This is why I will continue to practice Yuanji with my friends.