Dr. Wu asked me to make sure you all know about a unique Tai Chi event that will be held this week in Lexington.
Dr. Wu recently saw a brand new movie about Tai Chi, called "The Professor: Tai Chi's Journey West", and he hasn't stopped talking about how good it is!
Before watching the movie, at 7:30pm we wil perform at least one long form in the studio.
Los Angeles Times review May 5, 2016:
'Professor' warmly chronicles Tai Chi's trip to the West
"The Professor: Tai Chi's Journey West" First Run Features
Tai Chi master Cheng Man-Ching as seen in the movie "The Professor: Tai Chi's Journey West," a film by Barry Strugatz.
by Michael Rechtshaffen
East engagingly meets West in "The Professor: Tai Chi's Journey West," an affectionate documentary portrait of Cheng Man-Ching, the Chinese master who brought Tai Chi to New York during the groovy but stressed-out '60s.
The diminutive Cheng, also an established doctor, poet and calligrapher, was already 65 years old when he moved his family from Taiwan to Manhattan and opened the doors of his Canal Street studio to a colorful assortment of martial arts enthusiasts, radicals, hippies and draft dodgers.
The Chinatown locals didn't exactly welcome the long-haired interloper with open arms - they resented that ancient "secrets" were being shared with Westerners; Cheng established a nontraditionally informal, demonstrably more playful relationship with his students, judging from the rich amount of black-and-white archival documentation shot in those early classes.
Interspersing that footage with fond recollections from many of those original students, several of whom still appear to be living the enlightened life, the film also includes interviews with Cheng's children (their father died in 1975) as well as a clip from a Canadian television interview with a relaxed Bruce Lee.
In his documentary debut, director Barry Strugatz, a screenwriter best known for 1988's "Married to the Mob," has crafted a brief but disarmingly cordial tribute to an overlooked Tai Chi "sifu" who didn't believe in kowtowing to convention.
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"The Professor: Tai Chi's Journey West"
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 12 minutes"
***The address will be provided to all who can attend. Car-pooling and/or caravan-ing may be available between Concord and Denise's home if desired. It's going to be fun!
To RSVP, text Dr. Wu at 978-790-8888.
Thank you!
Wu Healing Center
