T’ai Chi Royalty to visit Pittsburgh in April
Grandmaster Helen Wu, a world renowned T’ai Chi expert, is coming to Pittsburgh on April 7th and 8th to lead workshops on her family’s various Qigong (Health Exercise Forms).
Helen Wu started her training at three years old, and since then has not only appeared on TV, she has become recognized as a living treasure in T’ai Chi and a Grandmaster. Hailing from a Shenghai family that has been called T’ai Chi royalty, Helen Wu’s grandfather Zi Ping Wang is the only martial artist to ever be featured on a postage stamp in China, and her mother Ju-Rong Wang, also a Grandmaster, was one of the creators of the 24 Movement T’ai Chi form that is widely taught around the world.
Grandmaster Wu is currently Professor of Kinesiology at York University in Canada, and is delighted to come to Pittsburgh as part of Still Mountain T’ai Chi of Pittsburgh’s “Learn from the Masters” series—a program that brings the world experts on various forms of T’ai Chi and Qigong to Pittsburgh to share their expertise.
“As T’ai Chi has become more popular in our culture, it is even more important that people have access to the living legends—the people who are living connections to authentic practices,” Dr. David Clippinger explains. Clippinger is the Director of Still Mountain and a long time student of Helen Wu, and one of his projects has been to make sure that people have access to authentic T’ai Chi so that they can experience the maximum benefits behind these ancient arts.
“As weekend teaching certification programs in T’ai Chi have been expanding, the need for access to the real experts such as Grandmaster Wu is even more imperative,” according to Dr. Clippinger. Grandmaster Wu explains that “Learning the movements of T’ai Chi and Qigong without an in depth understanding of the principles, philosophy , and science behind these forms is like Swimming in the Dark.” “Grandmaster Wu rarely travels outside of Toronto any more, and we are extremely fortunate that she has agreed to come to Pittsburgh to teach.”
Health and Healing Workshops are planned for Friday night (7-9) at the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center, and Saturday morning (9-11:30) and afternoon (1-3:30) at the Anglican Parish of Christ the Redeemer in Canonsburg. All the workshops are open to the public, and no previous experience is required. Registration is required and each workshop has a suggested $60 donation fee to help to cover the expenses of offering the program.
More information is available at www.stillmountaintaichi.com or 412-480-9177. Information about Grandmaster Wu is available at http://www.helenwutaichistudio.com/