Phil Chavanne
5/5
I have been studying Tai Chi and I Liq Chuan with Shifu (Master) Kelly Graham for several weeks now, and I would like to share a couple of things.
First, the Urban Retreat Center is a haven of peace in Tucson. I love the area, back of the Rincon Market, and I love the space itself with its high ceiling, its brick walls and its clean energetic vibe. Shifu keeps it very positive at all times and this can easily be felt. You are welcome in this school, and Shifu will make you feel at ease immediately.
Just like the other students of Shifu Kelley, I work intensely during our sessions to correct the bad postural habits of a sedentary lifestyle. We can become so "tuned out" of our bodies that we lose our capacity to feel how energy becomes stuck and "unflowy" in our bodies, resulting in all kinds of ailments and toxic deposits.
Shifu works to bring back this awareness and amplify it through the fundamental work we do on skeletal posture. Energy cannot flow correctly when the channels are blocked and impeded. Yet a free flowing energy is essential to good health and well-being. Shifu Kelley's approach to the rehabilitation of these channels and the raising of our awareness is unique and full of surprises. I learn a lot, every single session. I feel healthier, stronger and more in control of my body.
The Tai Chi Boost practice evolved by Shifu Kelley involves standing meditation, a method I was not used to. Yet the principles and the end of this method remain the same: to "live the moment", "be in present time", "in the now now". This is the way to release the mind from the nagging of life. Life isn't always a bowl of cherries, and it's easy to get worried (and more).
Practicing Tai Chi and meditation as instructed by Shifu Kelley puts this into perspective by training our ability to face those inconveniences "now" instead of being pulled back into various past fears. Being "now" is definitely the best way to tackle daily issues. Every week, I look forward to the next monday morning and our Tai Chi training: it's the greatest way to start a new week!
Shifu also trains us in I Liq Chuan. I can't say anything about this martial art because I am just an ignorant student. 🙂 But what I can tell i what I feel: every 1-hour training session is an intense learning experience and a very intense workout without the risks of injury so characteristic of crossfit programs. I feel more "centered", more coordinated. I realized today that fear in front of an attacker is only a function of inexperience and lack of proficiency in the fighting arts: train and integrate the training, and there will be little fear, if any.
I love the teachings of Shifu Kelley, and I hope more people will want to try his new methods. They do not include any "lazy path to accomplishment" but they are not overly complex and the goals are not unreachable.
It's Tai Chi and martial arts for people with busy lives who want to be more focused, more energetic, healthier and feel better every day.
