2017 NATSTA Annual Report

22017017 AAnnnnuuaall RReeppoorrtt PO Box 36235, Tucson, AZ, 85740 www.NATSTA.org Dear Friends, Thank you for your interest in the work of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association. 2017 has been another year of quiet and diligent work for us. We continue to build a foundation of practi - tioners in both martial and medical arts who are motivated to main - tain the connections to our ancestors in both theory and practice. The ultimate goal of the association is that the arts we have inherited will continue to grow and thrive in both North America and the world. In working towards this goal, you can see that in 2017 we have continued to maintain productive contact with our Chinese teachers, to bring members from across North America together to refine and standardize our gongfu systems, and to upgrade members’ medical skills. Our community involvement with veterans in Arizona has expanded and our translation and publishing projects are progressing nicely. These parts of our project are easy to see and understand, yet for their ultimate success, one of the most important things is less easily grasped: that the methods we practice remain essentially unchanged. For them to remain, so we must try to understand the thinking behind the methods—and that means to try to understand the thinking of our teachers and of their teachers before them. In essence, we ask why did they pass on the arts the way that they did? Only by remembering to look back and to think deeply about how and why our forebears practiced will we be able to keep their arts alive and bring the benefits of these old ways of thinking and doing into the modern world. In a time when it seems everything is moving and changing faster and faster, people have little interest or ability to connect to the world of yesterday. As you look at this review of the Association’s activities over the year, keep in mind what this might mean for our little organization to make a priority of remembering, in a world mainly bent on progress and change at all costs. Sincerely, Ethan Murchie, Amara Franko Heller, Kathy Reynolds, and Tom Klingelhofer Caption Board of Directors 1 Our Mission Our Vision The mission of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association The rich, complex history of the Chinese martial and Cooperative, Inc. is the preservation, research and dissemination medical arts extends back over thousands of years. Over this time of the traditional Chinese martial and medical arts. The traditional the intrinsic value of these arts, and the knowledge and wisdom Chinese internal martial arts that the association focuses on include contained within them, has been one of the cornerstones of xingyiquan,baguazhang, taijiquan, and liuhebafa (water boxing). Chinese culture. In the modern world this knowledge and wisdom remains as viable and as valuable as ever. The experiences Traditional Chinese medicine practiced and researched by the contained in the study and practice of traditional boxing and organization includes all aspects of tuina, acupuncture, herbal self-cultivation methods enrich people’s lives in profound ways. medicine, qigong, and dietary medicine. The North American Tang When the understanding of the body, mind and spirit developed Shou Tao Association Cooperative, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit through these practices is combined with traditional medicine, organization in accordance with Arizona State and IRS guidelines. many simple and direct methods of relieving the suffering of our fellow humans can be realized. There is a place in the modern world for these old ways of doing and thinking, and there is a need to remember as best we can all of the lessons of the old teachers. As these arts spread throughout the world from their homeland in China, their influ - ence must extend into the deepest parts of our own cultural expe - riences if they are to remain strong and true. The goal of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association is not only to preserve the technical aspects of our arts, but also to create opportunities for practitioners of all levels to experience the culture of the arts as a way of living, a way of being in the world, and a way of understanding the mysteries of human existence. We are working to create opportunities for practitioners to immerse themselves in study, and attain high levels of understanding and skill in both the martial and the medical arts. We are also working to help our members cultivate fields of practice that will mature over the generations. All of this we do for the love of our teachers and of our arts, in the sincere hope that our humble efforts will benefit our communities, and in a small way contribute to making the world a better place. Caption 3 Association Goals • Preserve the purity of each Chinese internal martial art system in the lineages that we represent. Through the preservation of each system, we remember our benefactors and keep the definitions of the lineages and practices clear for the historical record and for posterity. • Develop qualified instructors to provide a high level of competence in the practice, understanding and teaching of the traditional Chinese internal martial arts of xingyiquan, baguazhang, taijiquan, and liuhebafa. • Develop qualified practitioners to provide a high level of competence in the practice and understanding of the traditional Chinese medical arts, including tuina, acupuncture, herbal medicine and qigong. • Attract highly qualified students dedicated to the study and advancement of these arts. • Foster and disseminate the martial and medical arts through an international network of association schools. • Provide opportunities for students and instructors, such as conferences and retreats, to meet, exchange information, train together, and expand the community of dedicated practitioners. • Conduct field research in China and elsewhere, interview knowledgeable individuals, and document methods and practices, to ensure the preservation of specific lineages for future generations. • Cultivate our lineage connections and deepen our understand - ing and expression of our martial and medicinal arts by inviting teachers from China to visit the United States and work with association members across the country. Liu Shuhang teaching his Gao family style of Baguazhan in Portal, Arizona during a five day retreat in October 5 20 17 Association Activities Chinese New Year’s Retreat and Discipleship Training with Liu Shuhang National Conference and Li Cang Our two major national events were both In October, Liu Shuhang’s Gao held at the home school in Tucson Arizona. Yisheng Bagua disciples and Both events focused on reviewing, refining and Li Cang’s Hero Mountain Xingyi documenting the Shen Long Xingyi system. disciples brought their teachers In addition to the training at the event which to lead a training retreat in Portal, brought instructors from across the association Arizona. This was a week of train - to a close agreement on how the Shen Long ing focused on developing disciples’ understanding of their material should be preserved and presented, systems. The event was on invitation only, allowing the groups work on both written and video documenta - to be small and the training detailed and personal. tion of the system was presented and reviewed. For the Association this was a milestone event in that for the first time, the disciples took full responsibility for the funding Medicine Seminars of the event and the association’s role was to provide logistical support only. Under the guidance of Randy Sevier, the association’s emergency medicine program continued to develop with a seminar held after the Chinese new year’s event. The Reginal Events Chinese medicine committee also presented Members schools continue to develop locally. This year, a number an in-depth introduction to the art of pulse- of local training events were held, in addition to smaller informal taking and a complete revision of the gatherings. Jin Shou Tuina TM system at a medicine seminar following the national conference. Portland Oregon , June: John Groshwitz and Naoko Koeke taught an introduction to Gao Bagua. ’Õ lohe Solomon Retreat Montreal, Quebec , April: Jonathan McIver taught Dr. Xie Peiqi’s In May, Vince and the association hosted Eight Storing Qi and Developing Sensitivity Exercises. ’Õlohe Solomon Kaihewalu and his wife, Hero Mountain Tour , Throughout the summer months, Christine, at the home school. Olohe Ken Bordignon toured schools in Arizona, Virginia, Quebec, taught techniques from his family Hawaiian Colorado and Hawaii to promote Lua system and shared philosophy and insight Hero Mountain Xingyi. from his lifetime of work in martial arts. Special thanks to Grandmasters Lim & Lim Boston, Massachusetts , October: Dan Harding led a combined for attendng with their students to support kajukenbo and Gao Bagua event. Olohe at this event. 7 20 17 Association Activities 201 7 Financial Overview Publishing EXPENSES ($) Work continues on all of the association's translation efforts. Bank charges 4,580 The Liang Zhenpu committee has a working English draft of the Utilities 8,216 Baguazhang Boxing Manual text they are working on which can be prepared for publication in the coming year. The Hero Operating expenses 7,639 Mountain Xingyi disciple group has begun work on translation Rent 12,000 of Li Jingxuan’s xingyi manual. In January 2017, Ethan Murchie Consulting fees 15,750 and Emilie Breton travelled to Buenes Aires, Argentina, to meet Airfare and travel 20,585 with Dr. Li Ding and solidify plans for the revision and publication Event expenses 18,395 of his Jingluo Qigong book. Publishing 3,878 Veterans Program Development TOTAL EXPENSES 91,043 The qigong for veterans program is currently in its third year of operation. Due to the demand for more classes, the course is now offered four times per week at the Southern Arizona veterans’ INCOME ($) Hospital.

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