By Chelsea Thornton (Staff Writer) – Email
With final exams only one month away, many UFV students are planning their exam-attack strategy, whether it is late nights and coffee, sequestration in the library, or hours at a coffee shop. This semester you may want to consider adding a different facet to your approach – Tai Chi, thanks to Tadueusez Kuczyuski, who is currently attempting to start at Tai Chi Club here at UFV.
Currently, Kuczyuski is fifteen people short of the required number of people the Student Union Society requires for a club to be registered. For him, “the main reason to create a UFV Tai Chi Club is to promote this ancient oriental art among students of our university.” Kuczyuski added: “this Club could be of great benefit to the population of UFV by providing a new and open channel for people to strive for a higher level of art and fitness within the UFV community.” He envisions a club that would meet regularly, organize workshops, and perform showcases.Kuczyuski explained that “the purpose of relaxing the body is to enhance one’s internal energy and better distribute that energy all over the body.” A little energy redistribution might prove useful this time of year. Additionally, Tai Chi is said to help the participant to express emotions; build endurance, energy, and flexibility; and improve concentration, attention, circulation, and muscle tone.With final exams only one month away, many UFV students are planning their exam-attack strategy, whether it is late nights and coffee, sequestration in the library, or hours at a coffee shop. This semester you may want to consider adding a different facet to your approach – Tai Chi, thanks to Tadueusez Kuczyuski, who is currently attempting to start at Tai Chi Club here at UFV.
Tai Chi evolved in harmony with both Taoist and Confucian principles, and stems from the pursuit of the fusion or mother of the Yin Yang into a single Ultimate. It is considered one of the Wudang martial arts – the martial arts with internal power. Legend has it that the martial art was created by Zhang Sanfeng, a Taoist priest who is believed to have achieved immortality. He watched a snake’s stillness dominate over a bird’s frantic attack and was inspired to create a similar form of human defense – t’ai chi chu’an. He is said to have been seven feet tall, with the bones of a crane and the posture of a pine tree, as well as whiskers shaped like a spear.
The term t’ai chi ch’uan translates to “supreme ultimate fist,” “boundless fist,” “great extremes boxing,” or simply “the ultimate.” All in all, this martial art of the boundless fist has the potential to make you immortal, super-focused, giant-sized, bird-boned, tree-spined, and full-bearded… so why aren’t you doing Tai Chi? Kuczyuski explained that in reality, the goal of Tai Chi is “a combination of method and purpose, so that body can be both relaxed and energized. The body has to be dynamically unified in order to fully harmonize and express spirit and emotions. It is not something like waving a ribbon around without any force. It is firm and strong.”
Kuczyuski trained under Bui Ngoc Hai in Poland and with Raymond Y.M. Chung of the Vancouver Tai Chi Chuan Association. For more information about Tai Chi or how to join the club, contact him at 604 850 3864, or email him at kuczynsk@hotmail.com.
