Every year for 25 years, prior to my retirement in July 2016, I taught Tai Chi and Qigong as part of a University movement class required for all drama students at the University of Windsor. I taught this course 2 to 4 times a year with 20 to 30 students in each class.

Seeking The Dragon’s Pearl is a personal reflection on these 25 years. It takes a detailed look at a Special Projects course that provided students an opportunity to interact with an authentic Master of Taijiquan and Qigong. It presents research data, and anecdotal student and graduate reflections, on the benefits, to their health and to their lives, of Taijiquan & Qigong, and their associated philosophies and meditative practices.

Keywords: TCM, health, self care, taoism, buddhism, meditation, taijiquan, qigong, university students

“The pearl has strong meaning in Asian folklore. Both Taoism and Buddhism use pearls as symbols of wisdom or enlightenment. Buddhism particularly depicts the pearl in the center of a lotus blossom as the ultimate wisdom in life. Since dragons were believed to be supernaturally wise, perhaps it is only natural that they should seek or hold such a treasure”.

“In the West, a fundamental split is posited between mind and body”...“In the East, by contrast, the most widespread traditions assert a fundamental unity. Body and mind, spirit and matter, male and female interact in the dance which is the universe.”

I began my study of the Martial Arts in1970. Since that time I have immersed myself in a continual and progressive study of various forms of internal and external martial arts and the philosophical writings which underpin them. Since 1993 I have exclusively studied Chinese Martial Arts.

In 1975 I began to pursue a career in drama/theatre with a particular focus on the applications of drama/theatre in education and in ‘therapy’. However until quite recently I had always seen these two aspects of my life (drama/theatre and martial arts) as separate one from the other: I failed to recognise or accept that my praxis connects the two.

This began to change in 1991 when on a brief research trip to Britain a colleague (a multi-talented man who teaches dance, drama and music) and I engaged in a discussion about his ‘root’ discipline. After some discussion he proclaimed that while he teaches drama and dance his discipline is Music. He then asked me what my discipline is, for like him I teach courses that cross disciplinary and artistic boundaries. For a few moments I was completely speechless. However as we conversed it became clear to us both that all my work is based on notions of “breath” and ‘energy’(both connected by the concepts of Qi ) rooted through my training in the internal martial arts.

In 1993 I started teaching students an introduction to the Chinese ‘Internal’ Martial Arts of Taijiquan & Qigong as a part of a movement course required for all drama students at the University of Windsor. From 1993-96 many students of this course expressed strong unsolicited statements concerning the value of studying these Chinese Internal Arts both to their health and their studies in Drama in Education

In 1996 an opportunity arose to bring Master Hu an authentic Master of Taijiquan and Qigong to Windsor to work with students in our Drama in Education program. To this end I employed a little used Cross-Cultural Studies Special Projects course, to provide students the opportunity to interact with a master. A brief study was undertaken in which the responses of participants to their experiences were recorded and examined especially noting any connections made between the value of this study with a master of Taijiquan/Qigong to their health and their studies.

This was a six-week course taught in the spring of 1996. It was designed to be flexible to enable participants to explore connections that interested them. The entire class met with me for whole group workshop/seminars three times during weeks 1 & 2. In these classes Tai Chi & Qigong forms taught previously were reviewed and students were prepared for the visit of Master Hu.

In week 3 Master George Ling Hu Taoist1 and an authentic Master of the Chinese Internal Martial Arts] taught classes in Tai Ji & Qigong and the principles of Taoism which underpin these Internal Martial Arts. The entire class met with Master Hu all day Saturday and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings: a total of 14 required contact hours. In addition 3 participants attended an optional 4-hour class offered by Master Hu on Sunday afternoon. In weeks 4, 5 & 6 the whole group met with me once a week for 3 hours at a time: a total of 18 required contact hours. The content included review of Tai Ji Quan/Qigong forms taught by Master Hu and discussion of readings. I also offered four optional 3-hour classes covering different topics identified as being of interest to different groups of students.

In addition to the required whole group workshop/seminars, participants worked in smaller groups on the update and revision of course materials (a handbook and video) for use in the Creative Movement and Voice course. Finally, students were encouraged to pursue independent study on a topic of their own choosing.

So the question at the end of the day was what these children learned from this course. What Pearls of wisdom did they gain from this meeting with a Master?

To try to find out, a research assistant unfamiliar with the Chinese Internal Martial Arts but conversant with drama / theatre in education theories and practices was hired.2 The assistant collated and reviewed the course syllabus and materials which were then mapped and correlated for references to Tai Ji & Qigong, Drama in Education, personal development, work as a drama educator/theatre artist and any specific links connecting work in Chinese Internal Martial Arts to work in Drama/Theatre in Education. From this process, a short set of interview questions was developed.

The research assistant interviewed all participants approximately six months after the end of the course. These interviews were tape recorded, transcribed and in turn correlated and mapped for the items cited above. All of the data was then re-examined. Clusters of similar responses were noted, as were any patterns of responses to the phenomena experienced during the summer course. Discrepancies and unique responses were also logged.

What follows are a selection of responses grouped under specific topic heading

Many of the participants, while young and reasonably fit, found the physical nature of learning authentic Taijiquan& Qigong very demanding e.g.

"Who would believe that moving slowly and standing still could be so excruciatingly painful and difficult?"Two participants commented specifically on the time spent holding individual postures. One suggested that “Master Hu made us hold positions that were very uncomfortable for a very long time”

while another went as far as to say

“I nearly died”.

As a noninvasive treatment, Mora adjusts the state of body to actively prevent invasion of illness and could be a vital means for treating SHL. To sum up, Mora combined with vasodilators can significantly improve the therapeutic effect which is worth applying and recommending in the treatment of SHL.

As a noninvasive treatment, Mora adjusts the state of body to actively prevent invasion of illness and could be a vital means for treating SHL. To sum up, Mora combined with vasodilators can significantly improve the therapeutic effect which is worth applying and recommending in the treatment of SHL.

As a noninvasive treatment, Mora adjusts the state of body to actively prevent invasion of illness and could be a vital means for treating SHL. To sum up, Mora combined with vasodilators can significantly improve the therapeutic effect which is worth applying and recommending in the treatment of SHL.

As a noninvasive treatment, Mora adjusts the state of body to actively prevent invasion of illness and could be a vital means for treating SHL. To sum up, Mora combined with vasodilators can significantly improve the therapeutic effect which is worth applying and recommending in the treatment of SHL.

As a noninvasive treatment, Mora adjusts the state of body to actively prevent invasion of illness and could be a vital means for treating SHL. To sum up, Mora combined with vasodilators can significantly improve the therapeutic effect which is worth applying and recommending in the treatment of SHL.

As a noninvasive treatment, Mora adjusts the state of body to actively prevent invasion of illness and could be a vital means for treating SHL. To sum up, Mora combined with vasodilators can significantly improve the therapeutic effect which is worth applying and recommending in the treatment of SHL.

As a noninvasive treatment, Mora adjusts the state of body to actively prevent invasion of illness and could be a vital means for treating SHL. To sum up, Mora combined with vasodilators can significantly improve the therapeutic effect which is worth applying and recommending in the treatment of SHL.

As a noninvasive treatment, Mora adjusts the state of body to actively prevent invasion of illness and could be a vital means for treating SHL. To sum up, Mora combined with vasodilators can significantly improve the therapeutic effect which is worth applying and recommending in the treatment of SHL.

None

Author declares there is no conflict of interest towards this manuscript.