Retreat Information

Big Sky Tai Chi Retreat is Moving East for 2008

3rd Annual Tai Chi Retreat w/ John Loupos

I’m writing to announce a change in venue for our 2008 Retreat. As it’s turned out, the dates available for this summer’s retreat are proving inconvenient for many of our Big Sky Tai Chi alumni. Therefore, I have made the decision to conduct this year’s camp locally, using my own school and community resources in lieu of traveling afar.

Our curriculum will remain the same, only our location will be different (more details below). For two years now we have set ourselves out to learn Tai Chi Chuan in the best way, not just its traditional movement patterns, but the deeper, and more elusive, principles upon which advanced level Tai Chi is based. If you’re considering joining our group for the first time, be sure to visit www.jfkungfu.com (see Retreats) to review comments volunteered by past attendees about their Retreat experiences w/ Instructor and host John Loupos, replete with photos from our last two retreats.

My school, Jade Forest Kung Fu/ Tai Chi/ Internal Arts, is located in beautiful Cohasset-by-the-Sea. Cohasset is approximately 20 miles (30 - 40 min.) south of Boston right on the coast. There is convenient public transportation to Logan Airport via the local train and also a commuter boat that goes directly to the airport. My own school has thrived here for over 30 years. In addition to a spacious and well appointed indoor facility, there is an expansive Common in the village and a nearly 7 miles stretch off forever flat sand (at low tide) at neighboring Nantasket Beach. Daily training sessions will be varied between these, and perhaps other, locations.

What If You Missed Last Summer’s Retreat?

No problem. If you’re already experienced at Tai Chi, you can join in this summer and get ‘caught up’. If you’re less experienced you’ll pick up as best you can and settle into our process-oriented approach according to your own ability. Our 2008 Retreat remains open to new attendees, even if you haven’t joined us in the past. Come August, we’ll be exploring the third and final section of the traditional Yang form, as well as the 2nd half of the Tai Chi Broadsword form. Again, if you missed past sessions, these installments can be learned as stand-alone curriculums. The emphasis on internalizing Tai Chi’s applied principles will render our curriculum applicable to whatever Tai Chi you may already have learned.

Previous Retreat participants have ranged from 0 - 25 yrs experience, from Novice to Teacher level. Regardless of level, all who attended left feeling much improved with their Tai Chi. Our 2008 curriculum will strike a balance between review and refinement of past summers’ material, and new material, again this year with a double curriculum. We will continue learning the additional and remaining sequences to the 108 Move Tai Chi Form, with an eye to in-depth details and applied principles. In addition to the 108 Form, I will teach attendees the second half of the Tai Chi Broadsword Form, a much rarer set than the Tai Chi Gim. Students can bring their own sword or make arrangements in advance to purchase a sword at the Retreat. I carry very good quality spring-steel broadswords at a reasonable cost for anyone who needs a sword.

Our Basic Plan

Everything has gone so well during past summers that our ‘basic plan’ will remain the same. Our, East Coast Tai Chi Retreat will be an opportunity for you to sink back for a week of very focused, very intensive training with fellow Tai Chi students and teachers who, like yourself, are committed to getting the very most from their practice. This will be an opportunity for you to fully immerse yourself in Tai Chi and explore what-all its implications are for truly enhancing your life on all levels.

As my particular understandings of Tai Chi and my teaching methodologies have disseminated far and wide via my books and magazine articles, and now my recent DVD, quite a number of Tai Chi’ers have asked for just such an opportunity as this - to study intensively in a small community setting. My Cohasset teaching facility presents an excellent venue for a week of total Tai Chi immersion in an ideal location, a perfect setting for Tai Chi, with good feng shui and all the conveniences of home (... a mixed blessing perhaps but unlike rural Wyoming, we do get cell phone reception here).

As to the specifics of our training, one designed to help you get more, lots more, out of whatever Tai Chi you practice, each day of our retreat will begin with early morning body-opening and Chi Kung practice, followed by time off for breakfast and settling in. During the day we’ll meet for two 2-hour training sessions, late morning and mid-late afternoon. In between training sessions you’ll have ample free time to rest, reflect on and practice all you’ve learned, explore/ hike the local trails/ loll at the beach, or engage in lively Tai Chi discussions with fellow attendees from around the country/ world. Our basis for training will be a traditional Yang form, which we will approach in a way that emphasizes Tai Chi’s deepest and most natural connections... no matter if you already practice a different form or style, this study will enrich your understanding of Tai Chi at its core. Throughout the week there will be lots of opportunity for personalized attention. My promise to those who attend is that you will emerge from your week of training with a better understanding of Tai Chi’s nuances and a fresh perspective on how Tai Chi can help you to optimize your own human potential. You’ll finish up your Tai Chi retreat week considerably more knowledgeable and self-aware than where you started (see testimonials).

Most evenings will be designated for structured activities, including discussions about Tai Chi principles, 2 person practices, how to live your Tai Chi in a manner that is congruent with the values intrinsic to Tai Chi, and more. I’ll also introduce instruction in Hanna Somatics bodywork exercises to enhance your proprioceptive literacy and neuromuscular intelligence (very popular in past summers). These unique exercises will provide you a means to get past restricting and habituated amnesiac muscle patterns wherever they might be harbored in your body. Significantly, it is exactly the patterns of stuckness addressed by these exercises that prevent most people from advancing beyond a certain level of skill with their own Tai Chi. To find out more about Somatics visit www.painandmobility.com.

Now more on our venue.

Attendees will be housed locally, either in my home or in that of my partner Christina (nearby). We’ll have space to host up to 12, for the first enrollees to sign up. Alternate housing will be arranged for any overflow enrollees. Students will be provided transportation to and from all training activities. Meals will be hearty, healthy and varied, some home cooked (yes, by me, though you may have to help with dishes, etc.), and some at local eateries. Accommodations will be multiple occupancy with shared baths and single or double beds. Private rooms for couples can probably be arranged for early enrollees, but anyone opting for total privacy is welcome to bring a tent and sleep out under the stars. Tents aside, accommodations will be comfortable and homey.

Our retreat will be held from Aug 6 - 13, 2008. The cost for retreat attendees is $1000 pp, for the All Inclusive package, including all training and accommodations, plus 3 meals/day. Not included are airfare, transportation to and from the airport (though we’ll be offering scheduled pickups/drop-offs for folks flying in/out), local travel, and elective meals off site.

Locally, there are an assortment of beaches, hiking trails, and natural and cultural resources, including Boston to the north and Cape Cod to the south.

What to do now... Your skill level or experience at Tai Chi is less important than your enthusiasm and a sincere desire to learn. Part of my teaching philosophy is that people move at their own pace and learn what they’re ready to learn, when they’re ready to learn it. Our training will be serious (fun serious, not stern serious), yet open to different levels of experience.

I am now accepting registrations. Free to pass this along to other Tai Chi enthusiasts you know who may be interested. Feel free as well to contact me with any questions regarding our new venue for 2008.

Best Tai Chi regards, John Loupos

Your host and teacher for this event...

Sifu John Loupos, M.S. Psych, C.S.E., is the owner/ founder of Jade Forest Kung Fu/ Tai Chi/ Internal Arts. John has been teaching martial arts since 1968 and practicing Tai Chi since 1975. His internal arts experience covers a wide spectrum. He is also trained in Classical Homeopathy and Hanna Somatics. He is the author of “Inside Tai Chi...”, “Exploring Tai Chi...” and “Tai Chi Connections...”, and “Advancing Your Tai Chi” (DVD). His next book, on Hanna Somatics, “The Myth of Aging - Your Guide to Neuromuscular Intelligence...” is in pre-pub. John’s articles have appeared in Taijiquan Journal, Inside Kung Fu magazine, and the Journal of Asian Martial Arts. John was also a featured presenter at the 2005/ 06 Zhang San Feng Festivals and other venues.

John is guided in his role as a Tai Chi teacher by his beliefs that:

Tai Chi Chuan can be more than something we do, rather it can become an indelible part of who we are,...
the essential principles of Tai Chi are universal, regardless of the style,...
Tai Chi is a mind/body discipline that can help us optimize our human potential as ‘self-masters’,... and
Tai Chi should be as much fun as it is work.

Hope you’ll be able to join us.

Additional event information

To help you plan well ahead, attendees should arrange travel plans to arrive at our retreat location (Cohasset, Ma 02025) between noon - 6 pm (or thereabouts) on Wed, 8/6/08. Departure will be the following Wed morning, 8/13/08, after early morning workout and breakfast. If flying, your flight destination will be Logan Airport. Cohasset is an easy and (at times) scenic 30-45 min. drive from the airport. Once registrants have provided me with their flight info we’ll do our best on this end to help plan shuttling, etc. around arrival and departure times. Cars can be rented at the airport, or if you prefer to pool on a rented car with other attendees let me know and I will try to put like-minded people together. If the situation warrants I will rent a vehicle for use by attendees during the week. Once you are confirmed registered, or for anyone arriving late or preferring to make their own transportation arrangements, driving directions/maps will be made available, as well local ph #’s. Please let me know your preference on this no later than 5/1/08.

I am now accepting reservations for the East Coast Tai Chi Retreat. Fees are as follows:

Payment:

All Inclusive @ $1000.
All Classes, including meals (but not not housing) @ $750
All Classes only @ $600.
Evening classes only (Tai Chi theory, etc, Somatics, Pushing Hands. @ $200.
Cancellations/refunds by - 4/1/08 100% less $50
before: 7/1/08 50%
Cancellations after: 7/1/08 no refund

Instructor’s note: In response to several inquiries, if you are an Instructor wanting to bring first time only students of your own along with you to this retreat you are eligible for an additional discount. For each of your students who prepays by 6/1/08 (space permitting) you will receive a rebate in the amount of $50 (Full class plans only), to be administered at the retreat.

To register you may send payment in full at this time or a deposit to hold your space. Applicable discounts apply according to the discount deadline. Checks may be made out to Jade Forest. Mail to:

Jade Forest,
130 King St,
Cohasset, MA 02025

Once you are registered I will notify you to confirm your space. Additional information will be sent out to help you prepare for a successful event.

Our 2008 retreat is already shaping up to be a memorable and unique experience for all who attend. Confirm your spot today.

Best regards, John Loupos www.jfkungfu.com, www.painandmobility.com