I’ve been practicing Tai Chi in Lumpini for few days now together with the cheerful and competent instrcutor Claire Hu from Thailand. In her previous career, Claire was a Dean at a university here in Bangkok and after deciding to take early retirement, she received her Tai Chi education in Chen village in northern China, where, according to Wikipedia, the discipline originates. Two of the most popular styles of Tai Chi are Chen and Yang, and Claire is introducing me to Chen.

Though heavily influenced by the slower Qigong, Tai Chi is clearly a defense driven martial art that when practiced correctly is supposed to have a slew of health benefits.

Like many other parks throughout Asia, there’s omnipresence of practitioners training various forms of Tai Chi and Qigong. Yet as far as I’ve seen up until this morning, I’m the only westerner taking my first fledgling steps in the world of Tai Chi at Lumphini.