Tai Chi Competition

We returned to Hong Kong on Thursday in-time for a competition on Saturday celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Li Fai School of Tai Chi.

I'd signed-up several months before for 2 events - Chen-56 and Yang-40 - but I wasn't feeling very confident for a number of reasons.

Dunedin at dawn

Firstly my classes had moved on to new forms - a new Chen routine, the combined 42-form and Chen sword - so we weren't training the forms I would be doing in the competition.

Christchurch at dawn

Then we were traveling for the last 2 weeks,  which disrupted my training.  I was quite diligent in practicing most mornings in NZ at dawn to the sound of birdsong, but I missed getting corrections from my coach.

Auckland at dawn

Finally my run-up to the competition was complicated by a groin strain I'd inflicted on myself 6 weeks earlier in a moment of over-enthusiasm.   So I had to rest and then train gently so it could recover in time for the competition.   Fortunately I got that balance right and was able to train the 2 forms enough to avoid embarrassing myself.

The competition was held in a school hall near Tseung Kwan O and was a nice friendly event.

Under the circumstances, I was reasonably satisfied by my performance although I hope I can do better in the future.   I did both forms fairly confidently although it was a bit rough and I made several small mistakes (e.g balance).

More importantly, although many of the external details of the forms are OK, I still need to do a lot of work to get the internal fundamentals correct.  In particular : moving from the 'dan tian'; 'song kua' (relaxing the hips and bearing weight on the legs); keeping back rounded and bum tucked-under;  proper relaxation and breathing, and emitting 'fa jin' (explosive power).       

So I was happy to get 'silver medal' in both categories.  This perhaps sounds better than it is, since the silver category seemed to cover the 30-70th percentile and Im not sure where I was in that range.

As part of the celebrations, there was an interesting martial arts demonstration and a big dinner on Sunday.   I saw the demonstration but by the evening I wasn't feeling well and unfortunately had to skip the dinner.

The center also produced a very nice memorial album with articles and photos from the various events and photos, and shows how much they have done to promote Taiji and Wushu in the community.

I must say Im very impressed by Li Fai and the center in many ways.   They do a terrific job in promoting traditional martial arts and qui gong, and providing high quality instruction.  Also the atmosphere at the school is always very positive and friendly.   As well as being a great athlete, teacher and organizer Li Fai also seems to have a nice aesthetic sense and a talent for creating a sense of occasion so everything the do is quite stylish.

The album included a short section about our Chen 56 class.   This is our sifu Xui Qiong who is a wonderful teacher and athlete.  I'm very grateful to be able to attend her classes.

To sifu's left in the photo above is our oldest classmate who is 83.  And on her far right is a oversized gweilo,  who after 2 years has just learnt the Chinese words for 'left' and 'right'.

Auckland - Museum

My other request for Auckland was to visit the museum.  

Auckland from Harbour Bridge

First Kath drove us up to Birkenhead to pick up Matthew from his new flat.   He has a nice view over Auckland from his balcony.

Auckland from Birkenhead

I'd not been to the Auckland Museum before and was keen to see the it, especially the Maori and Pacific Island collection.   The Maori treasures court has a 'wharenui' (Maori meeting house) very much like the one I remember from the Otago Museum when I was growing up.  That one was called 'Mataatua' and was returned to the Ngati Awa tribe in 2011 (link).

I used to love hanging out in the meeting house and looking at the carvings.  So it was good to be able to enjoy that feeling again and share it with Hannah.

This meeting house, 'Hotunui', was carved in the late 1870s by the same Ngati Awa team who created 'Mataatua' a few years earlier (link).   The structure of the house and carvings are heavy with symbolism about the ancestors.    I have to say I'm pretty ignorant of this, so I was grateful that Katherine was able to explain to us.

"A wharenui resembles the human body in structure, and usually represents a particular ancestor of the tribe.

The tekoteko (carved figure) on the roof top in front of the house represents the head, and the maihi (front barge boards) are the arms held out in welcome to visitors. The amo are short boards at the front of the wharenui representing legs, while the tahuhu (ridge pole), a large beam running down the length of the roof, represents the spine. The heke (rafters), reaching from the tahuhu to the poupou (carved figures) around the walls, represent the ribs.

Many wharenui contain intricate carvings and panels that refer to the whakapapa (genealogy) of the tribe, and to Māori stories and legends. It is also common to see photos of loved ones who have passed away placed inside".  (link)

There was also a beautifully carved 'Pātaka' or storehouse used to keep preserved food like fish, kūmara (sweet potato), and seeds safe during the winter.  It’s built on legs and has a tiny door to stop animals from getting in.

Pataka storehouse

Many of the carvings feel quite modern although they are actually very old.    The gallery had a lot of very striking maori art, especially carvings and weapons.    I was very interested to see the collection of famous clubs and spears and read their stories - it seems many had become famous heirlooms by being used to dispatch a particularly important enemy.

Carving detail

There is an impressive carved war canoe 'Te Toki-ā-Tāpiri' (The adze of Tapiri), carved from a giant totara tree.    One of the last of the traditional waka taua (war canoes) remaining from the 1800s it was carved in 1836, is 25 metres long and carried up to 100 people.  See this blog link for some interesting stories about this canoe in use.

Maori War Canoe

We didn't have time for a good look at the pacific island gallery.  I'd hoped to  learn more about seagoing canoes and navigation.   But I was struck by this ingeniously carved canoe prow, and am curious what it traditional activity it is depicting.

Pacific Island carved canoe prow 

Another highlight was the Maori cultural show.   Hannah particularly enjoyed it, and listened excitedly to the songs.

Poi dance 

I hadn't known that the poi dance, which we associate with maori women, was originally a training method for warriors to build wrist flexibility (the importance of which I can appreciate from my tai chi sword training).

Haka war-dance

The show was engaging and witty, with a good mix of content.

Haka dance

Another priority for me was to show Hannah a giant Moa, and explain to her why New Zealand had no animals at all until the Maori arrived around 1300AD.   As I'd hoped, the Natural History Gallery (link) had a very good display of how New Zealand had split from Gondwana 100 million years ago, before mammals had evolved.

Giant Moa

So I got to show Hannah the model of the 3m-tall giant Moa like the ones that used to live throughout New Zealand until they were hunted to extinction around 1500, a few centuries after the first humans arrived.    I find this fascinating but wasn't able to spark Hannah's interest.

Captured Zero Fighter 

Since the Auckland Museum is also a war memorial there was an extensive display about New Zealand military history : the Maori wars, WW1 and WW2.    We had run out of time, but we had a quick look at the Japanese Zero fighter captured at the end of the war before its Kamikaze pilot could fly his final mission.  Rika was interested to read how the mechanic had delayed fixing the plane in order to save lives.

WW2 Poster 

Compared with Chinese museums there was less emphasis on Japanese atrocities.  But of course we took the opportunity to tease Rika a little.  Which she always enjoys.

By now Hannah was very restless,  so we left the Museum and walked down into town through the Domain.

Auckland War Memorial

Like any 7 year-old who has been cooped-up for too long, Hannah enjoyed the opportunity to run about... 

Auckland Domain

...  as did Matthew and Thomas.

Band Rotunda

For Dinner we met up with Kath and Eleanor and went back to Birkenhead.  We had dinner at a Korean restaurant very close to Matt's flat, which was run by a very charming couple.   As we were talking to them about Korean food,  they mentioned that they normally add extra sugar to cater for New Zealand tastes.    We asked for a selection of our favorite dishes to be cooked Korean-style which was a big hit with the family.    

Eleanor, Hannah and Thomas

And then our holiday was over.  Soon we were filling-in departure cards at Auckland airport

Departure Card

Auckland - Waiheke Island

We flew up to Auckland and stayed at a hotel near Katherine and Willie's house in Panmure.  In the afternoon she took us to Cheltenham Beach on the north shore to meet-up with Matthew and his friends.   

Cheltenham Beach and Rangiototo Island

The next day we all took a ferry together to Waiheke Island.    It was nice but rather strange trip.  Hannah and Thomas played nicely together on the ferry.

We took a bus across the island to Onetangi Beach.  Matt had trouble with his bus card and missed the bus, so he had to wait an hour to catch the next one.

Onetangi Beach was idilic.   This was my first visit to Waiheke Island although of course I'd heard lots of glowing accounts of how nice it is.

Hannah and Rika enjoyed sitting on the beach and cooking in the strong sunlight.   We also did a bit of swimming with Thomas and Hannah.

After Onetangi we took the bus back to Waheke Township for lunch.   Unfortunately Kath had to pop back to Onetangi because she had left a bag at the bus stop.  

Rika ordered oysters of course.  This time Pacific Oysters not Bluff Oysters.

And I bought a cool Hawaiian shirt.  My first ever!    Then we all walked down to the beach playground to let the kids play on the swings and monkey-bars.

And soon it was time to leave Waiheke.

The twilight views of Auckland Harbour and Rangitoto Island from he ferry were magical.

Rangiototo ('Bloody Sky') Island was formed in an eruption just 550-600 years ago.  So its a reminder that Auckland is built on an active volcanic field and "future eruptions are likely"  (link).

All of which reminds us that New Zealand is geologically active and our cities are at risk from earthquakes or volcanos.    But as the display at the Auckland Museum made clear, if it wasn't for the plate tectonics and volcanos, NZ would have disappeared under the Pacific Ocean years ago.   And my ancestors would probably have emigrated to Australia instead.    So as I look at it, the destruction of Auckland by volcanos is a price worth paying to avoid being Australian!

In the evening we went to a Chinese restaurant in Panmure near Kaths place.  We ordered Peking duck and some of our regular staples like vegetables, and fried rice.    It was pretty good, although rather sweeter than we're used to in Hong Kong.

This is Willie, Kath and Matt.

And Rika with an unbelievably cool dude in a new Hawaiian shirt.

Christchurch - Family

On Friday we flew to Christchurch to visit Rachel and John and their family at the their new house at Lincoln.     It was great to have a beer on the patio in the evening and catch-up.

By our  Hong Kong standards, their new house and its garden is palatial.   We stayed in one of the guest bedrooms down in the west-wing.  

It was great to see the family:  Claire and William...

Meg the dog...

the 2 new kittens :  Skyla and Walta....

and the chickens...

I didn't get a photo of Sophie (or the gold-fish).   But I did get a spectacular rainbow.

Hannah loved playing with Claire again, and enjoyed the trampoline in the garden.

On Saturday we headed down to the local market.  I bought a half-dozen perfectly ripe avocados and some local Pinot Noir and made guacamole for snacks.

We also visited the gym where William practices his snowboard tricks on a big trampoline.   He has become pretty skillful.

Video:  Trampoline

On Sunday Rachel gave the kids easter-eggs.

The highlight for Hannah was playing with Claire and the adorable kittens.

...especially once she learnt to hold them by the scruff of the neck and make them go limp.

Since then I've been under intense and sustained pressure to buy Hannah a kitten.