The 10th anniversary of World Tai Chi Day will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday by the band shell at Wright Park in Dodge City.
Beginning in the earliest time zones of New Zealand, Tai Chi exhibitions and teach-ins will unfold in hundreds of cities on six continents across the planet as the earth turns.
In Dodge City, Nat Shriver’s Yoga and Dance will host the event at Wright Park, along with M. Phong Ho, who has taught Tai Chi at the Dodge City Senior Center for several years. Sam Scott of HiPlains Martial Arts will demonstrate ancient Tai Chi Chang.
“Bill Douglas of Overland Park, Kansas, began World Tai Chi Day 10 years ago,” Shriver said. “The celebration has spread to all 50 states and to 60 countries around the world.”
Douglas will present a Tai Chi for people with Parkinson’s disease at 10 a.m. in New York on Saturday. World Tai Chi Day will begin in New Zealand at 10 a.m. and end in Hawaii at 10 a.m. in the islands.
“It’s pretty exciting how this celebration has spread around the world,” Shriver said. “In each time zone, nearly every country will be represented. It’s wonderful to see how many people’s lives have been touched by Tai Chi.”
Shriver teaches a free class of Tai Chi on the first Friday of every month at 6 p.m. at Wright Park. Winter winds, snow, rain, or sleet don’t deter her from her mission to share Tai Chi with as many people as possible.
“We go out even in extreme weather, and sometimes we need some hot tea when we’re finished,” she said with a laugh. “We welcome beginners. They can try Tai Chi this Saturday in the middle of a circle so they can feel comfortable.”
Shriver also teaches Tai Chi from 7 to 8 p.m. every Thursday at her studio at Nat’s Yoga and Dance Center, located on the second floor above the Dodge City Daily Globe office at 705 N. Second Ave.
Shriver teaches a free yoga class on Tuesdays at the Dodge City Senior Center, but the class takes a recess during the summer months and resumes the first Tuesday after Labor Day. She has taught Tai Chi and yoga for 10 years at Dodge City Community College, but she is giving up those classes at the college at the end of this semester.
For more information about World Tai Chi Day, call Shriver at (620) 408-9536.
Dodge City —
