Hubert started learning Tai Chi with Master Moy in 1976 and was an active member of the TTCS until 2010. Founder of Comme les nuages, teaching Tai Chi in the Montreal Area and supporting other groups since 2016.
For the last few years, my brother Philippe and I have been collaborating on what is becoming regular yearly events. Twice a year, Tai Chi and Lok Hup Ba Fa enthusiasts gather in a beautiful Center by lake MacDonald for a few days of concentrated study and practice. Organizing the first of these seminars felt like throwing a bottle in the ocean and waiting in anticipation to see if anyone would be interested.
In August 2019, we rented a small center in the Eastern Township, south-east of Montreal. It could only accommodate a maximum of twenty participants, which was fine by us because we were not sure we could interest even a dozen. It was Christine ,who also teaches at Comme les nuages, that came up with the idea of a week-long seminar and insisted on taking charge of everything. A great job she did! She found that little center and negotiated a price for the sojourn. We ended up having a group of fifteen dedicated Tai Chi practitioners. The practice hall was on the small side, more suited for yoga sessions then Tai Chi, but we managed and the food was truly delicious, which, you all know, is the best way to make a Tai Chi group really happy! All participants were thrilled with the changes they could feel in themselves after a week of intensive practice. That fall, armed with more confidence, we found a bigger center with a much larger practice hall and made reservations for the following year. That was in 2020, and everything shut down….
Three years past before we were able to organize another such event. We were invited by the Canadian Amateur Musicians Association to join them for their winter break week. They did not have enough participants to fill their center at Lake MacDonald, and with us running a Tai Chi program parallel to their music program, we were able to fill the entire center and make the week possible for everyone. It was a great arrangement for us because we could not be sure, after COVID, that we would have the minimum number of interested people to be able to rent the center on our own. The collaboration was a big success, and we ended up with twenty-five people signing up for the Tai Chi seminar.
For this week-long seminar, my brother Philippe (of Taichi nuances) came on board to add his long experience and deep understanding of the art to the mix. We also had the pleasure of having the contribution of other very experienced people such as Michelle Lavoie, Marcel Therrien, and Elliot Kravitz. A brilliant experience for everyone involved. In the words of one participant : ” Being carried along by the atmosphere, the energy of the group is really, really beneficial, much better than going to a one hour class. It’s really something else.”
We were so excited by the amazing week at the CAMMAC Music Center that we decided to reserve the center for a long weekend in the fall of 2023. We were thrilled to have Elliot Kravitz join us for that three-day seminar on the Five Animal Forms and Eight Appearances. I personally learned so much in that workshop! From the perspective of Elliot on the Five Animal Forms training, I gained a deeper understanding of how to apply it to experience profound changes.
Philippe, Elliot, and I have been meeting up regularly all through last year to practice Tai Chi together and chat about the idea of setting up an international network of like-minded people who are passionate about developing the art that Master Moy passed down to us. The Five Animal Forms seminar and last winter’s Lok Hup Ba Fa week that followed were events that came directly from those informal meetings. Last fall, we had the pleasure of welcoming participants from all corners of Quebec and Western Canada. But our first truly international meeting was the Lok Hup seminar, where we had the incredible opportunity to connect with participants from Europe, from the USA, and many more from the Western provinces and Ontario. For five days, we shared our passion for Lok Hup and had a blast working together! In addition, this event had a snowball effect on participants from Tai Chi Evolutions in South Wales, UK, and from the Tai Chi group in Oslo, Norway : they both recently announced their first international workshops, which will take place next October. I was also overjoyed to hear that instructors in Warsaw, Poland are preparing something special for next year!
When I first sent out a letter to invite people to join me and Christine for a week of Tai Chi in the summer of 2019, I had no idea that we would one day connect with people from all over Canada, let alone Europe, and generate so much good will and enthusiasm.
In the wake of last March Lok Hup seminar, we are absolutely thrilled to announce another great opportunity for sharing and learning together this fall! We’re so happy to be meeting again at the CAMMAC Music Center on Lake MacDonald in Harrington, Quebec! We’ll be there for three days of Tai Chi, focusing on the development of the internal connection in the movements and in the standing postures. We’re also delighted to announce that Philippe and I have invited Paul Bromley from Inner Health Tai Chi in Edmonton, Alberta to join us as a special guest instructor; we can’t wait to share Paul’s wealth of experience with you all.
Many have discovered the remarkable benefits of dedicating several days to Taichi. It’s a truly transformative experience that allows you to dive deep into your physical and spiritual self. Not counting that it takes place in an exceptional setting and in wonderful company.
You can find all the details for this upcoming event by following this link :
https://www.commelesnuages.com/taichi-workshop-sept-18to20-2024
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send me an email to hubert@commelesnuages.com
All the best
Jean Hubert Gagnon
Translation by Jean Hubert Gagnon, Jordi Awarita
Beautiful setting & wonderful instructors. Thank you! Ed S.