Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Tai Cheers

A few nights ago, as I was heading out to tai chi class, I found myself singing the theme song from the TV show: Cheers: "You want to go where you can know/ your troubles are all the same./ You want to go where everybody knows your name". Long before I ever tried a beer, I would watch this show with my Dad. I never really understood what those lines meant until I found a group activity I could stand to be involved in.

   Where I grew up, playing hockey is mandatory. Every kid in Kamloops (BC) tries to become the next farm-town millionaire in the hockey big leagues. I remember the announcement of the draft on the PA in high school. Everyone cheered when so and so got drafted to this team, or that league, and who would disappear into a training camp that summer. I remember the names of those who were skipped, and watching their high hopes of being the next Trevor Linden fizzle. Those guys ended up in the arena stands with me, watching the home town hockey team (the Blazers), and hoping somebody on the ice gets hurt: to justify the game is something worth sacrificing for.

   Despite having watched my classmates get auctioned off like cattle, I still participated in sports like: soccer, gymnastics, skateboarding, martial arts, and the non-political informal versions of hockey, baseball, and football. The chip on my shoulder has rounded off and I realize there is a lot to love about sports: training, teamwork, and competition.

  One time in Tai Chi class, a guy I was working with on a partner drill said, "You guys are they only people I feel like I don't need to have a drink in my hand to feel comfortable with". Our group is a bunch of misfits, but we all share a common interest in our learning and practicing of our art. It doesn't matter who does what outside of the group, but while we are in the group we can always talk sport.

  When we get together for practice or for class we know everyone there has their troubles, and these problems are the same. Sam Malone, Norm, Cliff Claven, and found their camaraderie at the pub with a glass of beer. Although, Tai Chi and beer do not mix, Tai Chi is a break from all your worries. Wouldn't you like to get away? 

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