Give it up to the elderly!!!!!

[GeneChing]

A 93-year old Vernon woman taught her final Tai Chi class before retiring
Teaching Tai Chi at 93
Victoria Femia - Oct 4, 2021 / 4:00 am

Photo: Doug Geiger
Maryanne Thomas
At 93-years old Maryanne Thomas led her final Tai Chi class and officially retired.

The Vernon resident has been teaching Tai Chi for 32 years and has been an instructor in a rented space at Knox Presbyterian church for the last 18 years.

“The final class (Sept. 28) included 10 students who have been steadfast with Maryanne for the last 18 years through life’s ups, downs and challenges,” said Thomas’ son-in-law, Doug Geiger.

“Adding to the celebration were many who arrived at the end of class to give thanks and show their appreciation because this dynamic group of now seniors are more than a class.”

Thomas said teaching her final class was an emotional one.

“I’ve been at this for so long, with the same people that were in my class, we’ve known each other for a long time,” said Thomas.

“They’re my family.”

At 93-years old, Thomas credits Tai Chi for keeping her active and motivated.

“It’s very helpful as far as your balance, you improve with each move,” said Thomas.

“I really enjoyed it, it makes me feel good to see people improve too.”

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[GeneChing]

This 78-year-old great-grandmother is keeping an Indian martial art alive

Meenakshi Amma, practitioner and teacher of 'Kalaripayattu', has been a driving force in the revival of India's oldest martial art and in encouraging girls to take it up

BY AFPRELAXNEWS
2 min read
PUBLISHED: Oct 4, 2021 04:20:27 PM IST
UPDATED: Oct 4, 2021 04:30:39 PM IST


Meenakshi Amma, practitioner and teacher of 'Kalaripayattu', a traditional martial art originated in Kerala, posing for pictures at her family-run Kadathanadan Kalari Sangam school in Vatakara in the Kozhikode district of the state of Kerala
Image: Manjunath Kiran / AFP

Deftly parrying her son with a bamboo cane, Meenakshi Amma belies her 78 years with her prowess at kalari, thought to be India's oldest martial art.

The great-grandmother in Kerala, southern India, has been a driving force in the revival of kalaripayattu, as the ancient practice is also known, and in encouraging girls to take it up.


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"I started kalari when I was seven years old. I am 78 now. I am still practising, learning and teaching," the matriarch of the Kadathanad Kalari Sangham school, founded by her late husband in 1949, told AFP.

"When you open the newspapers, you only see news of violence against women," she said.

"When women learn this martial art, they feel physically and mentally strong and it makes them confident to work and travel alone."

Kalari, which contains elements of dance and yoga, can involve weapons such as swords, shields and staffs. Reputedly 3,000 years old, and mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures, it remains infused with religion in the present day.

India's British colonial rulers banned the practice in 1804 but it survived underground before a revival in the early 20th century and after independence in 1947.

In recent decades it has come on in leaps and bounds, thanks in no small measure to Meenakshi, who won a national award in 2017.

Now it is recognised as a sport and practised all over India.

Inside Meenakshi's kalari hall, her bare-chested son Sanjeev Kumar, a lungi tied around his waist, puts barefoot pupilsn—boys and girls aliken—through their paces on the ochre-red earth floor.

"There are two divisions in kalaripayattun—one is that kalaripayattu is peace and the other is kalaripayattu in war," said the "gurukkal" (master).

"It's an art that purifies mind, body and soul, improves concentration, speed and patience, regenerates physical and mental energy.

"When totally connected mentally and physically to kalari, then the opponent disappears, the body becomes eyes."

"It's a form of poetry," said civil engineer Alaka S. Kumar, 29, daughter of Kumar and the mother to some of Meenakshi's many great-grandchildren.

"I am going to teach kalari, with my brother. We have to take over. Otherwise it is gone."

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