| Show C4 M The Salt Lake Tribune Tai Chi Facts With billions of Asian adherents Tai Chi is already the world's most popular exercise In Utah Master Cheng Tsang Lu estimates some 20000 people are practicing Tai Chi And the number is growing So is the number of schools and studios teaching it Master Lu was among the first to bring Tai Chi to Utah in 1974 but now dozens of others are offering Tai Chi and Rung Fu instruction Master Lus studio at 3220 S State is listed in The Yellow Pages as the Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Club Others offering Tai Chi and Rung Fu instruction include the United Studios of Self Defense Shaolin Arts Shaolin Chi Mantis Tai Chi & Rung Fu Sil Lum Rung Fu Club of West Jordan and Tai Chi Chuan More information about Tai Chi a martial art that involves flowing movements can be found on the Internet at A video David Carradines Tai Chi http:wwwtai-chicoWorkout" can be ordered from PBS Home Video by calling Tai Chi: One Step At a Time H Continued from C-- l with Master Lu for 13 years She says it is keeping her limber and improving her center Youre always working to develop this internal energy and part of doing that is to not get knocked off your center Not get knocked off by stress or by allowing people who are angry and acting out to affect you and upset Leary has studied with Master Lu ever since Von Jones a former Rocky Mountain News reporter simply looked up Master Lu in the telephone directory He believes he found the real thing Hes an authentic guy Jones says Hes authentic in his martial arts and his application Its like opening a door and going back to 15th century China r OUTDOORS & RECREATION Tuesday October 21 1997 Swans: The Stuff Of Legend Continued from C-- l are high But there was a time in the past when the death knell was ringing loud and clear for the trumpeter swan North Americas largest fowl In 1912 EH Forbush an eminent ornithologist saw a species so dwindled in numbers it appeared to be a bird of the past doomed to extinction within a few years The eulogies had already began The trumpeter swan once ranged over much of North America The 1800s took a heavy toll on the bird with overhunting and habitat destruction as well as extensive commercial exploitation for feathers as human adornment In 1932 the total known population of trumpeter swans was 69 In 1935 Red Rock Lakes national wildlife refuge was created This large mountain marsh ecosystem in the Centennial Valley of Montana preserved ideal breeding habitat This marked the beginning of the trumpeter swans recovery Ruth Shea president of the Trumpeter Swan Society and a longtime advocate for the birds provides current numbers: There are now 20000 trumpeter swans in North America The Pacific Coast population of approximately 16000 birds nests in Alaska and adjacent portions of the Yukon and British Columbia and winters along the Pacific Coast south to Oregon The Rocky Mountain population (RMP) consists of 2600 birds that summer in the Canadian Rockies and 400 that reside in the Greater Yellowstone area In addition there are about 1000 in restored flocks in the Midwest and Ontario The nonmigratory habits of area of trumpeters in the Montana Wyoming and Idaho was lauded as contributing to the species survival Migration is fraught with danger and requires tremendous energy The remoteness of this area protects the swans from the human exploitation that led to the decimation of flocks in more accessible areas tri-sta- But growing numbers in a re- stricted area threaten the birds recovery Overcrowding of resident birds is further complicated by migration of those that breed in the Canadian Rockies which also winter in the area According to a 1992 US Fish and Wildlife Service management plan for the swan The problems of overcrowding include damage to the vegetation exhaustion of food sources leading to starvation and the spread of the disease among overcrowded birds The goal of RMP management is to restore the Rocky Mountain trumpeters as a secure and primarily migratory population sustained by naturally occurring food sources in diverse breeding and winter sites Efforts to disperse the swans from the e area have been encouraging According to Shea hundreds of migrating and wintering trumpeters are dispersing Uafortunately most cannot be found They are likely scattered in small family groups or intermingled with tundra swans Shea would like to hear from anyone who has observed swans winter wanderings especially in Utah Nevada California and Colorado She will help birdwatchers tri-sta- te tri-stat- distinguish between trumpeters and tundra swans and teach them how to read neck bands on individual birds She can be reached at The Trumpeter Swan Society at 6 or by at (208) 754-875- ruthsheasrvnet Today through the efforts of many individuals agencies and organizations there are no more death chimes for the trumpeter swan The eulogies have stopped But I feel a growing sense of unease Swan recovery efforts show successes and failures Utahs geographic location makes it a critical area for trumpeter-swan range expansion As trumpeter swans disperse to Utah they inhabit areas where tundra-swa- n hunting occurs The two species are nearly impossible to distinguish from a distance or in flight I listen to those who see threats to tundra-swa- n hunting traditions I listen to words of science and accusations of nonscience Emotions run high and facts are often slim The human relationship to nature remains complex and conflicting Ella Sorensen is a Utah natu- ralist you But the martial arts element of Tai Chi also allows her to keep her center if she is challenged physi- cally Allsup says Tai Chi has improved her physical health in surprising ways even her eyesight The chances of getting into an accident are less because youre in tune with your body and environment she says There are so many side benefits its all about energy Leary says Westerners talk about energy as a vague and intangible thing For Westerners it is simply a feeling But the Chinese believe they can trace and manipulate energy along the bodys meridians or pathways Acupuncture employs the same principles The targets for acupuncture dont follow any vascular system or neurological system or structure within the body that is evident to Western medicine which is probably why its dismissed Leary says Acupuncture Status: And in Utah acupuncture was not only dismissed it was criminalized In 1974 when Master Lu arrived in Salt Lake acupuncture was practicing medicine without a license Partly through his efforts it was legalized in 1982 From 1983 to 1987 he served on the states Acupuncture Licensing Board of Utah Now there are about two dozen acupuncturists in the state It was not acupuncture or even Tai Chi that brought Master Lu to Utah 23 years ago It was the movies In the 70s during the golden age of Rung Fu movies a filmmaker saw Master Lu and his teacher Grand Master Chian Ho Yin perform in their native Taiwan He invited them to come to the United States and work in his movies Master Lu says his difficulty with English made him hesitate He urged the promoter to find someone else But the film company was insistent and encouraging So Master Lu agreed to stay for three months He arrived in Salt Lake to find the mans company bankrupt I canceled all my jobs in Taiwan I asked him What am I supposed to do? He said maybe someday But I dont know how long is some day" So Master Lu began doing in Salt Lake what he was doing in Taiwan teaching performing and competing He opened his own studio immediately He also taught Tai Chi and Rung Fu at the University of Utah from 1977 to 1983 He took his instruction on the road as well teaching at such places as the Autumn Glow Senior Citizen Center New Home: Salt Lake became Cash in on low rates his home He met his wife Elaine and reared three children On Oct 20 1980 he became a US citizen Pat and Sue Leary first saw Master Lu at a competition in 1976 They were so impressed they dropped their Tae Kwon Do instructor and started studying with Master Lu His Tai Chi class was at 5:30 in the morning which seemed very reasonable to him Pat Leary recalls Despite the inconvenient hour Leary and one other student attended the class TribStore 143 SOUTH MAIN SALT IAKE CITY 237-20- r With so many of our loans on sale its the perfect time to get the money you need to refinance your home get that new kitchen boat or dream vacation But these unusual rates with unusual savings are only for a limited time ZIONS BANK L Alember FDIC lJ 1 |
