pick up the pearl is a collection of martial arts poems. It observes on a broad range of martial art applications and exponents, including karate, boxing, street fighting, kung fu, aikido, judo, ba gua quan (pa kua chan), wrestling, qi gong and more.
Pat, the author, is a long term tai chi enthusiast. Noticing that those with a passion for tai chi and related arts are so deeply immersed in their subject, so deeply into their study, so in love with the journey to where where their art is beckoning them, they often forget that others on the outside know very little of what they are doing, of how rich it all is, so Pat decided to capture a few of these moments and experiences in verse form.
You don’t have to love poetry and books to appreciate the mystery of how a character and story can be sketched in a mere one or two hundred words and convey such timeless moments and experiences in new and surprising ways. And why not not use our language, put it to work and communicate better with those around us, not just information, but lovely thoughts, ideas, concepts and spaces.
So this is a book for the idly curious as well as the lifetime tai chi and martial arts enthusiast.
Pat began his tai chi study in Sydney in 1980 under the renowned teacher, Simon Lim. With Simon’s encouragement, he completed an honours thesis of ‘Tai Chi and the Best of All Possible Worlds’ at the University of Sydney in 1983. He has continued with his tai chi to the present day.
Tai chi is a physical expression of tao philosophy, it is all about connecting to the great source of all things which is our natural birthright and our natural way of being. Alas, many people disconnect themselves from source through resistance as if it’s some sort of virtue which they strive to impress on others. The fact is we only need to stop resisting, allow more, and our wondrous birthright will show itself to us as having been here all the time.
We hope you enjoy this book. A free copy is available on his smashwords page.