Pick Up the Pearl

Pick up the Pearl is a collection of martial arts poems by a long term tai chi enthusiast. Noticing that those with a passion for tai chi and related self defence arts are so deeply involved in their subject, so immersed in their study, so in love with where their art is beckoning them, they often forget that others on the outside know little of what they are doing, of how rich it all is, so Pat McGowan 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 lifetime tai chi and martial arts enthusiast, and also the idly curious. it examines a range of martial art applications and exponents, including karate, boxing, street fighting, kung fu, ai ki do, judo and ba gua quan.

Pat McGowan is a tai chi enthusiast. He 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. He also enjoys writing poetry and prose fiction as you may have seen in the front of the book. 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.