Everybody Was T'ai Chi Stretching

Everybody stretch now! T'ai Chi, part of the Iron & Silk Visiting Masters Series.

As a master instructor of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Dashi Hu Wei-yue thinks of his joints as hinges on a gate: If you don't bend them, they'll rust in place. In his four-part Iron & Silk Visiting Masters Series for beginners, Hu teaches eight stretching exercises that keep bodies fit. "The student that practices the forms will see they can relax and handle stresses of the day," says Rebecca Buck, a certified martial-arts instructor at Hu's School in Cleveland. "In Eastern terms, they will build kung fu." Hu should know. At 80 years of age, he's been T'ai-Chi-ing for half a century. "He sweeps low to the ground and states that these postures are for the young man, not easy for the old man," says Buck. "If you do not use the gate, the hinges become sticky." Get unstuck at 10 a.m. Sunday at Ohio Moo Duk Kwan, 5204 Detroit Road in Sheffield Village. Fee is $80; call 440-934-0236. -- Cris Glaser

Drop Your Balls on the Table (And Slap 'Em Around)

MON 1/10

Manja's Monday night Foosball Tournaments rule the West Side's table-soccer scene. "There's definitely some good competition," says Manja owner Johnny Lopriore. "People play to win." The tourneys draw some pros, semi-pros, and ranked amateurs, but the contests are designed to give everyone a shot. Two-person teams are pulled from blind draws, breaking up most ringer combos. Seven or eight teams show up on an average night; more or fewer dictate whether the contests run in double or single elimination. Matches go to best of three, with games ending when the first team reaches five points. Depending on their preference, players ante up $5 or $10; the first- and second-place teams split the pot 70-30. The balls drop at Manja (13373 Madison Avenue in Lakewood) at 9 p.m.; call 216-221-5445. -- D.X. Ferris

A Bird in the Hand

1/8-1/9

When you Hand-Feed a Chickadee, make sure the sunflower seeds are the oiliest around. But the half-ounce songbird isn't too picky: It eats a daily diet of sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet that's equal to 10 percent of its body weight. At night, its metabolism works overtime, burning up every calorie downed in the past 24 hours in order to keep warm. Learn even more facts about the bird (and, yes, feed one or two of them) from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday at the Brecksville Nature Center (on Chippewa Creek Drive in Brecksville). Admission is free. Call 440-526-1012 for more information. -- Cris Glaser