Back to basics, and Ba Gua

Last Friday- I'm in my new Chinese class, with Teacher Zhu. In this class there are three Japanese, two Koreans, an Indonesian guy, an Indian guy, and a Canadian dude. At first I was a little bummed that I was in a lower level but now I realize it's probably the best thing that could happen to me. I know most of the characters (albeit in simplified form) and the grammar is not so hard. But in my first day in class we were reading passages from the textbook, with each student reading one line. So when it comes to my turn, I read off the characters as quickly and fluently as possible.
Teacher Zhu, dressed in light, pastel colors, (but not looking very easygoing) gives me a stern look and calls out my Chinese name: "Anjian." She looks at the other students.
"How is the character 'ke' pronounced?"
A chorus of voices pronounces it with a mild upward tone, as if asking a question: "ke?"
"That's right, second tone. You need to work on your tones, Anjian. Buy a red pen and mark the tones above all the characters, then practice them. Next student."

So this week I've been going over my basic characters, pronouncing them slowly and carefully. It's a mind-numbing task, considering I've been saying them wrong, or sometimes, just not pronouncing the tones. I have to relearn everything, but I think in the long term it will be worth it because I'll actually be understood when I speak. And I'm getting better.

Tuesday- A (Chinese) American I met, Jon, invited me to go to a Ba Gua class. I was really excited about this because I had heard about Ba Gua but never seen it. It's an internal martial art, which means that, like Tai Chi or Aikido, it's based on 'Qi' or internal energy instead of raw strength. Wondering whether it was going to be foreigner-friendly or all in Chinese, I asked if there were many foreigners at the class.
"It's taught by a foreigner," said Jon.
I had heard of these types of classes, taught by ex-pats who had years of experience. They were rarely advertised and mainly expanded through word-of-mouth.
"Cool, what's his name?"
"Fox."
I had never heard of Fox, but it would be interesting to see what the class would be like.

When I got to the location (which I will not divulge, except to say that it's a public area) there were a few students warming up and some young b-boy kids nearby, playing hip-hop and practicing freezes. I stretched a bit with Jon and made small talk. Then I saw a big black guy approach. He was wearing athletic wear and clear sunglasses, a la RZA, . At first I thought he was meeting the b-boys.
That was Fox.
Fox has a muscular physique, but carries it effortlessly, more like a dancer than a bodybuilder. Spotting me as the new student, he came directly towards me and greeted me.
"Yo, what's up man? Have you ever practiced Kung Fu before?"
"Uh...yeah, I practiced in France a modern style."
"Cool, I teach Ba Gua. It's a bit like Kung Fu, but kinda different. You'll see."

The class was good, more athletic than Tai Chi, but not as demanding as Kung Fu. Though the moves could be considered internal, Fox preferred a hands-on approach, making us practice in pairs.
Occasionally the b-boys would check out some of the moves we were doing, interested in the circular movements of the Ba Gua. Likewise, sometimes we couldn't help but check out the b-boys' crazy acrobatics. It was a moment where the cultural visions of each were reversed- a group of young Taiwanese practicing a relatively new dance form created in the West, and some waiguoren practicing an age-old martial art invented in the East.
Not sure if I'm going to stick with this particular martial art (there are tons here and I should check some out before making a decision) but it's a step in the right direction.