It occurred to me the other day that I’ve been running a tai chi class for a couple of years now but never taken a single group picture. In jiu-jitsu you’re lucky you get out of the door without somebody taking your picture at least once — it’s a totally different culture and it’s interesting to reflect on the reason why.

In a martial arts class you expect your picture to be taken and shared on social media, or maybe you’ll even be captured briefly in a video of the class. I suppose it’s because you’re doing something exciting and worth bragging about. As an activity it’s ‘loud’ – there’s loud music playing a lot of the time.

The instagram for my jiu-jitsu academy is full of pictures of students, for example.

Tai chi is a different sort of activity — it’s quieter, softer and less about showing off. Taking a picture in that sort of environment feels a bit like going against the grain. It’s a shame because pictures can act as markers for when you started tai chi and how long you’ve been doing it, and a reminder of who was in the class then.

But anyway, I did take a group picture of the Tai Chi class last Friday, and I’m glad we’ve got at least one. I won’t post it here because it was just for the group’s Whatsapp. I’ll probably wait a year before I take another one.