Gerda ("Pytt") Geddes (born Gerda Meyer Bruun; 17 July 1917 – 4 March 2006) was responsible for bringing tai chi to the UK. She taught classes at The Place in London.[1][2]

She was born in Bergen, Norway, the daughter of a successful businessman and politician who served in the Norwegian government as Minister of Trade. During World War II, she joined the Norwegian resistance movement.[2]

After she and David Geddes married in 1948, they moved to Shanghai, where she discovered tai chi. Soon after, the People's Liberation Army took power there. Around 1951, they were able to move to Hong Kong, where she studied tai chi with Choy Hawk Pang, and then with his son Choy Kam Man.[1]

She became a friend of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.[2]

She studied psychology in the US and underwent Reichian analysis in Oslo.[2]

Selected publications

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  • Geddes, Gerda (1991). Looking for the Golden Needle: An Allegorical Journey. MannaMedia. ISBN 978-1872606019.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Pytt Geddes (obituary)". The Telegraph. 21 March 2006. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Woods, Frank. "The Woman". Gerda 'Pytt' Geddes, Dancer in the Light. Retrieved 16 January 2020.

Further reading

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  • Woods, Frank (2008). Dancer in the Light: The Life of Gerda Pytt Geddes. psi books. ISBN 978-0955918100.
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