Inmate hopes to teach one day

Letter to Ed

By Craig Bowens

Student of James Hecker and Judy Tretheway

. . . Ed, at this point I would like to share with you what T’ai Chi Chih has done for me. Ed, for most of my life I was a very violent person and I did not really know why I just assumed I was that way because of the conditions surrounding my upbringing living in the ghettos of the San Francisco Bay Area during the decades of the 1960’s and 70’s, and then when I finally wound up in prison with a sentence of 25 years to life and the men that I was doing time [with] were just as violent or even more I really started to believe that it was cool to be that kind of person because you had to be violent to survive.

What T’ai Chi Chih did was show me that there is a core to my being and in that core dwelled a great deal of fear, and not knowing how to deal with that fear I would always react violently whenever that fear was triggered. Now after practicing T’ai Chi Chih for nearly three years now that fear no longer exists within me and has [been] replaced by a strength & balance so powerful that at this point in my life I can sense when a situation has the tendacy to turn violent and tune into my T’an T’ien and draw from the energy stored there and peacefully & confidently defuse the conflict before it gets a chance to turn violent.

It has also helped me out a great deal in keeping me in good health especially as far as the common cold and flu are concerned. In any prison setting those two spread like wild fires because of the crowded conditions, and all of my life I have been told that there is no cure for the cold, but since I started practicing at one hour a day seven days a week I can feel it in the early stages when I have been affected by the virus and all I do is practice three times a day for at least 45 minutes and 48 hours later I am back to my old self and the only ill effects I suffer is some nasal drainage, and the flu is usually gone in the same amount of time but I do tend to suffer the symptoms.

My memory and my ability to focus has got alot better. Ed, T’ai Chi Chih is the most wonderful gift that I have recieved — the power of having total control over my health and well being is something that I will be forever grateful to Justin for, because of him creating this beautiful art form and allowing it to be taught here at Folsom.

Ed, the main reason that I want to become an instructor is because everyday I cross the paths of thousands of men and when I look into their eyes I can see the same fear that once dwelled inside me, and I would love the opportunity to share the gift that I recieved with these men because I know from my personal experience and how much T’ai Chi Chih has changed me that these men can become empowered with having control over their lives so that they will stay out of prison and become productive members within their communities and society at large instead of continuing to be a detriment.

I would also love to go through the teacher training process so that I could recieve some serious coaching from you and get a deeper understanding of what T’ai Chi Chih is all about. . . .