Auditor Reacts to TCC Training

I ended up being able to audit only the last morning, but what a morning it was. There in the meeting space at the Mercy Center [St. Louis, MO— May, 1999] reuniting in calm and simplicity were my chi sisters and chi brothers, my community, my family and I felt recognized by them out of the faceless crowd. I could not overlook the reason we were there—to dedicate ourselves to teaching TCC well and identifying in humility all those personal habits that can impede the universal flow from teacher to student. We can be truth speakers with one another and remain in loving and supportive community. Criticism only hurts when I have some stubborn attachment to my way.

TCC has more and more to do with my own spiritual path and I can say with gratitude that this indicates strongly to me that I am right where I need to be—teaching T’ai Chi Chih. The respect I show Justin and TCC brings deep satisfaction. By doing some of the movements at contrasting speeds and with contrasting focus Ed showed the group some fascinating ways of increasing self awareness about our ways of moving. He gave me a very specific list of questions to gently ask myself so that I remember to remain connected to the spirit of TCC. In the space of three short hours I felt once again that bliss of moving in unison with my ever-expanding family.

Fourteen Questions I Am Fearless to Ask Myself Often

1. Are the feet spaced appropriately? They should be. 2. Is the weight shifting fully? It should be. 3. Is the weight even on the front foot? It should be. 4. Are the knees soft? They should be. 5. Is the spine/posture upright and relaxed? They should be. 6. Are the hips level? They should be. 7. Is the body leaning? It shouldn’t. 8. Are the shoulders relaxed and parallel to the ground? They should be. 9. Are the upper arms being used? They shouldn’t be. 10. Is the waist turning at the right time? It should. 11. Is the back heel rising or being lifted? It should rise only as a result of weight shift. 12. Are the wrists relaxed? They should be. 13. Is the head moving or following? It should always follow. 14. Is the upper body floating? It should.

Spotting Excess Requires Gentle Vigilance, Honesty

I received some valuable feedback from Ed Altman concerning my form. He told me he saw improvements from the last time we were together and suggested that some upper-body movements could still be refined and some excess sculpted away. I reflected on what he told me and saw that he was correct. I wondered how these habits had escaped my attention. At first, I thought it may have been because I had been teaching so many beginners’ classes in which I had slowed down and exaggerated movements for teaching purposes. Then I came up with another reason. When faced with students in certain settings who are not invested in TCC, I have sometimes felt an odd temptation to want to impress, show off.

Pressure is there, for example, to maintain the required number of students that the class not be canceled and keep the clients of the health club or spa “happy”. Artificiality of whatever origin, however, has a way of showing itself over time to be inefficient and counterproductive. If I am not grounded in the chi, but move instead from ego, I experience a pulling away from the focus. That morning Ed made me gently aware of the extra flourishes, the unaligned shoulders, some of the “over-preparation.” Quite simply, I do not need them, they are unnecessary. More importantly, TCC does not need them.

As a teacher I need to remain gently vigilant and resist external pressures to embellish upon TCC. Trusting that the chi will lead me if I let it is as important as the time spent getting my students to feel grounded and move from that awareness. My “urge to fix” also pops up when I have a student with a resistant attitude. She or he is not ready and no amount of artful persuasion will bring about the desired conversion. I know that I cannot force the relationship that my students have with the chi. I teach them the words and sentences, but the nature of the communication between them and the vital force is very personal and, ultimately, up to them.