Becoming Aware: Corrections

I know this will sound familiar to some: I’m doing my T’ai Chi Chih practice along with the rest of the conference participants, enjoying flowing together and feeling grounded, when a quiet tap on my shoulder brings me back to reality. A soft voice says “I see you doing this and I think it would be easier for you if you did it this way.”

Corrections are the yin/yang of group practice. They are always welcome, but at the same time a bit uncomfortable. No one wants to be told they have been doing something wrong, maybe for years, when they thought they were doing it correctly. However, I distinctly remember every correction I have received and every one has made my practice and my teaching better and more rewarding. I am forever grateful for every teacher who cared enough to notice and share their wisdom.

On the side-to-side movement of Carry the Ball to the Side, I remember a teacher from my early practice years saying shift the weight, turn the waist, and that was exactly what I had been doing, the words echoing in my head as I moved. But I was making it two separate moves with an ever-so-slight pause between those movements instead of the flowing hip swivel it was meant to be. In teaching CTBTTS, I continued to use the words to emphasize how to move. (Some students actually interrupted their flow to do it the way I was showing them.)

Once I was aware of my mistake, the movement was much more enjoyable and easier to teach. The first thing I teach now is the principle behind the movement with emphasis on flowing continuously. I have students softly hold their hands in front of the tan t’ien, elbows bent and resting at hip level as they carry that ball to the side, softly shifting their weight and turning the waist in one simple, flowing movement, hands still holding that ball in front of the tan t’ien, before they rise and complete the circuit. The flowing weight shift allows the hips to swivel and the feet and hands to complete the move without a break.

This also taught me to be careful in how I use words in teaching. I will forever hear those words echoing from years ago as I practice CTBTTS. I know that how we move and what we say as teachers influence our students. Breaking a movement into separate parts can be helpful, but when that student is practicing at home alone, the words may be what are remembered instead of the guiding principle behind it.