European Students at the 2021 Student Day

TCC Conference 2021: Student Day

By Marcella Levie, Netherlands

I have been doing T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) on and off for the last 30 years with my Florida friends, Diana and Richard Daffner. Because of Zoom and COVID-19, I have fulfilled a longtime wish to start TCC teacher training here in Amsterdam. No one is teaching TCC here, so when looking for a teacher, I emailed every European teacher on the website. That’s how I so fortunately found Lesley Nell in Great Britain. The main reason to have attended the conference was to get to know the TCC community a bit better. Lesley has been preparing us for accreditation for a year and she regularly mentions the teacher trainers, what they require, or how they approach certain movements. Pam does it this way… Sandy says so and so… Daniel wants you to do it this way.

To see them and so many other wonderful teachers on Zoom has enriched my practice. The different teachings, stories about Justin, and the worldwide network contribute to my TCC experience. My friend Orly and I are taking the teacher training and hope to be the first TCC teachers in the Netherlands. 

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By Vanessa Petterson, United Kingdom

Discovering T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) has been a profound joy and helped me meditate with less chattering distraction. Lesley Nell started teaching TCC in a village close to where I live in the UK. Feeling immediately in tune from the first lesson, I had discovered Joy Through Movement. As a reflexologist, I understood its healing benefits, its oneness. I was delighted later to join Lesley’s student teaching group with the aim of becoming a teacher. Attending a small part of the student TCC conference 2021 was fascinating. Sister Becky was so enthusiastic with inspiring exuberant energy: “To be Divine is simply to be kind – Human Kind.” Hearing advice about transitions from Sandy McAlister and Carmen Brocklehurst on Rocking Motion and Push Pull was extremely helpful. In the chat rooms I felt the warmth and gratitude of the TCC community towards Justin Stone for his “Knowledge of the Supreme Ultimate.”

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By Adam Lacey, Romania

Hello fellow practitioners. I am fortunate to be training under the guidance of Lesley Nell, whom I was introduced to by my first T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) teacher Tina Wells. 

I have previous experience with T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Qi Gong and Wing Chun Kung Fu, but upon meeting Tina (at a TCC workshop she was leading in Oxford a few years ago), I knew that this gentle and peaceful practice was my next step.

I was grateful to attend the conference student day with so many practitioners. It was lovely to meet, practice with, and learn from the teachers whom Lesley and Tina have introduced me to in our teacher training classes.

I was inspired by the content, the presenters’ offerings, and how principles were embodied in the content and process. There were many personal learning points and there was such a strong sense of international community. In spite of it being online, I felt strongly connected with fellow attendees. There have been several impacts. The seated practices were of personal benefit as I have been recovering from a back injury. My practice has been reinvigorated and my mind opened to new aspects of TCC. I hope to attend more TCC online events to build bridges with fellow practitioners.

A particular interest is compassion in TCC practice, and I am keen to discuss this with like-minded practitioners. I look forward to the next steps in my TCC path and to meeting fellow practitioners. Thank you to Justin, his teachers, and all who are taking the practice forward in the 21st century.