First Impressions of a First-Timer

The 20th Annual International T’ai Chi Chih Teachers Conference — Joy in the Heart

By Marilyn Irvin, Albuquerque, NM

This is from a brand new TCC teacher at her first-ever TCC Conference.

On a sultry-for-Albuquerque Thursday afternoon, I trundled way too much stuff from my car in the parking lot to the Marriott and then to my room. The first thought that filtered out of my brain during this process was that people were so friendly and I felt quite at home. The magnitude of this feeling was large, as I have seen my share of conferences and conventions as a participant and as a tag-along spouse. These feelings of comfort at a conference, of having arrived “home,” of déjà vu (that this was not my first T’ai Chi Chih Conference) were utterly delightful.

For most of my student and teacher training days, the 20th Annual Conference has been a topic of conversation in Albuquerque in the TCC community. As months and then weeks drew us closer to the event, there seemed to be an energy “quickening” in Albuquerque and the anticipation became palpable. Justin Stone became more and more animated.

At the Tuesday morning practice before the Conference, there were a half dozen or so teachers from other states and another country (Canada) in attendance. In fact, there were so many people at this practice that it didn’t come around to Justin to lead a movement. He said that was the first time it had happened.

I had decided to trust by signing up for a double room but not specifying a roommate. The Conference gods, in the guise of Guy Kent, assigned me the ideal roommate. We met by “chance” before registration in the Vendor room where she displayed beautifully woven shawls, handcrafted silver jewelry, and imaginative tee shirts. While I perused her wares, we chatted and discovered we were roommates, as I was handing over a credit card. Since Margery Erickson was busy in the Vendor room in her spare time, we ran into each other only as we collapsed into bed to rest for the next day.

The very first group practice, before dinner Thursday night, was a thrilling experience. When the 150+ TCC practitioners did Joyous Breath, it felt as if the room was breathing. At the risk of hyperbole, it sounded akin to the imagined breath of creation. (Note: In Justin’s well-received spiritual talk on Saturday, he said that one of the things that had been revealed to him was that there had been no creation and there is no end.)

Arriving a bit late Thursday afternoon, Donna White said she was standing in the doorway watching us do our practice, and she could feel the heat emanating from the ballroom.

After the first of many sustaining meals with particularly tasty salads, we congregated in the Grand Ballroom in two circles to say our name, where we were from, and who our original TCC teacher had been. About halfway around the first circle, Sister Antonia’s turn came and she passed, saying she’d tell us at the end why she hadn’t spoken then. Everyone else present spoke and then Sister got up and walked to the center of the circles and said she’d had a Senior Moment as her turn had come and she couldn’t remember her teacher’s name. Fortunately, someone else had had the same teacher and hearing the name triggered Sister’s memory.

Justin Stone joined us in this sharing and when it was his turn he said his name was Justin and he playfully pointed skyward toward his “teacher.”

Asked by another teacher how I’d liked my first two corporate practices, and a bit taken aback by the scope of the question, I responded that they had been elemental.

The first breakfast, Mary Wichmann made several special requests of the waitress, who would scurry away to comply with Mary’s wishes, to the consternation of the increasingly frustrated Andy Anderson who had a caffeine withdrawal to assuage.

Gwen Yee sang a song at Justin’s request. She told us she had learned t’ai chi chu’an in her native China but that Justin’s T’ai Chi Chih was the best “fit.” Gwen asked God and Buddha to bless Justin with health forever, and Justin quipped, “Could you make that a little longer?”

An Albuquerque student who came to the open practice on Saturday afternoon was unable to find her teacher immediately. She sat waiting patiently and was amazed and pleased at the number of teachers who walked up and talked to her. She had felt some anxiety walking in but was made to feel comfortable.

Who would put pyramid poetry and “down and dirty” in the same spot? The ever-creative T’ai Chi Chih teachers would. Garret Tayler composed and read an intriguing pyramid poem about jeans which left the crowd buzzing. You’ll have to ask him for the words. This poetry slam was great fun (Who would have “thunk” it?) and was one of the first indications of the breadth and depth of talent in this group.

The Rededication Ceremony featured a water element this year rather than the traditional fire element. The Rocking Motion movement of the ceremony “servers” which greeted those entering the room was purely spontaneous; yet, by all accounts it was one of the most powerful moments of the ceremony.

Saturday night’s talent show was amazing from Justin’s piano solo to Athene Mantle’s recitation of the perils and rewards of a Cooper hawk family living in one’s backyard to Kathy Grassel’s “vapors” after Bill Walton sang a Neapolitan love song (or what sounded like a love song) to the grand finale when the audience sang along with The Band a happy death song.

Sunday morning Justin “kicked butt.” Early into the group practice, he stopped us and said that if we weren’t going to Yin and Yang correctly he didn’t want us teaching. A few more candid, direct, mince-no-words thoughts from Justin, and we began moving correctly, on bent knees, flowing from the center, allowing our weight to fully shift.

Kudos to the energy and love which Sister Antonia, Pam, and Sandy brought to the Conference. Their teachings and guidance are invaluable. And Sister Antonia looks awfully cute in a cowboy hat, which she wore for the country western song at the talent show.

Where was the Conference Team?! Except for the omnipresent Master of Ceremonies, Doug Harned, the rest of the Team while present were unobtrusive, a tribute to their exceptional planning for the Conference. To the untrained, first-time observer, the Conference seemed to flow effortlessly. Our gratitude goes to this fine team of people for the excellent job they did, especially the two co-chairs, Ann Rutherford and Ginny Morgan.

T’ai Chi Chih teachers seem generally happy, honest, talented, sincere, thoughtful, creative, witty, and personable. This might be a conclusion I’d draw after being around 170 mostly strangers. They like to shop. The Vendor Room was always “nuts.” They like to eat but not excessively so. They like to ride the elevators with the same person as often as possible, Rodney Anderson. They’re generous with their help and suggestions when asked, and they are intuitive. They drink a lot—of water.

The 20th Annual T’ai Chi Chih Teachers’ Conference left me energized and tired. It left me with Joy in the Heart, and since that was the Conference theme, it was a rousing success. On a deeper level, it left me with an inexpressible gratitude for Justin, for T’ai Chi Chih, for being here in Albuquerque with so many sincere practitioners of TCC, for this gift-beyond-words which is gradually yet surely transforming me.

Thank you, one and all, and especially Justin, who spent much time with us. It was an unforgettable first time.