Mirror, Mirror on the …

To mirror or not to mirror, ah, that is a question that stirs up more controversy than almost any other aspect of teaching T’ai Chi Chih. Mirroring is the relatively simple idea that when a teacher is facing the students, he or she reverses the direction of the movements to appear to move in the same direction as the students. An unscientific poll suggests that most teachers use mirroring when facing the students. But there are a few who do not mirror because they don’t think it’s necessary or they believe it’s confusing to themselves or the students. Also, a few teachers don’t mirror because they believe that reversing the TCC movements reduces their effectiveness.

The main reason to mirror is that students are far more influenced by what they see than what they hear. Students get confused when a teacher faces them and tells them to begin to the left but then, as he or she steps to the left, it appears to the students that the teacher is moving to the right. Some teachers try to avoid this problem by turning their backs to students. This can work with advanced students who know the movements well, but beginning students need to see how the teacher’s arms move. This solution also robs the teacher of being able to observe how students are moving in order to provide corrections.

Mirroring is not easy; it adds a layer of complexity to the teaching process. When the teacher is watching the students, counting repetitions, mirroring, managing time, and all the other things that go into teaching, he or she has a different experience of TCC than when doing a personal practice. This is offset, however, by the main thing the teacher receives—the ability to give the students the gift of TCC. I would teach standing on my head, spitting nickels, if it would help deepen my students’ practice. Of course, the best situation of all is to teach in a space with a mirrored wall. Then the teacher and students move in the same direction, yet students can see the teacher in the mirror.

If you are persuaded to mirror, these are some things to consider:

Perhaps the single most important thing is to practice mirroring before you are in front of the group, with a special emphasis on the beginning and end of each movement. The most difficult movements to mirror are Carry the Ball to the Side (CTBTTS), Pulling Taffy, Passing Clouds, and Six Healing Sounds as these feel the most different when you mirror them.

Do not try to explain mirroring to the group or ask students for their opinions or to vote on whether to mirror. These decisions require a depth of understanding on their part that is just not possible. Simply tell them you will be mirroring for them. When beginning a movement, say the direction in which the movement begins and point in the direction the students will move. Say, “Begin to your left” and point to your right—the students’ left. You can use physical references in the space if they are clearly in the direction of the movement. For example if the room has a wall on the students’ right side and windows on the left, you can say, “We will begin moving toward the windows.”

Remember that while CTBTTS and Pulling Taffy move to the left, they begin with the waist twisting to the right. This means that you are saying,move to the left for students while you’re getting ready to move to the right, but you twist to the left as you start right. This requires a lot of concentration when you first mirror. Several moves—e.g., Rocking Motion and Joyous Breath—start with a small step to the left to widen the stance. It’s easy to forget to mirror this minor part of the movement. If you don’t, most students will step to their right as you step to your left. When doing TCC in a circle, rather than mirroring, it’s better to tell students to look at the person next to them, not at the person across from them.

Mirroring also requires extra attention when counting repetitions. When doing our own practice, we do the left first then end on the right. We’re used to doing movements this way and if we lose our concentration, it may feel as if we are finished when we are mirroring and complete the reps on the right, but still have the left to do. When done correctly, mirroring is invisible to the group. Inevitably, however, I make a lot of mistakes when mirroring and you will too. Students understand, and making mistakes humanizes us. After all, it’s not TCC perfect, it’s TCC practice.