TCC as Behavior Modification

Art of Teaching

By Jean Katus, Fort Yates, ND

Nearly all the participants at an international high school theatre festival where I presented eight hour-and-a-half introductory T’ai Chi Chih sessions enthusiastically received the instruction and practiced the moves they had learned, many of them requesting listing of certified teachers in their areas so they could take an entire class. It was an exciting and gratifying experience for me, one who generally shies away from any group containing more than one or two adolescents (recalling, no doubt, how obnoxious my friends and I were at that age, toward adults). The students in my groups had selected T’ai Chi Chih from a number of other workshops; therefore, their interest level was, I believe, much higher than the run-of-the-mill secondary school students whose teacher or parent “forces” them to participate in such an activity.

In the last session, however, my worst nightmare seemed to be coming true. There were 25 or so participants in the group, most of them students, along with a few adults. About six young people bunched together, talking and laughing as I was attempting to give basic instructions about the movements. Many others in the group were clearly uncomfortable and did not approve of the disturbance. I chose not to comment on the behavior but continued to give verbal TCC instructions, then asked everyone to move with me. In a very short time, the rowdy crew quieted and settled into the movement. It was really quite amazing to see how quickly the chi took over and calmed the unacceptable behavior without my having given a single word of reprimand. To me, it was yet another example of how well T’ai Chi Chih works!