Teacher Bio: Presentation

Hello, my name is Eddy Perez (Newark, CA)

How did I come about TCC…

I have been practicing T’ai Chi Chih for close to five years. About six years ago I was suffering from constant fatigue. My search over the next year and a half for a “cure” led me to many doctors and treatments with little improvement in my condition. I was blessed in that I found a medical doctor with a background in homeopathic and herbal medicine. As we put our heads together to improve my condition, the idea of T’ai Chi came up. T’ai Chi would fit quite well in my pursuit of “balance.” I started investigating the more widely known T’ai Chi Ch’uan. During this search I came across some printed information on T’ai Chi Chih that I had picked up some time before from Justin Stone and Steve Ridley, during a talk at a local bookstore. I started taking classes immediately. In the beginning it was hard to muster the energy to practice, but I always ended with more energy than I had started the session with, and so I continued. The benefits that I derived were: increased energy, improved mental focus, renewed interest in my spiritual path, acceptance of the fact that my condition had a lesson for me, and that it could be improved, and in general balancing the priorities in my life. I have been practicing ever since the form of T’ai Chi most appropriate for me, T’ai Chi Chih. And now I have an interest in sharing T’ai Chi Chih with other students, like you.

My Present Work and Other Physical Activity…

I presently work as a Marketing Manager in a high technology company, a stress intense environment, but now I have a powerful tool to bring balance in my life. Over the years I have also practiced cycling, running and martial arts, even though this last one is certainly not required in T’ai Chi Chih, and found that the benefits of T’ai Chi Chih help the other areas.

Why do I Teach…

Why do I teach? To paraphrase an old saying: “We can get everything we need and want in life if we help enough other people get what they need and want in their lives.”

I teach what I also need to learn, and T’ai Chi Chih has given me that outlook as a perpetual student, to share what I know, to learn from the process and from you, the students…

Recommendations as you learn TCC…

My recommendations during class as we learn T’ai Chi Chih are:

– relax and let go
– be comfortable
– practice, practice, practice
– ask all your questions
– remember to always have fun

Excerpted from the presentation made by Eddy Perez in Denver, Colorado during the September 1994 TCC Teacher Accreditation course.