Teaching in a Drop-In Setting

At the 2008 conference I learned there are very few teachers who teach a “drop-in” or “continuous” class, yet I suspect that many would consider making this choice if they knew its advantages. The most practical of these is that the teacher is usually salaried by a health club or the health care entity – one that also takes care of promotion, facilities, and fees. Also, ongoing classes often build over the years, letting the teacher enjoy the experience of leading a core group into a deeper T’ai Chi Chih practice. The challenge of a drop-in format, however, is figuring out how to integrate each new student into the existing class. In fact, this can be a very enjoyable and creative process. Each situation is unique and the methods depend upon the new student’s ability (or disabilities) and the group dynamic, but the following scenario is fairly typical in my classes.

Because I usually work in a health club that offers a variety of classes, I arrive about ten minutes early to modify the lighting and put on background music. New students usually arrive early, and I take some time explaining and demonstrating yinning and yanging and the T’ai Chi move. I then help them identify the tan t’ien and explain its relationship to balance and shifting of weight. We discuss any physical limitations they might have – such as arthritic hips, neuropathies in their feet, or dizziness. If appropriate, I suggest techniques such as using a chair or even the large exercise ball for support, or moving along the wall, all of which have helped me or other students. We talk a little about the benefits they expect and those that I (or my students) have experienced.

Most importantly, I recommend that they not try to copy the hand or wrist movements of TCC, but instead concentrate on the weight shift, as this is the source of all other movement. I explain that as the weight shift becomes natural, the arms will want to follow. Through demonstration and direction, I then guide the students to stand with feet below the hips, knees soft, and the pelvis relaxed and neutral (as opposed to tucked under or arched). I have them begin shifting their weight forward and backward onto their feet, letting their shoulders stay comfortably over their hips. Once moving, I suggest they focus their attention on the soles of their feet and tell me what they feel.

Then I guide new students through basic yinning and yanging, cueing them as they slowly move next to me to “release the front knee and gently glide forward until the back leg straightens and there is no weight left on your back foot” and to “release the back knee and slide your hips back until the front leg is completely empty.” In this way I can correct any tendency to “push off” or lean before it becomes a habit.

By this time, the rest of the class has arrived. Often a newcomer is already known by an ongoing student (who recommended TCC to them). A group member usually spontaneously offers that he or she was recently the “newbie” and offers encouragement. Someone always mentions that TCC is a “practice, not a performance,” and that we are lifetime learners.

From that point on I let the Chi draw the new member into the fold. He or she hears the same gentle reminders about form and the same imagery about circularity and softness; they all suffer my metaphors and analogies with grace. By the end of the second class almost all students are able to follow the complete practice. The longer I teach, the more I’m convinced that the Chi inherent in the practice is really the best teacher. Our job is to give people the tools to feel it and then get out of the way.