Teh In Action

When people contact me looking for a T’ai Chi Chih teacher, I encourage them. Recently I received an email from someone unable to find a teacher nearby and she said, “Maybe I need to seek accreditation myself.”

I replied, “Joyce, That is a terrific goal to pursue!” I then told her my story and provided contact information for teachers in neighboring states. Here are excerpts from that email: “When I first started T’ai Chi Chih I lived in Charlotte, NC but took my first lessons in Washington. I had an ad from a paper I picked up while on vacation. I called the teacher, reserved a weekend, and a few weeks later flew to Seattle, drove to Stanwood, and spent a few days studying TCC. I returned home, practiced on my own with a VHS tape, and returned to Washington six months later for more lessons. During that visit, my teacher said I didn’t need any more lessons for now, that all I needed was practice.

“That’s what I did for 11 years. When I decided to prepare for teacher accreditation, I lived in Fort Lauderdale and worked with a teacher in Del Ray Beach (a 45-minute drive) and a teacher in Orlando (3.5 hours away). After working on my form and receiving support and signed approval from those teachers, I attended the teacher accreditation in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2001. I’ve been teaching ever since and improving my practice through attending teachers conferences (three in the last five years).

“Don’t be deterred just because no one teaches locally. Here are some options: (1) Consider traveling to meet with a TCC teacher. Perhaps you could combine this with a vacation you’re already planning. (2) YouTube videos at will also help. If you’d like a full instructional video, you can order from me or directly from . (3) (I provided contact information for teachers in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey and cc’d them on the email.) (4) If you’re unable to train with one of them, we can work something out. (I explained she could travel to work with me or I could travel to work with her, and she could invite friends to help defray costs. I suggested one day could get her started and two days would allow us to review the full practice.) I hope this e-mail is helpful. Let me know how you decide to proceed.”