The Joy of a Tai Chi Chih Child-Parent Class

It has been something I have always wanted to do – teach Tai Chi Chih to children and their parents. I was anxious and excited about the opportunity to teach children. I was anxious since I’d had little experience teaching children.

I got some wonderful ideas and suggestions about teaching TCC to kids at the TCC Teachers conference in Banff at one of the informal table talks. I felt much more confident after talking with others who had already taught kids.

My first class consisted of five eager kids (ages 6-10) and their parents. The kids are generally very soft, but I was surprised by how they moved. They did not really seem to know what their legs, feet or arms were doing. I was beginning to wonder during that first class if this was a good idea after all. I kept going over yinning and yanging – they seemed to have no idea whether their knee was bent or not. I would ask the kids to stop and look at their knee, to see if it was bent. (I remember when I looked to see what my feet were doing during an advanced TCC class; I was very surprised to see my heel about three inches off the ground during Perpetual Motion Taffy. I had no idea what my body was doing either.)

I remember talking to my teacher, Carmen Brocklehurst, after that first class and wondering if the kids would ever be able to do the yinning and yanging. She assured me they would, that I would be amazed at how they improved. I said, yes, maybe after the eight weeks. She said she meant next week. And of course she was right. By the third week they were yinning and yanging all in unison, at least for a few minutes! By the 5th week, ALL their fingers began to move! I was amazed. I had invited Carmen to my class and while she was leading them, the chi was flowing so strongly. I have found that inviting my teacher to help teach one of my classes can be very beneficial.

Now I can honestly say I love teaching my Child-Parent classes. I just finished with another class—it does get easier. The joy and the love I feel from the children is amazing. I hope others will consider teaching kids and parents. It is a lot of fun and there is a demand for it. I did some advertising in a kids/parents newspaper, but I also found that people who already knew TCC really wanted their kids to learn it. My first class consisted of two TCC teachers and their kids, among others. Since I just became accredited the year before, and these teachers were very experienced, it was a little intimidating for me. But I realized these experienced teachers could help me improve my class. Now I regularly ask them for feedback about my class, especially when I try something new. (These discussions take place outside of class.)

Things I learned: It helps to define the space for their practice. I place Yin and Yang symbols on the floor so they know where to stand (since the younger kids may want to wander around the room or stand very close to another child). I used cardboard cake rounds, and used various colors of construction paper.

Repetition and patience. Yinning and yanging is not easy for the younger children. I’m still teaching yinning and yanging by the 8th week. I find that more repetition and more patience are needed when teaching children.

The children, as they get quiet, often confuse this with being tired and want to sit. During my one-hour class, I have them sit twice. I have the kids sit and draw what they are feeling. They seem to love this. While the kids are drawing and writing their answers to my specific questions, I work more individually with the parents. I do explain to the parents that this is a child-centered class. Also I have them sit and I ask them how their practice is going and what nice thing they did for themselves. (Their assignment is to practice every day, and to do something nice for themselves every day they practice.) At the end of the eight-week class I return all their drawings/writings to them in the form of a booklet, with some quotes from Justin about TCC.

I learned not to get too discouraged when the kids do not practice. I learned to appreciate their honesty when they tell me they didn’t practice at all that week. I kept reminding them about all the benefits and one has to practice to get them. I kept asking each of them about their practice every week, and towards the end of the eight weeks, they began to practice much more frequently.

I give them a small surprise at the end of each class. The kids really look forward to this. The surprise gift represents some principle of TCC. For instance, I ask them to tell me where are the circles in a movement we just learned, and then give them bubble solution to make more circles. I have also given super balls, pencils with the phrase “polarity between the hands,” or “flow from the center,” or stickers of the yin/yang symbol or stickers of colorful footprints to remind them to stay in their feet. (I order these things in bulk from a teachers catalog called Oriental Trading Company; the prices are very reasonable.)

I have found teaching children and their parents to be very rewarding. Six-year-old Dylan writes, “I feel happy, I feel wind” when practicing TCC. Seven-year-old Erin “learned to stay grounded,” Shana, 9, “feels happy,” Shelby, 7, learned, “I can be calm.” Zach, 12, writes, “Chi feels like a cloud flowing through the sky and kinda like fire.” Tai Chi Chih is a wonderful gift; let’s share it with everyone, young and old. As Justin has written, “Circulation and balance of the Chi energy is one of the great secrets of life, open to any of us who will make the effort.” Kids do make the effort and they have not forgotten how to flow. A world where all the children have learned T’ai Chi Chih – would be a beautiful and peaceful world.

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[When I read this passage by Pablo Casals, I knew I had to teach T’ai Chi Chih to children. —Judy]

“You are a marvel. Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two plus two is four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is like you, a marvel? You must work—we must all work—to make the world worthy of its children.”