What One Thing Do You Hear Your Teacher Saying?

My T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) teacher, Marie Dotts, usually says these phrases repeatedly:
“You can’t do bad T’ai Chi Chih.”
“Fake it ‘til you make it.”
“Just do the arm movements or just move the feet.”

In her gentle teachings, Marie encourages students to try the movements in TCC without worrying about whether their attempts are “perfect” or not. The key is to do TCC and to move. As a beginning student, coordinating the arm movements with the foot movements can be confusing and frustrating. So, Marie encourages students to focus on just moving the arms or one arm. Likewise, she might say to just move the feet only. On “faking it,” Marie encourages students to make their movements without hesitation and with confidence, as the practice of TCC is a continual process of learning. Slight physical adjustments can be made by practitioners during a TCC practice. Other resources for learning how to do the TCC movements can come from Justin’s books and online videos, and at in-person classes with accredited teachers.