Grasp the Sparrow’s Opportunity
I hadn’t taught Tai Chi in nearly forty years, not that I was any sort of officially sanctioned instructor, but in the 1970’s my enthusiasm for the practice spilled over into the alley behind my house and led a few friends to join me in catching the sparrow. It had been a dream of mine to become, one day, a ‘real’ instructor. I traipsed from the Midwest to New York to study at Chein Man-Chang’s school at 54 Broadway and studied as diligently as being continually reminded to relax allowed. If I hadn’t fallen off a cliff, and shattered my heel bone, perhaps this or that turn of events would have favored my aspiration.
I continued to study and practice on my own until I found a teacher in my lineage (Yang Short form) in California who observed my form was “sexy as hell, but useless.” That defined my self conceptions in too many ways for far too long. I played at Tai Chi when the mood moved me amazed that the muscle memory of my early diligent practice still carried me along, even as I forgot the exotic names for the postures, and gradually began to trust my left foot to hold me up for ‘separate hands and strike with heel.’
Upon learning that my piano teacher also taught Tai Chi for seniors I dusted off my slippers and joined his class for a tune up. He taught a different style than mine which put me back at the beginning level almost arguing within my body that this…
