The Joys of Being a Student
July 24, 2009for all intents and purposes i am basically no longer teaching. i need to step away for a while before teaching takes me completely under and i lose all of my passion and joy for the art. when i do finally come back to teaching, there will be a lot less personal counseling on my end, and a lot less personal investment in the goals of my students… until, that is, the students demonstrate some real investment in themselves.
for the first time in what seems like forever, i’m taking a class from someone else. she’s kind of awesome. she teaches yang style tai chi and sun style tai chi. i say tai chi rather than tai chi chuan because, like me, she is a healer and not really interested in the martial applications of the forms (although she also teaches sword and fan). it’s really nice to just be a student for a change. to follow someone else’s lead. and it doesn’t hurt that she really likes me as well. 
she ended class early today so she and i could work one-on-one for a while. i was stoked! i think she’s become so accustomed to working with the sick and with old people who are declining in health, that she was starving for a student who could demonstrate the internal structures of the forms.
she wants me to start teaching qigong immediately, only this time in a group setting. i’ve told her no every time i’ve met with her. now today, in addition to qigong, she wants me to learn and master sun style tai chi because at the moment she’s the only one around who teaches it, and apparently it’s a really good healing form for people with arthritis. i will begin learning that particular form on sunday.
women tend to be better, more energetically developed than men, when it comes to the internal arts. and this woman in particular has a certain way about that is missing from most teachers out there. i feel very fortunate to be able to apprentice under a female master.
one day when i grow up, if i EVER grow up, i hope to be somewhere between her and KATIE.
this has brought so much new joy into my life. i really, REALLY, enjoy being a student again.
Beautiful! What a great student you’ll be. I came over here intending to nag you to post something new, and then I find all this bright, learning-y goodness.
This seems like a wonderful step toward finding a middle way between teaching and learning — sharing your gifts, and benefiting from the gifts of others.
So I’m curious — what’s the difference between yang style and sun style tai chi? And what are some of the challenging parts you’re encountering (if any)?
You’re making me miss yoga…I’m thinking of trying to find a class for the month that I’m here in Barcelona.
And thank you for the love, my friend, but I don’t see how you could hope to be like me when you grow up, since you’re one of the people who’s contributed most significantly to MY growing up. Something paradoxical there, I guess.
love,
katie