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Berger, Arthur Asa—Lessons Learned from My Tai Chi Master Page 4
Exchanges: The On-line Journal of Teaching and Learning in the CSU
Speculations on Being a Student and on the Magic of Teaching
This makes me wonder, then, whether there is something about being a student, something about the role of the student, that leads to certain kinds of behavior—especially when there are no examinations and there is little riding on one's behavior. Of course, the Tai Chi class was, in the most reductionistic sense, a glorified exercise class, so one needn't expect too much of oneself.
Still, it could also be argued that Tai Chi is one of the most difficult things you could possibly try to do—it is a set of awesomely complicated movements, and has ties to philosophy and physiology. Learning the form requires the student's full attention and continual effort. At any given moment you must try to keep in mind the position of your knees, your feet, your shoulders, your head, your back, your ankles, and what makes things even more difficult is that many of the movements in Tai Chi are very unnatural.
One other thing I've noticed, and this gets to the heart of the matter, is that despite my casual attitude toward Tai Chi (and I should add that Bob, our teacher, was also extremely low key, himself), somehow, magically, I learned a great deal. During my third year, for example, I discovered that, by some miracle, I actually knew most of the form and could start devoting more attention to doing it correctly.
That is what is hopeful about the educational process. By some kind of magic, despite everything, there is a subtle change that takes place in students and they find that, somehow, learning has taken place. It might seem that you aren't accomplishing that much each time the class meets, but after a number of months you discover that you have learned more than you thought you did.
Bob's Latest Adventure: The Master in Moscow
Bob is now living in Russia, where, as one of his former students told me recently, he is held in great repute as a Tai Chi master. He also is a drummer and has been quite successful as a musician there, as well. His place teaching Tai Chi in Mill Valley was taken by one of his students who had studied more than twenty years with him.
I had a wonderful three years with Bob learning Tai Chi. I learned the "short form" from Bob, but I also learned a great deal about teaching from him. So I learned much more than I thought I would from that Tai Chi course; when you study with a master, you always learn more about all kinds of things than you thought you would.
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Posted January 19, 2001
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©2001 by Arthur Asa Berger |
