Newsletter #137 - January 2013
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May 2013 be a refreshing, exciting, rewarding and a wonderful year for all. Despite the busy season we still
managed to gather some exciting contributions. Tamara Bennett has an interesting article, of all things, on ironing board and tai chi. After the recent teaching workshops I have further refined my thinking on teaching and learning and I would like to share a few new thoughts with you. In the Florida workshop, Peter Gryffin, a tai chi practitioner is working on his doctorate “The Teaching of Tai Chi”. You can read about his experiences. We were able to offer him a Young Teacher scholarship. The scholarship was funded from proceeds through auctioning my photo canvases in the 2012 USA June workshop. I would like to thank the generous bidders who raised USD$2,000 for this scholarship. The scholarship is for young tai chi teachers who would like to attend any one of my workshops worldwide. If you are interested, do email me through service@taichiforhealthinstitute.org.
I am excited about the upcoming January Sydney workshop and the Master Trainers’ workshop the following week.
I look forward to hearing inspiring talks from the new Master Trainers, group and individual demonstrations, and furthermore the interactive energy in an ideal learning environment for everyone to grow in tai chi.
I look forward to seeing those who will be attending this and many other workshops in different parts of the world in 2013. Articles on talks and videos on demonstrations from the January Sydney workshop will be posted in the coming newsletters. The USA 2013 June workshop is now set up online and we are ready to take registrations.
Congratulations to Senior Trainer Tamara Bennett for a very interesting and informative youtube interview with the Triangle TV, NZ, on the 28th Nov 2012.
Also congratulations to Sherry Jones, another Senior Trainer from Texas, USA who was recognized by the Arthritis Foundation as the Outstanding Mission Partner through her teaching and promotion of Tai Chi for Health.
In this newsletter:
- Dr Lam explores new thoughts on teaching and learning tai chi.
- Tamara Bennett’s “Recipe for tai chi Practice”: ironing board, laptop, complete set of Dr Lam’s instructional DVDs and a 1.5m square space.
- Caroline Demoise talks about the value of bringing tai chi principles to the world through the mission of the Institute (TCHI) in making tai chi accessible to everyone.
- Peter Gryffin shares how an opportunity to attend Dr Lam’s workshop helped him with his doctoral program.
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Singapore, Singapore
May 16 - 17 Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis
East Molesey, Surrey, United Kingdom
May 16 - 17 Tai Chi for Kidz Instructor Training
East Molesey, Surrey, United Kingdom
May 18 - 19 Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom
Jun 01 - 02 Tai Chi for Energy Instructor Training
Madrid, Spain
Jun 08 - 09 Tai Chi for Beginners Instructor Training
New London, CT, United States
Jun 10 - 15 One Week Tai Chi Workshop
New London, CT, United States
Many other workshops conducted by my authorised master trainers are listed in Workshop Calendar.
Many other workshops conducted by my authorised master trainers are listed in Workshop Calendar.
Yours in Tai Chi,
Paul Lam, MD
http://www.taichiforhealthinstitute.org/
http://www.taichiforhealthinstitute.org/
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New Thoughts on Teaching and Learning Tai Chi
Dr Paul Lam, Director, Tai Chi for Health Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Dr Paul Lam, Director, Tai Chi for Health Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Learning is a very complex human behaviour. It is the ability to plan for the future and learn different tasks and
concepts that can make human progress and reach their intended potential. It was when I started researching material for my Teaching Tai Chi Effectively book that I realise how complex learning can be and we need to cater for different types of learners. The complexity of learning certainly enriched my book. As many of you know bringing this book to fruition involved integrating 30 years teaching experience, 5 years of arduous writing and 2 years of careful revision and updates, and there is still a lot more to discover. It is exciting that teaching is like tai chi, there is always more to learn.
concepts that can make human progress and reach their intended potential. It was when I started researching material for my Teaching Tai Chi Effectively book that I realise how complex learning can be and we need to cater for different types of learners. The complexity of learning certainly enriched my book. As many of you know bringing this book to fruition involved integrating 30 years teaching experience, 5 years of arduous writing and 2 years of careful revision and updates, and there is still a lot more to discover. It is exciting that teaching is like tai chi, there is always more to learn.I have found the theory of the Learning Pyramid can be aptly applied to my Stepwise Progressive Teaching Method outlined in my Teaching Tai Chi Effectively book. This theory has been around since the mid 20th Century. The NTL Institute developed the pyramid as the result of research they conducted in the 1960s. It says by reading alone the retention rate is around 10%, with audio-visual the rate improves to 30%, when you add demonstration, and discussion the retention rate improves significantly to 50%. By practising the retention rate moves further to 75%. My Stepwise Progressive Teaching Method involves demonstration, discussion, practicing with repetition – a good way to achieve as high a retention rate as possible for most types of learners. However by teaching to others the retention rate improves to as much as 90%.
I strongly advocate teaching as one of the best ways to learn. I found my tai chi improved most significantly when I started doing more teaching in my global workshops. The first few years I was teaching Tai Chi for Arthritis over and over again hundreds of time. I went through the essential tai chi principles over and over again and I found by doing that and practicing the principles repeatedly, the level of my tai chi improved very significantly.
So what is so effective about teaching? When you teach you need to understand the subject matter thoroughly. You read about it, you talk about it, you practice, you hear about and demonstrate to your friends. A good teacher needs to understand the topic so well that when he or she teaches one is able have the knowledge fully integrated in one’s mind and body so that one is able to extend outside oneself to be aware what the students need. At this point you can modify the teaching method to best cater for the students’ learning style . The more you understand your topic, the more you practice, the more you can teach effectively. Each time you teach by setting an example with demonstrating the form, you engage yourself so deeply that you will be able to reach new heights.
In conclusion: It is important to understand the theory and rationale. Once you have mastered that you can use your auditory, sensory and cognitive facilities to integrate and share what you know. That in turn allows you to grow in knowledge and skill. Remember to use a variety of methods, be open minded and then tailor to the participants’ needs and learning styles to achieve the most effective outcome.
In conclusion: It is important to understand the theory and rationale. Once you have mastered that you can use your auditory, sensory and cognitive facilities to integrate and share what you know. That in turn allows you to grow in knowledge and skill. Remember to use a variety of methods, be open minded and then tailor to the participants’ needs and learning styles to achieve the most effective outcome.
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Ironing Board Tai Chi
Tamara Bennett, Senior Trainer, Waiuku, Pukekohe, Tuakau, Auckland - New Zealand
Can you learn the Sun 73 in a 1.5m square space using an ironing board, a laptop and a DVD? It’s called “Ironing Board Tai Chi”.
Board Tai Chi”.I loathe ironing! Two ways to avoid ironing; buy clothes that don’t need ironing or put stuff on your ironing board so it can’t be used for ironing ... I do both! I keep a laptop on my ironing board in the spare room, and a shelf nearby with Tai Chi for Health DVDs.
“Do you practice?” and “Where do you practice?” I get asked these two questions all of the time. Learning the Sun 73 totally from Dr Lam’s DVD in a 1.5m square space was the biggest tai chi learning challenge I have had yet! A laptop on the ironing board is the best way to practice tai chi if you don’t have a bigger space. For this type of practice, I concentrate on the forms and sections of the set and when I get an opportunity with more space I practice the whole set. Tai Chi for Health DVDs are perfect for working on the building blocks (forms), or sections of the tai chi sets. I am very comfortable with the pause and menu buttons and use these heaps! “Mirror Mirror on the wall” … jokes aside; I have a full-length mirror on the wall, so I can check my structure as needed.
In the past my students would tell me they bought a DVD, but did not use it much, as they did not have space to practice. So now I tell everyone who buys a DVD, to primarily use it for “form” practice and then concentrate on the flow of the “set” in class or whenever they get an opportunity with more space. Ironing Board Tai Chi is also good for practicing “sections” of the set. All of Dr Lam’s Tai Chi for Health DVDs have a list of the forms on the inside cover of the DVD, and most have a list of the set broken down in to “sections”. Once you master the forms in the section, it is easy to practice the section in this space as well.
I also found this style of learning/practicing, helps me concentrate on the internal aspects of tai chi, which is the real essence. When you practice with less space your tai chi will become more compact, which actually helps the natural development of your internal tai chi.
Don’t forget at some point you may need more than a 1.5m square spot!
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In a World Based on Tai Chi Principles
Caroline Demoise, Master Trainer, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Tai Chi for Health Institute has a remarkable opportunity in the world today. In Dr Lam’s International Tai Chi
Organization are a group of tai chi practitioners working toward manifesting a vision of universal tai chi. A platform has been created to promote a world where tai chi is universally recognized as beneficial throughout the age spectrum, where appropriate forms of tai chi are universally available to everyone and where tai chi may someday be universally practiced by a vast majority of people worldwide. At every step of the way, TCHI needs people with tai chi skill, with unique creativity and with a passion to be in service to create a better world. Tai chi people can bring the gift of tai chi to those around them by teaching to targeted populations and encouraging everyone to participate in tai chi. These talented people can also be consciously working on living the deeper tai chi principles in their own lives. Everyone around them will be affected by these everyday demonstrations of how tai chi principles create better teamwork, promote cooperation, result in harmonious conclusions to differences of opinion and build a better world.
Everyone in the world has a responsibility to promote the future world they want to live in, to advocate for it by their actions, to support its development by their involvement, to lead others toward the desired outcome with their communication and to teach in every moment by their example. This is not a job or position we acquire; this is a by-product of how we live.
Let’s look at how important lighting up the world with our intentions, thoughts, interpersonal communications and behaviours can be in the process of influence and change. Sometimes one person can literally change the world. Together, united in a common cause, to improve ourselves by applying tai chi’s principles more uniformly to our lives will more rapidly and profoundly change the world than we might imagine.
In learning tai chi we always begin with alignment. How we align the body influences how much power we can produce and direct. How well we align our mind to stillness, awareness and silence determines how deeply we can live in the present moment, how effectively we can sense what to do or say next to be effective and how skilfully we can influence the outcome of our actions. How deeply we can relax and open the body affects how much energy we can move through the body, how responsive the body can be in a situation, how fluidly we can respond and how much agility we can apply to manoeuvre in life situations.
Tai chi principals teach life skills. The more we apply them to life, the more successful we are in achieving our goals. When we recognize the deeper principle of harmonizing with every situation we encounter, being in the flow of life, we will recognize the importance of teamwork and cooperation in achieving results far beyond what one person can do themselves. As people emphasize cooperation and harmony, the ego will rebalance and become an effective, supportive asset; competitiveness will shrivel and assume a useful, motivating role rather than a destructive drive and everyone will recognize their connection with the good of the whole of humanity as the important focus for life’s endeavours.
Tai chi principals teach life skills. The more we apply them to life, the more successful we are in achieving our goals. When we recognize the deeper principle of harmonizing with every situation we encounter, being in the flow of life, we will recognize the importance of teamwork and cooperation in achieving results far beyond what one person can do themselves. As people emphasize cooperation and harmony, the ego will rebalance and become an effective, supportive asset; competitiveness will shrivel and assume a useful, motivating role rather than a destructive drive and everyone will recognize their connection with the good of the whole of humanity as the important focus for life’s endeavours.
In a world based on clear communication, teamwork, harmony and a goal of advancing humanity through cooperation, imagine how effective we could be, how peaceful and stress free life would be and how valuable tai chi practice and application of tai chi principles would be to the success of everyone personally and to the survival of the planet.
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My Scholarship to Attend Dr Paul Lam’s Tai Chi Workshop
Peter Gryffin, Tai Chi for Health Instructor, Florida
I began my own tai chi journey over 25 years ago, which has brought me health, vitality and joy. I came to share the treasure that is tai chi at a community college, where I could see the health benefits in others. Students reported benefits for cancer, fibromyalgia, Parkinson disease, and other conditions. This prompted me to return for my PhD, to better understand how to promote the many benefits of tai chi.
treasure that is tai chi at a community college, where I could see the health benefits in others. Students reported benefits for cancer, fibromyalgia, Parkinson disease, and other conditions. This prompted me to return for my PhD, to better understand how to promote the many benefits of tai chi. It had come to my attention, that despite the many benefits of tai chi for health, few programs taught systematically effective practice for health. Most used a master/disciple format, which can take many years to master, limiting accessibility. For health this seemed problematic and unnecessary. My own experiences teaching large groups of college students indicated that tai chi could be taught with a much shorter learning curve.
It was at the University of Florida that I began a systematic review of the larger programs in the United States. Surprisingly, most followed the long-term format, many with classes oriented around tai chi as a martial art. It was with great pleasure that I found Dr Paul Lam’s program, and began a correspondence that led to my application for a scholarship to attend Tai Chi for Energy. As a doctoral student, receiving this scholarship permitted me to experience first-hand the systematic teaching methods developed by Dr Lam.
It was refreshing to see the efforts and differences one man (not overlooking the efforts of his many talented and supportive staff and teachers) could make in bringing effective tai chi for health programs to so many across the world. Participation at the workshop gave me a first-hand experience with which to compare and evaluate other programs, which could learn much from Dr Lam’s systematic step-wise teaching approach. I look forward to sharing the finished study with Dr Lam and the tai chi community. Dr Lam has revealed the tip of the iceberg of tai chi for health. His support for my project through the scholarship will help create a larger tai chi world of opportunities for those who would most benefit from its practice, and I cannot express the gratitude I feel for being chosen for this honour.
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Our new Master Trainer Mike Soric has been studying and practising the Tai Chi for Health programs since 2002 and completed his first level of Tai Chi for Arthritis [TCA] Leader/Instructor four years later. Since then Mike has attained Level 2 TCA Leader/Instructor, Tai Chi for Diabetes [TCD], Tai Chi for Energy [TCE] and has continued his training with numerous updates. He has also attended seminars on Seated Tai Chi and applying Falls Prevention techniques. Attended numerous workshops both in Australia and overseas in the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis and the Depth of the 73 Competition Form based on the 'Sun Style' as well as the Depth of the 24 International Form based on the 'Yang Style' tai chi.
and completed his first level of Tai Chi for Arthritis [TCA] Leader/Instructor four years later. Since then Mike has attained Level 2 TCA Leader/Instructor, Tai Chi for Diabetes [TCD], Tai Chi for Energy [TCE] and has continued his training with numerous updates. He has also attended seminars on Seated Tai Chi and applying Falls Prevention techniques. Attended numerous workshops both in Australia and overseas in the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis and the Depth of the 73 Competition Form based on the 'Sun Style' as well as the Depth of the 24 International Form based on the 'Yang Style' tai chi.Mike intends to continue to provide introductory and beginners Tai Chi for Health classes to the broader community. He would like to continue to facilitate, help organise and assist where possible, for Master Trainers to come to North Queensland to present Training and Instructor Workshops in the North Queensland region.
As a Master Trainer he will continue to develop a strong training, support and mentor network for all Tai Chi for Health Instructors/Leaders and enthusiasts alike, in the North Queensland region as well as hold regular workshops.
Preparing this monthly article on positive humour has its challenges. I search the web for the type of humour I describe often as "good humour." I the web page for the Reader's Digest I can usually find examples for the newsletter. This month I discovered that when a reader finishes enjoying (or not) a joke there is a procedure to click an icon to rate whether you "like" or dislike the humour. Each joke has the percentage of those who found it funny posted on the rate it section.
describe often as "good humour." I the web page for the Reader's Digest I can usually find examples for the newsletter. This month I discovered that when a reader finishes enjoying (or not) a joke there is a procedure to click an icon to rate whether you "like" or dislike the humour. Each joke has the percentage of those who found it funny posted on the rate it section. Below I present four jokes and their ratings in parentheses. You may look and rate a variety of jokes at: http://www.rd.com/jokes/
- John went to the cardiologist after experiencing chest pains. "I took our sick cat to the vet," he told the intake nurse, "and while I was there, my chest got tight, I had trouble breathing. and a bit later, my left arm began aching." The nurse showing she was concerned asked. "Oh dear," she asked, "how is your cat?" (60%)
- My friend was working at an amusement park when a couple stopped him. “Excuse me,” said the woman, pointing to a pond. “What is that water made out of?” My friend replied, “Two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen.”
“See?” she said to her boyfriend. “I told you it wasn’t real.” (71%) - An elevator in our office building is frequently out of order. The last time, maintenance posted a sign that summed up the situation: Elevator Closed for Temporary Repairs (80%).
- I was driving when I saw the flash of a traffic camera. My picture had been taken for speeding although I knew I wasn’t. I went around the block and slowly drove through the same spot. Again the camera flashed. Thinking this was pretty funny, I drove past even slower three more times, laughing as the camera flashed while I drove by at a snail’s pace. Two weeks later, I got five tickets in the mail for driving without wearing a seat belt (98%)
You can contact me at drbobtaichi@juno.com
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END OF NEWSLETTER
Warning: Dr. Lam does not necessarily endorse the opinion of other authors. Before practicing any program featured in this newsletter, please check with your physician or therapist. The authors and anyone involved in the production of this newsletter will not be held responsible in any way whatsoever for any injury which may arise as a result of following the instructions given in this newsletter.
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