From the Tai Chi Foundation – Legacy Advisory Committee and Legacy Holders

Recently, eight TCF students went to Germany to study with Vincent Zee. During their visit, Vincent shared some reflections on our school, which inspired us to write a bit about our history and consider how we continue to grow as a community of learners.

A Little History

Patrick Watson devoted his life to the study of martial arts. He had the great good fortune to study with Professor Cheng Man Ching, who admired Patrick and gave him permission to establish a school to train teachers.

Since its beginning, the mission of the STCC/TCF has been to teach tai chi for health, well-being, and awareness. While we honor the complete art of tai chi chuan, our particular focus has been to make its healing and transformative qualities accessible to as many people as possible.

Patrick led the STCC for the 15 years before he died. He left the school to what was called “The Circle of 8,” which later became the Legacy Holders. He has now been gone for 35 years and we have carried on the school’s mission to the best of our abilities.

 Our Lineage

Our school is firmly rooted in the teachings of Professor Cheng Man Ching, while recognizing that each generation of teachers deepens its understanding through sincere practice. To the best of his ability, Patrick passed on the Professor’s teachings and wisdom to the original teachers and to our school.

Like Wolfe Lowenthal, Maggie Newman, and Ken Van Sickle, Patrick passed what he gleaned from the teachings. William CC Chen told MO that the Professor did not know how to teach what he knew. No one teaches exactly what and how the Professor taught. Everyone does/did their best.

Patrick Watson was also greatly influenced by Oscar Ichazo, founder of the Arica School. Oscar’s double approach of clarification of consciousness (karma cleaning / witnessing yourself) and self-realization work (meditations and exercises) created a sense of mission to bring tai chi and consciousness to humanity. In the beginning, we all did the Arica work, which fostered a sense of community and fellowship through our shared philosophical framework, helping keep the school alive for 50 years. The Professor met and recognized the spirit of awareness in Oscar and recommended that his students do the Arica work as a part of their tai chi study; however, Patrick was the only one of the Professor’s students who did that.

Over the decades, our tai chi has been enriched by Professor Cheng Man Ching and Patrick Watson with his legacy of our work with yin and yang, the Five Elements, push hands levels, and the associated holding/releasing work.

Also influential were Pat Gorman, Gerrie Sporken, and all the Legacy Holders and what they have embodied. Some of our teachers are acupuncturists, and bring their understanding to our practice, particularly the Five Elements approach. At our summer trainings, you will find some of us sharing diverse meditation traditions, Sufi dances, calligraphy, and painting.

We have embraced teachings from Tam, Maggie, and Ken and are now learning from Vincent Zee. Tai chi chuan is a lifelong journey. As we continue to deepen our practice, we continue to discover. Growth does not require us to abandon what came before. Instead, it can invite us to further deepen our appreciation of the foundations which have brought us to where we are today.

Bubbling Well

Patrick related a story that he was doing tai chi at Shr Jung and felt the qi bubbling up from a point in his foot. He told the Professor about it. The Professor said not to talk about it. So, he didn’t for a long time. Patrick did say that it was important not to introduce the awareness of the Bubbling Well too soon. He told us he was concerned that the energy coming up would unground people. He never told us that the energy could go down as well as up.

Because our School has so many acupuncturists, we know about the Bubbling “Spring” point and have passed awareness of it in Roots and Branches Five Element qigong.

Vincent presents another perspective and tells his beginning students about the Bubbling Well point. At some point, he emphasizes it more and teaches how the energy can go down, transform, and come back up. Many of us are now working this awareness.

Change

In the coming months, a curriculum committee will be formed as our curriculum is in need of an update. It will also address changes that Vincent has introduced in the form and in the practice of push hands.

This will not be a fast process. Tai chi is not fast. There is concern that we do not throw out the baby (the good things that our organization, community, and teachings have done for so many people over the years) as we clean up, refresh, and deepen the bathwater. We see this as a meaningful development, a gradual and thoughtful process.

We want to preserve our school’s healing and spiritual orientation as we embrace new understanding, recognizing that these two aims are not in conflict but complementary expressions of the living art of tai chi chuan.

A Final Note

To achieve mastery in tai chi requires great dedication. Teaching a class or two and doing a couple of daily rounds is not enough. The Professor, Patrick, and Vincent worked diligently, with great focus, on their tai chi and achieved something remarkable. It is inspiring to feel Vincent’s touch. Those of us who also had the opportunity to experience Patrick’s touch feel a similarity in their qualities of soft, aware listening and the ability to feel where the other is out of balance. We acknowledge the renewed inspiration people are experiencing and encourage everyone to work their tai chi and take it to the next level for the benefit of all.