Dịch
Matsu Matsumoto and Sherry Kent
In honor of the Tai Chi Foundation’s 50 years, each month in 2025, we are publishing blog posts featuring historical material, reflections by TCF tai chi teachers, and photos. We hope the images and words will connect the tai chi community to our school’s many strengths, expand our understanding of the art, and inspire our practice. And who knows? Perhaps something in this series will inspire you to share your experience as well; the door is always open. Welcome to this month’s edition:
Working with Patrick Watson and Embracing the Art of Tai Chi:
A Journey to Inner Awareness and Connection
Fifty years later, Sherry Kent and Margaret Matsumoto share memories, in an interview with Charlotte Booth, of their beginning tai chi studies with TCF founder, Patrick Watson.
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Margaret Matsumoto or “Matsu” has dedicated her adult life to teaching tai chi chuan and related arts. Her teaching career has spanned 49 years and has included thousands of students. While active in many roles for the organization, she still loves to teach and mentor others. In her own practice, she enjoys the feeling of fluidity and inner calm that come from doing tai chi. Matsu lives in Stockton, NJ. She likes listening to jazz and sings in a choral group. She also belongs to an environmental activist group.
Sherry Kent began studying with Patrick Watson in 1975 and found this a transformative experience. Her tai chi journey included being trained to identify the next steps in the growth of students & teachers in TCF’s multi-level curriculum and becoming a TCF Legacy Holder. She values the ability to listen to and to witness oneself and others with acceptance and compassion. In her own practice she enjoys the feeling of effortless, relaxed balance that comes when aligned and moving freely.
CLICK HERE to view a video interview with Sherry.
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Sherry and Matsu each met Patrick Watson in tai chi classes related to Arica workshops in the 1970s. Matsu, already very involved in the holistic spiritual work of Arica Institute, including doing Psychocalisthenics and African dance, started classes with Patrick in San Francisco. Sherry, after her first 40-day Arica training, attended Patrick’s tai chi classes with other Aricans in Boston. They both went to New York City and continued classes with Patrick on a cement playground on the Upper East Side, at a Hunter College gymnasium, and other locations.
Sherry had tried tai chi earlier with another teacher and decided it wasn’t for her. Matsu also did not stick with her first tai chi classes elsewhere. But the experience of seeing Patrick’s big body moving so gracefully and feeling his gentle, aware touch, first in making adjustments and later in push hands (partner work), made it immediately clear this remarkable man possessed a subtle and profound knowledge that attracted their attention and changed the direction of their lives.
Interview
What did you love before beginning tai chi that may have amplified the attraction of this work?
Sherry: Movement has always played a central role in my life, from ballet in grade school to modern dance in college, and later ballroom dancing, which not only refined my self-centering skills but also enhanced my ability to follow and respond to a partner’s movements—skills that are invaluable in push hands. As a child, I delighted in ball games like tetherball and foursquare, reveling in the joyful interaction with others, much like the energetic playfulness I find in push hands and sword fencing. In my teenage years, I discovered Sufi teaching stories, which guided me towards spiritual arts and personal development and the tenets that I later revisited in the Arica school.
Matsu: I loved learning to ride a two-wheel bicycle with no fancy gears. After many spills and scraped knees, I finally realized I
had to trust my gut and not think about everything I was supposed to be doing. When I was sure of my balance and control, I
could even let go of the handlebars and fly down the street. Whee! What a sense of my own agency (autonomy) and freedom!
Later, African dance gave me a similar exhilaration. I only took a few lessons, but as soon as I heard the resonant beat of the drums, the rhythms set my body in motion. No time to think, just the pure joy of expressive physical movement. Similarly, when Patrick trained us to focus in our dantians and to let the movement originate from there, that awakened a vibrant whole body awareness…which to this day attracts me to pursue my personal tai chi practice and my teaching.
What was significant about Patrick’s touch?
Matsu: You couldn’t feel the hands pushing, but his push had the power of a wave to take your feet out from under you, with no trace of aggression or malice.
Sherry: Yes, his hands felt soft, light, alive, aware, gentle, warm and almost vibrating with energy. They could listen and follow you anywhere, never leaving, always adhering.
Matsu: His hands always stayed connected to his partner, gathering, adhering—you could not get away from them, lending some people to nickname push hands as “sticky hands.” Yet the touch was not invasive, just very neutral and very present. They were also healing hands. Whether you injured yourself or had accumulated stress tension, his sensitive touch could bring healing energy to that affected part.
Sherry: And yet when I tried to put my hands on his body, it wasn’t there…there was nothing there to push on.
Matsu: Yes, rotating, shifting, as though he melted away…right, Sherry?
So Patrick’s embodiment was key to igniting your interest.
Sherry and Matsu: Yes, absolutely.
You two, and Pat Gorman, were among the first teachers to teach new teachers what you had learned from Patrick. What are your memories of beginning teaching with Patrick?
Matsu and Sherry: We both remember one day at the beginning of a class at 30 West 57th Street, when Patrick turned to us and said “Now you teach!” When we protested that we did not know what to say, he said (right in front of the class): “Just use the same words I use…repeat after me.” And so we repeated his words, which at the time felt embarrassing, because the whole class was aware that we were repeating Patrick’s words right after he said them. Although occasionally Patrick would leave the room, leaving us to teach alone, he reassured us that he remained nearby to ensure the quality of the class and to fix anything that we left unclear or incorrect, so we should not worry. Looking back, we can’t believe he thought we were ready to teach at such an early stage.
Matsu: I still tell new beginning teachers that some of our indications (verbal instructions) are Patrick’s own words, such as “like water over a waterfall’ as the hands rise and then descend in front of the body, at the beginning of the form.
Sherry: On the weekends we would travel together to teach in B
oston (where we met Greg Woodson) and the Washington DC area, and we also did a weekend each month in New York City. The first beginning group of students that we trained to teach joined us circa 1975. Margaret Olmsted attended, as well as others that are still active in TCF today. We incorporated in New York as The School of Tai Chi Chuan Inc. Then at Patrick’s request I went with a team of teachers to teach in Europe in December of 1976, where Paul van Loenen helped us to establish the Stichting School of Tai Chi Chuan in Amsterdam. Paul
also found the teaching location which we rented and renovated, which became the school in the Kerkstraat. Patrick would travel back and forth between the US and Europe to teach us the next levels and officiate at our summer and winter trainings. For almost 20 years I flew back and forth twice each year, attending two summer and two winter trainings, one in the USA and one in Europe, teaching apprenticeships, as well as local classes in Amsterdam many evenings, and traveling to various cities to teach on the weekends. It was an intense time!
Unlike many other schools, TCF developed a very specific process to teach teachers to teach.
Matsu: Early on, Patrick understood that his team teaching approach was an historic departure from how martial arts masters usually passed their teachings to the next generation (i.e. from one master to one disciple, who then taught solo).
Patrick innovated by having us team-teach, thus allowing two people to bring their complementary skills and strengths to each class. The focus of the class remained on the objective teaching itself (“the content”) rather than on the personality of the teacher and his/her teaching style (“the delivery”).
Patrick introduced Grandmaster Cheng Man-ching and Oscar Ichazo in the early 1970s. What stands out to you now about this meeting?
Matsu: When they met, Professor Cheng honored Oscar by recognizing him as ‘the older soul’ even though the Professor appeared to be the older of the two of them in real-time terms. The Professor even encouraged his students to look into
Oscar’s Arica work since the Chinese Classics were too arduous for Americans to undertake to achieve any kind of self-knowledge and cultivation of internal spiritual consciousness. Luckily for us, Patrick Watson helped us develop as a tai chi school with the best qualities from each tradition.
Patrick had great dedication to his own tai chi practice, to carrying Professor Cheng’s work to the world by cultivating the teaching of teachers, and to Oscar, who was himself a very accomplished martial artist. Oscar asked Patrick to be his bodyguard, clearly a 100% vote of confidence in Patrick, who served very honorably and capably in this capacity for many years.
Sherry: In his protective role, Patrick illustrated and taught basic security awareness to us, which we now pass on through the practice of “Warrior Security Awareness” within the big semi-annual training programs.
What about the confluence of tai chi and Arica?
Sherry: Some things that I liked about the early Arica trainings were comb ining self-development and awareness on all the levels (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual), and developing the witness, being able to learn from and to be more open with others about my self-observations and about the level of my own behaviors.
These concepts also resonate beautifully within our tai chi school. We practice tai chi not just for the physical and health benefits, such as improved balance and circulation, but also as a path to deeper self-discovery and heightened awareness. With each session of tai chi, push hands, or sword fencing, opportunities arise for observing our own egos, behaviors, and fears. Tai chi invites us not only to explore our physical awareness, but also to refine our emotional, mental, and spiritual landscapes, as well as delicately enhancing our relationships with others—gradually enriching our consciousness and awareness in every direction, inside and outside.
Matsu: I believe the strength of our school comes from the intertwining of these two streams: Professor Cheng Man-ching and Oscar Ichazo, founder of Arica Institute and the Oscar Ichazo Foundation. Patrick added his own experience with the Hawaiian arts of Lomi, Ho’oponopono and Hawaiian swimming to the blend. In his study of tai chi and other martial arts, as the only Caucasian in martial arts classes filled with Asians, he often had to prove himself. To demonstrate that he was serious, he held postures longer than anyone else and practiced diligently. He told us he had come through the “School of Hard Knocks,” getting forcibly pushed, falling, getting hurt, and then working over and over until he learned to avoid injury by relaxing. He said he came through it all and was teaching us so that we didn’t have to endure the same hardships.
From the vantage point of 50 years, what stands out as ‘the attraction’ of this work? How has the practice of learning to listen deeply shaped your life work?
Matsu: Patrick said, “Consciousness is the whole game.” In our partner work the whole “win/lose” mentality of “doing push hands” is transformed into a collaborative art of connecting to others through receptivity and empathy. In its highest manifestation, all of our tai chi studies bring us toward unity consciousness, to the visceral understanding that “we are one.” When we experience being in the Dao, we feel blessedly connected to everyone and everything. So my attraction to tai chi has been to immerse myself in this way to that greater unity.
Sherry: What I find truly magical about tai chi is its ability to deepen your connection to your own body, a journey that begins with a gentle awareness—a felt-sense that grows richer with each practice. Imagine being able to tune in to every tiny aspect of yourself, deeper and deeper and even recognizing where emotions surface within your body.
It’s a touching and transformative experience, to become so attuned to yourself internally and externally, and then to extend that awareness to others. You learn to feel subtle nuances when you touch another person—their muscles, bones, feet and balance—and join with the flow of their physical (or emotional) movements with sensitivity and grace. When partners in tai chi are able to reach this profound level of awareness, an extraordinary, non-verbal communication unfolds between them. It’s an exhilarating form of sharing that transcends words.
For 50 years tai chi has held a central position in both your lives. How has that been for you?
Matsu: Yes, I have been with the school on almost a daily basis for most of those 50 years. (The first year of my daughter’s life was the one year she saw more of me than my fellow tai chi companions did.) I feel that I have spent decades as a “door opener,’ empowering others through my personal tai chi and meditative practice, through my physical “chi touch,” through my teaching, and through my many and various administrative roles. I have been honored to hold the work of the school, to have had the opportunity to work with Patrick and his best and brightest, to invite and train new teachers, to mentor and support others in their own tai chi progress, to remain true to the legacy we inherited from Patrick and yet leave the door open for others to walk through and make their unique contributions that continue to help us evolve and to grow. What a trip! It has been humbling, occasionally frustrating, but also inspiring, crazy, and joyful!!
Sherry: Like many of us, I vividly recall Patrick pointing to his nose as he said: “This is the only enemy.” Developing self-awareness nurtures our ability to be compassionate toward ourselves and towards others, and to grow the skill to
respond softly and move in harmony with others. Tai chi has taught me “Strength Through Softness” (as Pat Gorman printed on T-shirts for us), to be more present and to listen deeply to myself and to others. This profound listening presence allows me to understand and support my tai chi students, fellow teachers, acupuncture clients, and friends, as they connect more deeply with themselves to take the next steps on their journey.
Thank you both for sharing your memories with us, and on behalf of so many people in the past half century AND so many more over the next half century, thank you for all you have given in service of TCF’s mission over the past 50 years.
Charlotte Zinsser Booth
In 1991, TCF leaders were affectionately known as “The Gang of Eight.” Left to right: Gerrie Sporken, Greg Woodson, Peggy Watson, Sherry Kent, Margaret Matsumoto, Margaret Olmsted, Axel Scholow, Patty Gorman.
As we celebrate 50 years, our school is now led by a Legacy Advisory Committee —pictured here in 2024. Left to right: Els Eijssens – Legacy Advisory Committee facilitator, Margaret Olmsted – Legacy Holder, Greg Woodson – Legacy Holder, Gerrie Sporken – Legacy Holder, Sherry Kent – Legacy Holder, Vanessa Costigan – Legacy Advisory Committee Member, Jonathan Stow – Legacy Advisory Committee Member, Margaret Matsumoto – Legacy Holder.
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First Discovering Tai Chi and the Tai Chi Foundation?
You can learn more about tai chi by exploring the diverse offerings of the Tai Chi Foundation (TCF). TCF provides live online courses, allowing you to participate in guided sessions in the comfort of your home. These virtual classes offer unique opportunities to connect with experienced instructors, ensuring that you receive personalized guidance and feedback. Additionally, the Tai Chi Foundation offers Teachable on-demand classes, providing a flexible and accessible way to learn at your own pace. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced practitioner, these online resources offer a wealth of knowledge to enrich your tai chi journey. For those seeking a more hands-on experience, check out the regular course offerings of TCF’s affiliated local schools.
TCF is a not-for-profit educational organization that promotes, funds, and teaches programs that enable people to learn tai chi chuan and embody its principles.
Be sure to check out our new TCF 50th Anniversary Shop, where you can find stylish tai chi t-shirts and other great branded merchandise!
The Tai Chi Foundation Editorial Team
Photos courtesy Tai Chi Foundation Inc.
Copyright Tai Chi Foundation 2025
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