Practice

Choosing a teacher: lineage, certification and what to look for

The most important decision a t'ai chi student makes is not which style to learn but whom to learn it from. A patient, knowledgeable teacher can make almost any form rewarding. A poor one can put you off the art, or hurt you.

Do Tai Chi is an independent reference. It is not affiliated with the Northwest T'ai Chi Ch'uan Association, the Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Association or any school, teacher or college. Current class information for the association's Southern California chapter is published at taichifist.com.

What lineage means

In traditional Chinese martial arts, knowledge passes from teacher to student in person, over years. A lineage is the chain of those relationships: who taught your teacher, who taught them, and so on back to a founder. Wikipedia's overview of tai chi notes that most modern styles trace their development to five traditional family schools, and lineage is how a teacher places their own practice within that tree.

Lineage matters for practical reasons. A form handed down carefully keeps its details, its applications and its training methods intact. A teacher who knows their lineage can usually explain why a posture is done a certain way, and can tell you honestly where their own teaching adapts or departs from what they were taught.

But lineage is not a guarantee. Two students of the same great teacher may have learned very different amounts, and a famous name on a chart says nothing about how long someone studied or how well they teach. Treat lineage as the start of a conversation, not the end of one.

How traditional associations certify instructors

Many lineages are organised through associations that set standards for their teachers. The details differ widely, but common patterns include:

• Years of study with a senior teacher before a student may assist or teach.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the forms, partner work and weapons of the system, often assessed in front of senior teachers.
• Graded levels, such as assistant, instructor and senior instructor, each with its own responsibilities.
• Authorisation by a lineage holder, sometimes in writing, sometimes at a public ceremony.

Some teachers carry authorisation in this sense. Wikipedia's article on Tchoung Ta-tchen, for example, describes him as officially authorising a few advanced students to teach his system. Other excellent teachers have no formal certificate at all, because their lineage never used one. There is no single national licence for t'ai chi instructors, so a certificate means only what the issuing body's standards mean. Ask what it involved.

Questions to ask

1. Whom did you learn from, and for how long?
2. What style and forms do you teach, and how do they relate to what you were taught?
3. How is your curriculum structured for beginners, and what comes after?
4. Do you teach partner work and weapons, and at what stage?
5. How do you adapt the practice for students with joint problems, limited balance or other conditions?
6. Is it possible to watch a class, or try one, before committing?

Good teachers are usually glad to answer. Vague or defensive answers to simple questions about their own training are worth noting.

What to look for in a class

• Individual attention. The teacher moves around the room and corrects people personally.
• Safe progressions. Beginners are given higher stances, smaller steps and time to rest.
• Clear explanations. Postures are explained in plain language as well as demonstrated.
• Relaxed senior students. The people who have been there longest are friendly, helpful and still learning.
• Honesty about limits. The teacher is willing to admit not knowing something, and to suggest asking a doctor about health questions.

Red flags

• Claims of secret or supernatural powers, such as throwing people without touching them or healing by projecting energy.
• Health promises that the practice will cure a disease or replace medical care.
• Pressure to buy expensive packages, long contracts, equipment or private lessons before you know whether the class suits you.
• Discouraging questions or forbidding students from visiting other schools.
• Pushing through pain: telling students to hold deep stances despite sharp knee or back pain.
• Grand lineage claims that cannot be explained simply, or that change when questioned.

Any one of these is reason to be cautious. Several together are reason to leave.

The relationship over time

A teacher–student relationship in a traditional art can last decades, and like any long relationship it rests on respect in both directions. The page on progressing in t'ai chi talks about that relationship from the student's side, and New to t'ai chi? covers the practical questions of a first class. If you are looking in Southern California specifically, see learning t'ai chi in Southern California.