Well-timed Humbling Experience

Whenever I think I’m getting somewhere with Tai Chi, somebody – usually my teacher Patricia – comes along and gives me a good knocking.

Same thing happened the other day in New Orleans! I was out on the Riverfront Green doing HunYuan Chen Style Taijiquan yesterday, as usual, when I noticed a guy standing nearby watching me. I could tell at a glance that he had mastered the art - they always look with open, friendly expressions.

I should mention that, over the years, lots of people have watched for a few seconds as they go on by, running, biking or whatever. And once, another Taiji practitioner actually joined me on the green for a session. But we ignored each other and just did our own thing, and then went on our separate ways without a backward glance. He was much better than I was and I hoped he would return, but he never did. I read somewhere that if you work out long enough out in the park, other Taiji people will eventually join in and soon you have something going.
Well, this morning it was different. I realized instantly that my observer was a high-level martial artist, and he in turn could see that I was still quite new to the art. As I went through Feng’s Hunyuan 48- form, I tried to settle down, relax, unblock, qi, focus, yi…

But it was no use. I made a mess of the form. I was so embarrassed! But when I finished and turned to leave, he addressed me as a fellow student of Taijiquan.

I told him that I was a beginner. Only 10 years. He responded that we are all beginners at Taijiquan. Would I like to see a few seconds of his form? I sure did! So he began, and I instantly recognized the movements of a great master of the martial art - he made it look easy! I felt humbled, mesmerized and eager to learn from this fellow, although time was short. Gerry would be popping over within minutes to collect me for our morning walk to fetch the newspaper***.

We exchanged introductions and talked. It turns out that Ron Panunto has been studying martial arts for the past 35 years and, for the last 15, he has been teaching Tai Chi, all styles - Chen, Yang, Wu and other martial arts. As we spoke, I realized that he deeply understood Taiji concepts and that he pronounced them with well-practiced Mandarin. I’ve been too lazy to study Mandarin but should have a firm understanding by now of Taiji basics – not just pronounced correctly but actually applied. I needed to meet this guy.

He pointed out several key problems I have and quickly put me on course to improve my structure and form, helping me grasp internals that I’ve been working on for years! I learned more in 5 minutes from this guy than I have working out on my own for the last 3 years. It was a humbling experience – I have a lot of work to do! And there I was fantasizing about going to Beijing and training with Feng!
Thank you Ron! Your 5 minutes gave me lots of work to do!

If you live near the Philadelphia area and want to study Tai Chi with somebody who has not only mastered the art but can convey the teaching, check out Ron Panunto.

***I should mention that hubby Gerry often watches me do the form, wherever we are in the world. He’s my hero! One time, we were just out walking in the square in Managua when two thugs attacked us! One knocked me down and I could hear Gerry just kicking and punching and sending them both flying! When it comes to safety, I look to Gerry more than anything I could do with Tai Chi – even though I practice a martial art. I still can’t fight when attacked. Thank God for Gerry!

Meanwhile, New Orleans is under threat from the oil spill. More areas were closed to shrimping today.

We watch ‘Treme’ on HBO, Sunday nights at 9 p.m. and recognize a lot of people in the show: Derrick Freeman, Kermit Ruffins, Troy Andrews, John Boutte and many others. We also recognize well-known New Orleans characters, played by actors like John Goodman. This is a New Orleans story and we are riveted! Remember the first season of ‘24’? ‘Treme’ is another world, equally as riveting. It is recent history unfolding – and everything just comes back.