Notice, the me is like taking medicine or food, a good Tai Ch'i teacher must fit your own needs and personality. Be careful of making projection and idealizing the teacher with the white beard. Idols make very bad teacher.

Here is a list of Questions & Answer that will help to zoom you in to finding a good Tai Ch'I or Taoist master:

I want to study Tai Ch'i because:

1.  For Health reasons: I am feeling slow and aging and like to feel better

2.  For Martial fighting Skills: I live in a bad unsafe place and want to learn a soft style of self defense .

3.  For Spiritual purpose: I am a long time spiritual practitioners and looking to ground my spiritual practice in a more practical ways.

Answers:

1.  Health Reasons: A good teacher would be a person of deep knowledge of the traditional Chinese medicine principle of health, and healing and also a basic college degree in the natural science like biology, psychology and modern medical research. A Chinese acupuncturist who teaches Tai Ch'i would be an good model of a teacher for health and healing. A bad match here would be a man who is a Karate teacher who teaches Tai Ch'i on the side because he is getting too old. Or an ex-dancer with very little medical background who just loves doing the form for the beauty of it.

2.  Martial Fighting Skills: A good teacher would be a street— wise born again Buddhist or Christian who have surrender the knife for the olive branch. The teacher or Sifu usually have extensive knowledge and practice in at least three other Chinese Kung FU system like Hsing I, Ba Gua, and Shaoling. S/He also knows the extensive martial training of push hands, two person set in Tai Chi as well as basic Chin Na or grappling techniques. But the prove is in the pudding, try the teacher out with a few class and then ask for a push hand session and verify for yourself. Be careful here, woman should stay away from this kind of teacher unless the teacher is a woman. Many of them get hurt more than getting self protection.

3.  Ah, yes, the spiritual seekers going through mid life crisis. A down to earth compassionate being will do. This is the easiest teacher to find for the spiritual seekers. Start with any one of the above and you will find what you needed. Your spiritual practice just need new life to breath into it. Tai Ch'i will give you the Taoist simplicity and down to earthiness that you needed.

Basic Qualities of a Good Tai Ch'i, Qigong or Taoist teacher:

Compassionate and good sense of humor

For woman students, a teacher who understands the special biological function and skeletal difference between a woman's pelvis and a man. Too often, a teacher even if she is a woman teacher who learned from a male teacher will lock their hips imitating the male movement gait. A female body has a larger pelvis girdle and should show a natural swing side to side in any natural movements.

Often a Chinese teacher will be teaching but that is not necessary a qualification of proficiency. S/he may have just learned for a short time and self practice for many years. This is often the case with Tai Ch'i practitioners that I met in China. Their knowledge is very limited and their bad habits have ingrained themselves into the form. I have found western teachers of Tai Ch'i possess deeper knowledge and skill if they are diligent and had studied under good teachers.

A good teacher should move like the wind, stand like a tree, sit like a bell and sleep like a bow. The fluidity of a good Tai Chi player should be pervasive in every day life. When my late Master and I was sharing breakfast, at the age of 78, the way he poured the milk into the cup of hot chocolate in a fluid complete motion— by letting the movement arises from the feet—moved me to tears. And I have never forgotten that lesson of moving in oneness and fluidity and unity.
There is a quiet dignity to his movement.

Who to avoid, the bad apples and con artist

Avoid businessman like Tai Ch'i teacher, they are like hawker of a flea market constantly selling you their new video tape and selling you different form. Very few teacher of Tai Chi can be master of different style at the same time.

Avoid egotistical teacher who thinks s/he is so cool that s/he can act without manners and consideration toward the students.

Avoid trance medium who learned the form from spiritual trance.

Avoid teachers who uses Tai Ch'i to draw you into other organizations which have no direct relationship to Tai Ch'I or Taoist practice.

Avoid teachers who teaches both the hard style of practice like Karate and claim to teach the soft style. This also applies to Kung Fu teacher. In my experience very few hard stylist can really comprehend at a deep level the softness of Tai Ch'i. For many hard stylist, they do Tai Ch'i only because as they grow old they could no longer practice their hard impact Kung Fu.

A real life letter from a beginner Tai Ch'i Student

( all name have been changed to protect the identity of the people in the letter. It was a email letter to me and I have been granted special permission to publish this letter.)

Buyer beware:
I have been on a search for a qualified Taiji Chuan Master or at least
a competent instructor for some time now. The last teacher I had would
watch football games during class while one of his more "advanced" students taught the beginners class. I live in ___ and I am inquiring about your knowledge of schools in ____or anywhere in the country that have real dedicated and knowledgeable teachers. Your web site has valuable information about picking a good quality teacher that will aid me in my search. Thank you.

If you have any information regarding schools preferably in my area or anywhere in the country please send it to me.

Much gratitude and respect. A. F.

My Answer to AF

Dear A.F.
Thank you for your interest in the Dan Tao School.
Good luck with your search, sometime, finding a real master is part of the process of training and educating oneself in the depth of Taoist practice.
A good book to get as a guide is Entering the Dragon's Gate by Thomas
Cleary. It is listed in my web site.
" When the student is ready, the master shows up." That I find to be very true.

Sincerely
Sat Hon

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