Teaching Assistants


	Teaching assistants
	Qigong & tai chi

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Teaching assistants

Teaching assistants work with Rachel to teach the tai chi for health and tai chi for fitness curriculum. They are all enthusiastic, friendly and enjoy training tai chi.
Despite being conscientious and keen, nobody takes themselves too seriously.

Who are they?

Marc Boivin, Chris Young, Dr Ben Beattie, Dr David Cousins, Malcolm Berry, Karen Laws, Mark Nickell and Andy Urwin.

Marc

Marc has over 10 years practice behind him. He likes to attend boot camp, workshops and private lessons with Sifu Waller.
By gently, patiently, moderately working on his taijiquan over many years, Marc has succeeded in developing a considerable amount of whole-body strength.
In class, Marc likes to help beginners work through their form pattern and partner work. Easygoing and modest, Marc is very approachable and fun to work with.

Chris

Chris possesses terrific people skills and is a 'natural' when it comes to teaching students. He is an versatile mentor; offering a zero-pressure approach to the cultivation of the desired skills.
With an extensive background in martial arts (including karate black belts) Chris brings a lot of insight and martial experience to his taijiquan.
Chris endeavours to attend additional training opportunities. Hardy and robust, Chris has no fear and is always eager to try new things. He became an 'indoor student of taijiquan' in 2019.
His adventurous, experimental attitude makes Chris open-minded and receptive.

Ben

Ben works directly with Sifu Waller and is making strong progress through the qigong and taijiquan material. In addition to attending evening classes, Ben takes every opportunity for additional practice.
He became an 'indoor student of taijiquan' in 2018. Ben likes to go to boot camp, workshops and private lessons. Ben shares Rachel's interest in Asian teas.
As a medical doctor, he is fascinated by the taijiquan use of the human body.

David

David is an incredibly talented, funny, modest guy. He became an 'indoor student of taijiquan' in 2018. He is also our Social Secretary.
He has a background in both karate and Chinese martial arts, is both an academic doctor and a medical doctor and has an impressive professional career.
David is a man of diverse interests and many hidden skills e.g. he designs, bakes and decorates stupendous birthday cakes for his sons.

Malcolm

Malcolm is a 'nuts and bolts' guy; keen to know how things work, why they work and how to improve their functionality. He has a keen interest in biomechanics, movement, taijiquan and qigong.
Thoughtful, insightful and astute, Malcolm is a keen observer of human behaviour. He enjoys long walks with his wife on deserted beaches, woodwork and studying foreign languages.
The science of magic is of great interest to Malcolm. He loves being amazed by the inexplicable; secrets and mysteries. Malcolm is also an excellent mentor.

Karen

Karen has been with the school for over 7 years. Her main interests are taijiquan, women's self defence, qigong, Taoist Yoga, massage, core strength, cardio work and psoas exercises.
When Karen first came to class she had very stiff elbows and really bad back/shoulder ache from her job as a screenwriter.
After working with Sifu Waller (and taking responsibility by practicing every day) Karen was able to release the tension from her elbows entirely and rid herself of the back/shoulder pain.
As a consequence of her enthusiasm, Karen has significantly increased her strength, suppleness, flexibility, balance, as well as improving her poise and mobility.

Mark

Mark is the keenest student in our school and shows exceptional school spirit. Despite being a medical student, Mark makes the time to train every day at home.
He is an exponent of taijiquan; attending almost every workshop, boot camp and indoor session offered by the school. Mark became an 'indoor student of taijiquan' in 2018.
Thoughtful, patient and composed, Mark is insatiably curious and loves to investigate how things work and why. Organised, thorough and dependable, Mark is looking to become an instructor one day.

Andy

Andy is a very thoughtful, considered individual, with an extensive background in martial arts, yoga, philosophy and Asian culture. He is an enthusiastic member of our school; always keen to offer help.
During lessons, Andy is well known for providing insightful answers to questions being posed and he enjoys the challenge of figuring out unfamiliar material.
With almost 10 years experience in taijiquan, Andy has cultivated a lot of internal strength and works at gaining the 'feel' of the art.

Suitability

Teaching assistants all possess qualities necessary for tai chi instruction:

Friendly and personable
Interested in other people
Caring
Reliable
Earnest
Committed
Trustworthy
Genuine
Punctual
Motivated

Expressing the teaching

Being a teaching assistant is a challenge; it requires the student to articulate skills and ideas in a way that makes sense to other people.
This requires considerable effort. Expressing the teaching to somebody else is not easy.

Dismantling

In order to explain, you must dismantle things, give examples, illustrate and demonstrate. You need to answer questions and to re-consider your own perceptions.

Taijiquan assistant?

Sifu Waller has never had a teaching assistant. Only Rachel has teaching assistants. Not Sifu Waller.

Mark is an extremely successful high school mathematics teacher. When we asked him when he really learned calculus, he said, "When I first taught it. There is no better way to learn anything than to actually teach it. When I teach something, I have to confront many fundamental questions: What is the motivation to learn this topic? What are the basic examples? On what aspects of this material should I focus? What are the underlying themes? What ties the ideas together? What is the global structure? What are the important details? These questions force me to discover the heart of the matter, and see exactly what I truly understand and what I still need to work on."

(Edward B Burger & Michael Starbird)

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Page created 2 March 1995
Last updated 08 January 2020