Teaching tai chi (2) | ||
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Percentages
A qigong & tai chi (fitness training) teacher only needs to learn approximately 10% of the
tai chi syllabus; just the forms, qigong exercises, pushing hands, partner
work exercises etc.
This is not a lot of material to study. There is no excuse for being an
amateur.
A kung fu (Chinese boxing) instructor has studied about 60% of the overall curriculum, so
there is a lot of work to do. Nobody expects a new instructor to be an
expert.
Can I become a tai chi
teacher?
Most classes welcome anyone who wants to become a
tai chi teacher.
This is the criteria:
• Excellent communicator
• Patience
• Good sense of humour
• Not take yourself too seriously
• Genuinely interested in other people and their
wellbeing
• Committed to daily home practice
• Attends all lessons, workshops and training opportunities
• Willing to work rigorously through the
syllabus
• Willing to take private lessons on a regular basis
• Evidence of
metacognition
How long will it take to become a
tai chi teacher?
Remember: before teaching, you must have
something to teach.
You must know the art thoroughly.
It typically takes about 10 years for a serious
candidate (relative to practice and individual skill) to learn the tai chi
syllabus to a suitable standard.
Then, you learn how to teach...
This timescale is normal and to be expected in pretty much every
traditional martial art.
Learning how to teach
If 10 years sounds like a long period of time to you, consider:
A school teacher must be educated for 17 years before commencing the 9 month
teacher training course.
An Alexander Technique teacher requires 3 years full-time training.
A piano/music teacher studies for about 10 years before considering teacher
training.
What about a ballet teacher? A mechanic? A joiner? An electrician? A yoga
teacher? A scuba diver? A driving instructor? An accountant? A doctor? A
lawyer?
All of these time scales are contingent upon ability and aptitude.
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)
Fast-track courses
Weekend tai chi teacher training courses and long-distance instructor courses
are taking advantage of enthusiastic well-meaning people who are naive,
impatient and unrealistic.
Their qualifications are worthless.
Skill requires close, hands-on work with a
highly-experienced instructor over a
sustained period of time.
Do some research
There are countless books available concerning
the art and how long it takes to
learn (and teach).
Read the experts.
Find out for yourself. Think it through.
Would you trust your health to a doctor who bought his qualification on-line?
Why is tai chi any different? Would you trust your body to an unskilled
tai chi amateur?
13 adult learning amateurs assistants authenticity fit to teach? levels syllabus teacher training course teaching tai chi
Page created 2 August 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023