Teaching my wife Tai Chi

[Chief Fox]

I've been studying Yang style Tai Chi Chuan for about 6 months and while I know that I am not qualified to teach I do practice at home. My wife has shown some interest in learning Tai Chi but is not interested in attending class with me but is interested in practicing with me. So my thought is I can teach her the form as I know it and as my form is refined hers will be too.

Like I said, I know I'm not qualified to teach but is there any harm in showing her the form so she can practice with me?

[Mojo]

I cannot imagine that this could harm anyone. She won't get good Tai-chi but nothing harmfull will occur to her.

[dej2]

hmmm... well it may increase your understanding of the art if you have to teach it to someone else. Its too bad that you don't have atleast couple of years under your belt.

[Chief Fox]

I was thinking that it would benefit me as well because it would force me to analyze my own tai chi more.

thanks for the input.

[lltdow]

Not so much the tought of teaching someone....that's cool. But haven't tried already tried to teach your wife anything, they only get angry and upset. Invite her to class, but I wouldn't go near trying to teach her anything.

[Chief Fox]

That's true. There is potential of someone getting hurt here. ME!

I think I'll just continue to practice and if she has questions she can ask and join in if she likes.

[scholar]

Every relationship is different, so it is hard to say.

My advice would be instead of you teaching her directly, have her imitate your forms, follow along slowly as you do them. And try to limit yourself to just imitation. If she wants more (after a while) then she will have to bite the bullet and take the class with you. This is how we encourage youngsters as well, no pressure, in the safety of the family home there is nothing wrong with imitation. In modern times, people have to want to do T'ai Chi for themselves, no amount of salesmanship will make a long-term student, IME. People want to have to think it is a good idea from the first time they see it. In the old days, it was military training or parents would send their childen to live at the family's school and there was no choice, you just did it all day every day. That is no longer the case in the modern world, though. People have the right to quit if they think it is boring or too hard or too slow.

There is a saying in our school: "T'ai Chi Ch'uan is for everybody, but not everybody is for T'ai Chi Ch'uan."

[l@zylee]

My Wife has joined in with me in the past and mimicked my movements, we sometimes even Push Hands, but its no big deal as someone else said you would probably learn a lot from it, my teacher has said that you realise that you yourself have a lot to learn when you try teaching someone else.

The main thing is that you don't go an open a McDojo