Diary of a New Tai Chi Instructor Part 2: 6 Months In

I can't believe it's been half a year since I started teaching! There has been many emails, phone calls, classroom setups, and all the logistical chaos that comes with running classes but I'm still here and still doing it!

I've been teaching Tai Chi for just under 6 months now, and November has been my busiest month yet. I taught 22 classes this month across gyms, community centres, dance studios, and private sessions where I went to people's homes. This was on top of attending 3 classes a week to keep learning, group practice with my Tai Chi friends, and my personal practice which I do every day.

I've taught 2 more people the whole short form now which makes 3 total. Some people learn fast, some people learn slow. But even when the form is finished, you just do it again and again. It's almost like a video game. You complete the game and then you play again but with harder difficulty. I think that's what keeps it interesting. There's always another layer to discover.

What I've found most interesting since last time I wrote one of these, about 3 months ago, is that different groups have wildly different tastes. The classes I run consist of 4 parts: qigong (zhan zhuang), warm-up exercises, Tai Chi form practice, and posture testing. I thought everyone would want the same balance but I was wrong.

The moms and dads class in the gym absolutely love qigong. I substituted for a senior teacher for most of this month and when I dropped into her class to check it out, 2/3 of the class was qigong! Imagine that! I kept looking at the clock and couldn't believe we were doing 45 minutes of qigong! I usually do 15 minutes in comparison.

Meanwhile, the class I do at the Chinese community centre, they love the form. We've only learned a minute of it but they ask me to repeat it again and again. Movement seems preferred in this class. They treat it like an aerobics class. We've done the form over 10 times now in each session and they still want more.

Then there's my Wednesday evening class where people like to push and do posture testing. The class age skews younger so maybe they find this more engaging or practical. Things get a bit too competitive sometimes so I have to remind them that they are training partners, not training enemies!

I haven't found any class that loves the warm-up exercises the most but I bet they exist out there somewhere. I'll know when someone comes up to me after a couple of sessions and tells me they do these exercises as soon as they get out of bed (even I don't do this).

These different classes matter to me because they're in such different places. A gym for moms and dads, a Chinese community centre since I'm Chinese, and my own class which I feel is most important to have since it is solely my responsibility to find students and manage it.

Teaching across all these groups has taught me that Tai Chi is not easy to teach. I was always told Tai Chi is simple but not easy. That's to do it. Turns out it's the same to teach it. Teaching is a separate skill. It's a skill I must work on with each passing class.

I have a better idea of a lesson plan in my head before each class now. I prepare but I don't set them in stone. If I notice the same mistakes with multiple people in the room, I adjust on the fly. I think this is what my teachers do. I asked one of my teachers how he decides what to do in class on the day and he just told me that it's whatever he's working on which I found kinda funny. But it makes sense now.

Teaching really is one of the best ways to learn. Why did I just turn my foot, where is my weight now and why, can I hold this posture if they push me? I get to try and answer any question a beginner can throw at me. Stuff that comes automatic to me now gets questioned, and the automatic stuff is not always right.

There have been moments of doubt. When people kept dropping out of my class or low attendance in another, I wondered if I was doing something wrong. But whenever moments of doubt were highest, it was like fate or something was listening in. I'd get a new email from a curious person looking to start Tai Chi. I'd get a text from a student asking for a video of the form. These little signs kept me going.

There's been a lot of logistical challenges but doing Tai Chi is the fun part. Organising it, while necessary, is not so fun. It's like the meme:

Me teaching Tai Chi classes: haha fuck yeah!!! yes!!

Me organising Tai Chi classes: well this fucking sucks. what the fuck

But there are moments that make it all worthwhile. I'm teaching at a mom and dad's home the other day. Their baby is in front of me, waddling her arms. I can't help but smile and think she is doing Tai Chi too. As I do posture testing with one parent, the other checks on the baby. It's a perfect combo. Like yin and yang. In that moment, I forget about the admin headaches and just feel grateful.

It's getting darker and darker these days. The sun set at 4pm today. I was in the park earlier and I can't wait for spring when I can do and teach Tai Chi here again. The darker months are hard but I'll persevere. Six months in and I'm still learning, still growing, still doubting sometimes. But also still here. Still teaching. Still watching my students discover what I discovered.

It will only get easier from here.

Written 30th November 2025