Tai Chi Instructors Should Not Throw Their Pants in the Fire
Nancy and I watch the TV series "Billions," and last night one of the characters told the story of James Davenport, an evangelist preacher back in the 1700s in the American colonies. He traveled and held revivals and preached fire and brimstone, hell and damnation.
He said he could tell if someone was "saved" or not just by looking at them.
James Davenport became known for his "Bonfire of the Vanities." He would urge his followers to throw books and other material goods into the fire. He was once charged with disorderly conduct because of his behavior and was convicted in a Hartford, Connecticut court. His punishment was simply to be sent back to his hometown.
Davenport kept preaching and holding his bonfires, and he began encouraging his followers to also throw their fancy clothes into the fire. Fancy clothes, he said, was a false god, it symbolized their vanity and kept them away from God.
One night, in front of a group of followers, he took his own pants off and threw them in...
The Best Way to Disappoint - Or Impress - Your Martial Arts Teacher
I taught a journalism course at a local university in 2016, both the spring and fall semesters. The picture above is when I arrived on campus at St. Ambrose University.
It was my first experience teaching. I do not have a Masters, but I had enough experience in journalism (I won a few Associated Press awards during 22 years in news) that the department chair thought I would do a good job.
The students filed in on the first day of my first class. I spent a LOT of time working on an entertaining and informative PowerPoint and lecture.
A couple of students looked at me, smiled and said hello as they found a seat. Most of them walked in without acknowledging me, found a seat, and began staring at the computer screen that they each had on their desk. There was no attempt to engage by most of the students.
I have always enjoyed kids, and young people, and have always found ways of making them laugh and have fun.
But a college setting was different.
It was fascinating, watching some s...
The Joy of Teaching Tai Chi to an Older Group of Students
Something happens when you start getting older, when your health begins to go South and the hair turns gray.
Suddenly, you feel differently about the old people you see in the store or on the road. You suddenly develop empathy.
Oh, I get it. That old man still thinks of himself as the strong 25-year old that he was just a few minutes ago. Wasn't it just a few minutes ago?
No, it was 40 years ago, before the losses started piling up; before his parents died, before his friends started dying, before his earning power began dropping, and before his heart began beating like a bad carburetor.
Now, when I see a healthy 25-year old, I think to myself, "It seems like just yesterday." When I was 25, life seemed endless and everything seemed to come easily.
As the years passed, I lost a daughter, I lost jobs, marriages, and eventually, my perfect health declined. There were some gains along the way, too, but the losses pile up.
As we get older, it becomes even more important to maintain ou...
Author - Instructor
Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
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