Worship Leader Nel Newton.

I have been studying tai chi for about 25 years now. I've been teaching for about 13 years and teaching at First UU in Central Austin church for the past 5 years. And since I'm also good at blathering on, I've been appointed as the one to deliver today's sermon!

I was attracted to tai chi for most of the usual reasons -- it's so beautiful to watch, there's the exotic appeal of Asian culture, and the sly lure of studying a martial art without being obvious about it. Seventeen years ago, I was lucky to find a great instructor whose style of tai chi took my breath away. "I want to learn to do THAT!" I said.

I devoted myself to this teacher and his beautiful style of tai chi, which is Korean -- not Chinese like most tai chi taught in this country. The sets of fixed movements called "forms" were powerful and transformative. Eventually, I was encouraged to start teaching, and I have been proud to pass along this ancient art in the traditional manner from teacher to student. No book or video can ever match the learning that takes place in the relationship formed between two people.

I have been teaching for several years when pregnancy interrupted my routine and I let go of all my classes. But when my son was a few months old, I knew it was time to start back. I live close to the church and reasoned that if I didn't have much money to contribute, I could give of myself. I offered my services as a teacher to the Adult RE committee, and after a bit of paperwork, I was soon facing a group of new faces. That was five years ago and many people have been through one or more classes. And, wonderfully, some have stayed for two, three, four, FIVE years. We now have a core of students that teach me as much as I teach them. This is as good as it gets for a teacher!

One of the greatest discoveries in these classes -- one that I never fully realized in other teaching situations -- is how we have intentionally created community where it did not exist before. The classes are open to everyone and participants find themselves part of a group who know you and are looking forward to seeing you at least two nights a week for an hour. First Church is a large community, and the tai chi classes offer a smaller group of people the opportunity to discover one another, and support each other through disappointments and joy, and triumphs.

When we gather as a class, the first thing we do is shake out, leaving the rest of the yammering world behind us. We start breathing together. It goes kind of like this:

12 Cycle Breathing

Now, let's all try a bit of this. Okay? We're going to do something just a bit similar so you get an idea of what this feels like:

Pal Gae, steps 1 and 2

Through careful, intentional breathing, and careful, intentional movements, we settle down, we bring our focus into our bodies, and pay close attention to the rhythm of the group. Once we are breathing together, we can start to play together.

One of our favorite forms is one we call 5 Elements. During this form we recreate the universe anew, and set ourselves at its very center. Starting with nothingness we use our bodies to describe all of creation, and the balances of heaven & earth, man & woman. And this is how we do it:

5 Elements, complete w/narration of the form:

Out of nothingness we start with Water...pulsing waves of motion

Up from the ground pushes the Tree, with its trunk, and its branches

spreading out against the sky.

Now we find the Mountain, rising up, and the green valleys below.

Then out on the plains we find Wind -- leveling all in its path

Then there is a spark, it catches, and ignites, spreading Fire which

engulfs.

We gather energy from the Sun, and pull it down into our bodies.

We gather energy from the Earth, and pull it up into our bodies.

In between Heaven and Earth is where we walk.

And here is where we find the dancing opposite energies of

Yin -- that which is feminine, dark, quiet, and moist, and

Yang -- that which is masculine, bright, loud, and dry.

When these two energies are in Balance,

When the five elements are in Harmony,

When Mind, Body, and Spirit are connected, then we can come down

from the mountain, and face our tigers...

It might seem egotistical to place oneself at the very center of the universe, but this form demands our participation in creation, and ultimately begs us to recognize our responsibility in the perpetuation of life.

Also, when I teach the martial aspects of this art, I insist that we get very responsible for our centers -- a spot just below the navel, and just inside the body. The Dan Jun -- or center, is where energy -- or "Ki" or "Chi" -- radiates from , and this center is where one's personal universe starts -- and radiates out a few feet in every direction. "Personal space" only partly describes it. "Personal sphere of determination and control" does a better job.

Now this is leading us into the martial parts of this art...

For all of its dance-like beauty, Tai Chi is apart of the Asian martial arts. Coming out of Korea and China, it is a legacy of monks who trained to keep their bodies as strong as their minds. Through imitations of nature, they gained the strength of each element, and borrowed the effective fighting techniques from various animals. How the tiger crouches and pounces, how the crane spreads its wings, how the eagle's talons dig, or how the snake slides sideway before striking.

This brings us to the question: how can I practice a martial art -- even a slow and beautiful one where I concentrate deeply on ways to gouge, rip, strike, and kick an opponent? How can I align that with my real interest in peace? Isn't there a bit of contradiction here? Am I suggesting a kind of Peace through intimidation? Can one really simultaneously prepare for and prevent violence? I still mull this one over seriously -- I was raised as a UU pacifist -- but when I swing a heavy wooden sword in a swooshing arc over my head, or practice a cool technique fast enough to throw people around, some part of me honestly glories in this power! But here's where the peace comes in -- this style of tai chi is grounded in the philosophy of compassion, community, and service. We also must study the healing art of Chi Gong, and be ready to help back up anyone we might have knocked down. Despite popular misconceptions of the martial arts, this isn't about learning how to overpower a nameless, dark stranger -- but more on that later....

When I teach, I use the martial applications to explain the movements more fully -- this is a strike to the chin, the chest, the groin -- and to help us think through our personal philosophies more fully. Observers will see at first the graceful, flowing movements, but then come to recognize the potential for defense. For students who prefer a non-martial explanation, we re-interpret the applications to find the poetic, or philosophical -- a poke in the nose is turn into offering a rose -- we get creative here. Take a look and see for yourself:

Ip Son Hyung (both sides)

When we go though our forms, we are encouraged to think of our adversaries, attaching from all directions. Each movement is potentially defensive or offensive, depending on the spirit in which it is carried out. But who are we fighting? I encourage students to visualize their opponent as someone their same size, same gender, same hair color, same eyeglass prescription -- they must see themselves.

This serves two purposes. The first is to make sure a person is not reaching too high, or slumping down but is doing the tai chi to fit their own body for maximum power and effectiveness -- tai chi is wonderfully open to all sizes and shapes!

The second purpose is to remind ourselves that most often, we are our own worst enemies. Complacency and lethargy keep us planted on the couch, unwilling to rise up to our dreams. Conversely, an inability to say "NO", attempting to do too much robs us of real effectiveness. By placing a mirror image of our own bodies out in front, puts every dialog, every struggle right back at the center of ourselves. The slow movements and deep breaths then bring a sense of inner calm and focus. We are happier from this exercise. Once we have found balance and strength, once we have faced our own dragons, then we can go forward to embrace the world.

Sam Yang