This Friday’s film was a documentary about a man from Taiwan went to New York City to teach people Tai Chi. What I find impressive is that the scenes are set in the 1960s, an era that is characterized with violence and conflicts within the country and across the globe: Martin Luther King Jr. was giving speeches at marches, and U.S. soldiers were being sent to Vietnam despite oppositions from its citizens. Thus, I am surprised and impressed to see that in the documentary, so many people, with different gender, race, and ethnicity, go to learn Tai Chi together. Moreover, not only the movements, such as pushing hands, are taught, but Chinese culture is spread as well; as the students vividly articulate the philosophy behind Tai Chi–Taoism in the documentary.

My only experience with Tai Chi was from the Yoga class I took last year. I thought I would feel the power of Chi when pushing hands, like when one tries to push water in a swimming pool. Nevertheless, I felt nothing–there was no energy flowing between my palms or whatsoever. I did feel peace, like meditating while still doing exercise of some sort. However,  Tai Chi remains to be a powerful but mysterious thing for me. I have heard myths, like people who master Tai Chi can jump really high, or they have really long life expectancy. The documentary confirmed some of the myths. As the Professor, with relatively small body build, manages to ‘defeat’ (push away) all his students. It sends a inspiring message: one does not have to look strong/tough to be powerful.

My final observation is about communication. In the documentary, a translator interprets the Professor’s instructions into English so that the students could understand. Yet language barrier does not keep the students and the Professor from forming a deep bond between each other, as the documentary captures several moments that the class are laughing together. This reminds me of a friend, who once told me that she joined karate because it was easier for her to communicate with others in non-verbal ways; and she made lots of good friends from karate. I suppose that there are some universal expressions in the movements (of Tai Chi, karate, etc.) that enables people to communicate and understand each other.

In short, it was an interesting comparison to the Hollywood films we usually watch in Rose House.