For some reason, I assumed that ‘The Professor: Tai Chi’s Journey West’ was a movie/biopic rather than a documentary. A few minutes in, I was pleasantly surprised, and found the rest of the documentary engaging.

Cheng Man-Ching moved to the U.S during the 1960s and started teaching Tai-Chi to students in New York City. Apart from being one of the first prominent Tai Chi teachers in the U.S, the documentary also highlighted The Professor’s acceptance and openmindedness. Despite protests from individuals, he never refused to teach anyone because of their background/identity. As a result, his class was diverse. The most striking aspect of the diversity was that between students who were focused on the martial arts aspect and those focused on the health benefits and the meditative aspect.

The Professor managed to create an environment where both groups of individuals were able to pursue their interests, as well as broaden their understanding about Tai Chi. During the documentary, a large number of students spoke out the class transformed their single-minded view of Tai Chi to something more complex and balanced. Moreover, The Professor often guided students according to their needs. One of the student’s mentioned that all of The Professor’s teaching’s were rooted in the philosophies of Taoism and Confucianism. However, The Professor’s method of teaching ensured that the student’s progress would not be limited by their direct comphrension of the philosophies. He guided his students according to their capabilities so that everyone had an equal opportunity to learn.

At the end of the documentary, The Professor’s class had a reunion at Maggie Newman’s birthday. Watching all of the individuals interact and connect after so many years is a testimony to the effect The Professor had on his class. He brought together individuals might not have interacted otherwise, and created a durable bond between them. Although the documentary chronicled the The Professor’s/class’s experience teaching/learning Tai Chi, the most memorable part was the relationship between The Professor and his students.