We are web weavers. As practitioners of Tai Ji, we intertwine the intangible threads of mind and body through a series of movements that follow the ebb and flow of an individual's internal force. In our classes, the goals and abilities of individuals are blended to create the mesh that is the Tai Ji community.

My personal experience with Tai Ji began with a friend's explanation that it was a martial art using "mystical" force and breathing. Intrigued, I signed up for the first class offered at UTC. Dr. Zibin Guo began the class by relaying that the principle behind Tai Ji was to use an opponent's own force against that opponent, an approach that sounded just non-confrontational enough to me. We learned seven moves on the left and a mirrored seven on the right. From the very first, I felt a new control over my body developing. I remember remarking that it felt as if my body was meant to move this way.

At the end of the semester, I followed Dr. Guo over to World Gym, off of Hixson Pike, where the classes are still held today. Because it was not a university, I was exposed to people of all ages and backgrounds, some who had achieved years of martial arts training and others, like myself, who weren't the least bit inclined toward athleticism. I began to hear stories of how Tai Ji had helped a man cut his heart medication in half and, from the experienced in the bunch, how Tai Ji had caused their own forms to become more graceful and controlled. Somewhere in the choreography of blending the individual standing forms into the linking and twenty-four forms, I found the force. It presented itself in the guise of patience, the ability to control my movements in the transition between steps - not rushing from one stance into the next, but maintaining a slow speed and feeling the power generated through the twisting and pivoting. The "mystical" force had become a power within, and I had been given the keys of knowledge to control it. I think it was then that I was hooked. I went from being someone who walked through life oblivious to the motions of my body, to someone who feels my own presence moving through space, from one who abhorred the thought of a three-day-a-week commitment to exercise, to feeling like something is missing if I cannot make it to class.

My physical body is definitely conditioned to expect the tired, feel-good, peaceful state that accompanies a workout. I feel better. My muscles are all loosened up, my blood is circulating, I think more clearly, and I sleep like a rock! My body is not the only thing that has benefited, however, Tai Ji has had a profound effect on my mind. I leave looking at the world differently- the grass is greener, the sky is bluer, and my attitude is always more positive. The problems that plague me before class diminish into smaller bits that I can deal with. My ability to deal with stress is enhanced, and lasts throughout the week (I have discovered the opposite is also true, as I wonder why I get mad so easily when I have had a week without practice). I have begun to think of myself as a possibility. Not being athletic, not having previous martial arts training, and thinking, "surely a girl couldn't do that", are all excuses that I have been able to change.

I now add sword form and Chen style to the arts that I am attempting. I have discovered adedicated person with talent lying inside me. I have given myself the gift of being able to set my own goals, and pushed myself beyond limits that I thought unreachable. Tai Ji has created connections between my body and mind and, in many ways, made me whole.

Supporting me in all of my personal achievements is the web of caring people involved in the Tai Ji classes. They are individuals interested in Tai Ji for reasons varying from health benefits to the martial aspects of the form. As diverse as doctors and students, each person was drawn to Tai Ji for his own good, but has bonded into a community which has expanded to incorporate the needs of all. Whether it is to give advice on my form, help someone move, or fix my washing machine, I have been impressed at our group's adoption of the older definition of community – not just living beside someone, but standing by someone. Our Tai Ji community links the threads of one person's body and mind to those that tie into the universal concept of good, weaving a web that protects and strengthens all who become entangled.