VALDOSTA — Arms stretch forward. Knees bend. Bodies pivot on feet.

To an uninitiated viewer, it looks like Bruce Lee moving in slow motion, a martial-arts ballet, rhythmic line-dancing without music, punctuated by the inhale and exhale of breath, the twist of feet on floor.

The group moves through a series of motions, or forms. Each person can execute these moves at his or her own pace, but they move through their forms in synchronized steps.

It is too tempting to refer to their movements as something akin to choreography, to relate it to dance. References to dance easily explain what the eyes see.

But as practitioners stress: Tai chi is not dancing, with an underlined emphasis on NOT.

“Tai chi is not a dance,” says instructor Luana Goodwin. “Dance is about these people watching you. Tai chi is about what’s happening inside the body. Dancing is about taking cues from the external music. Tai chi is about taking cues from inside yourself.”

For nearly 20 years, Goodwin and husband Dennis Bogyo have been leading classes in the art of tai chi. Their interest started in the mid 1970s. Coming to South Georgia, they attended classes in Tallahassee then, for several years, a Florida instructor often traveled to Valdosta to help the couple lead a new group.

Within a few years, Bogyo and Goodwin became certified instructors. They established the only Taoist Tai Chi Society in Georgia.

Tai chi resembles a martial art for good reason. It is one.

The story goes that unarmed Taoist monks developed tai chi as a form of protection. They shared tai chi with unarmed peasants as a form of defense.

The Taoist Tai Chi Society uses a method based on the Yang style of tai chi. Members use a series of 108 moves in the Yang style. There are no belts. No advancement in rank as with many forms of martial arts.

One member recounts the story of practicing the forms for years. He felt he had mastered each form. He believed his hands and feet were moving in perfect harmony with his breathing. He felt ready for a new challenge. He told an instructor that he was ready for the next level. The instructor responded that the student should continue the same series of forms but he should perform them “lower and slower.”

Members of the Taoist Tai Chi Society in Valdosta do not view tai chi as a weapon, nor as a route to achieving belts of accomplishments, but rather as a key to life balance and self-awareness.

“When we come to tai chi, we leave our egos at the door,” says Bill Reeves, who has been with the Valdosta group almost since its inception. “We’re learning about our bodies, how to overcome limitations, such as age, illness or injury.”

Many of the Valdosta members have admittedly lived their share of years. They tell how tai chi is a social occasion; how it helps maintain balance physically, intellectually and spiritually …

“Most people have some sort of hurt or injury,” Reeves says. “Some of us are at an age where we can’t do gymnastics but tai chi strengthens muscles, strengthens nerve tissues around places that hurt. It improves our balance. … What it does with older people, who have a fear of falling, it improves the balance so we are better prepared if we start to fall.”

Even though they do not use tai chi as a preparation for self defense, Reeves believes their bodies are in better shape and better tuned for the possibility of self defense than if they had never practiced their forms.

Jean Logan has no thoughts of practicing tai chi as a combative martial art. She travels each week from Brooks County to the society’s meeting place in Valdosta’s Unitarian Universalist Church because tai chi makes her feel healthier, stronger, and better balanced.

Robbie Chambers, an area middle school teacher, views tai chi as a stress reliever.

Years ago, Reeves underwent surgery. He first returned to tai chi using a walker, then two canes, one cane then no cane. “Without tai chi, I would still be in my house using a walker.”

Charlotte Jones underwent a valve replacement. She started tai chi and feels it accelerated her recovery.

Vicki Pennington has endured leukemia then a condition that compromised her lung capacity. Tai chi helped her recuperate from leukemia. Tai chi cannot increase her lung capacity but it can help her breathe better with the capacity she has.

They all mention the beauty of having no stress of competing for belts, no uniforms, no need for equipment. How, when not together, they can practice tai chi wherever they are. It uses the “dynamic tension” of how much pressure each individual wants to apply to the forms.

Members also can better understand other cultures. Today, for example, is Chinese New Year.

“There is an element of cultural exchange,” Goodwin says. “We may celebrate Chinese New Year, but we may do so with Polish food.”

Members of the group laugh with Goodwin’s remark but, even in cultural celebrations, they seek and find balance.

 

MORE INFORMATION

The local Taoist Tai Chi Society meets regularly on Thursday evenings at the Unitarian Universalist Church, but interested people should call Luana Goodwin or Dennis Bogyo, (229) 247-2450 in advance. Or visit www.taoist.org