Ideas for Teaching TAI CHI & Martial Arts Online

For many teachers it was the Covid Pandemic that pushed them into teaching online. The introduction of social distancing meant an end to traditional class structures and teaching practices. For others online teaching was already coming their way and they had embraced the changes. But for most teachers of Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Yoga and fitness, adapting to distant learning and life in a lockdown setting was a considerable challenge.

to explore these themes I have broken up this article into 2 parts. The first is an online discussion between a number of teachers from different fields in which we shared experiences and lessons learned.

The second, is the result of a questionnaire. How easy is it for teachers run an online business? How is it possible to provide students with not only supervised practice, but essential self-care and health maintenance skills in a digital world?

PART 1: THE ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION

PART 2: THE QUESTIONNAIRE

I asked a dozen schools/teachers - who had quickly put together an initial online package as Covid hit - how they were doing, what tools they used and what they had learnt so far. To start, let me present the contributors in alphabetical order - their contact details are listed at the end of this article.

Australian Academy of Tai Chi (Rod Ferguson) - Discover Tai Chi (Phil Sheridan & Helen Parsons) - Earth Monkey Energies (Tish) - Everyday Tai Chi (Paul Mitchell) - Happy Life Martial Arts (Andrew Mierzwa/Ando) - Indépendent Internal Arts (Peta Jackson) - Invisible Ocean Tai Chi and Qi Gong (JT) - Lighthouse Tai Chi (David & Victoria) - Matthew Rochford Tai Chi and Qigong (Matthew) - Mt. Washington Aikido / School of Silent Warrior (Adam Cloutier) - Teapotmonk (mOnk) - Three Treasures Qigong (Lindsay Trevarthen)

1. Tools for broadcasting CLASSES

I first asked what tools were being used to connect with students and how they were finding them. For example, using a Youtube private channel, FaceBook live or the interactive streaming service, Zoom

Happy Life Martial Arts:

I started by uploading recorded classes to a new FaceBook Group. Now I'm using Zoom for live classes (then post these up afterwards) - to existing students. I'm happy to be able to upload videos in HD to FaceBook. I did have to upgrade Zoom for longer times and bigger groups. One tip, remember, to mute mic’s whilst giving instructions - and leave a little time at beginning and end to bond with students (as you would in an ordinary class).

On teaching live: When recording starts to feel complicated, I just remind myself that I’m simply a guy trying to share something I love. Then I look to the camera like a real person standing in the room with me. Everything else is unnecessary nonsense!

Australian Academy:

My classes are open to all. I do FaceBook Live 3 times a week. I'm thinking of using Youtube for my private students but not started yet, as not sure. Looking at other channels too. Previously I was doing live park sessions sponsored by local govt, now I am looking to move these somehow to live streaming.

Discover Tai Chi:

FaceBook Live is excellent for offering free drop in sessions via our Facebook Page as it is open to all. It gives a chance for people to connect and stay in touch. We use Patreon for paid members to access uploads and extra materials and are happy that a big number of our members have opted to support us in this way. We rejected Zoom because of known security issues (NB: Monk says Read this article )

For an alternative that is free, open source, Multi-platform video conferencing, 100% free, and WebRTC compatible you could try Jitsi . However, we have found that with lots of students online at the same time, we are not convinced that live streaming will be our main tool going forwards. If we cannot see clearly what each of them are doing as we teach, then it poses a question about the usefulness of interactive streaming.

Earth Monkey:

"I'm using Zoom - Disadvantages - there is no energy transference - nor can I see all my student’s movements. Advantages include some level of interaction with students, - it is free* and classes can (in this way) continue, (mOnk adds: Zoom has tiered pricing, and there are some limits on the free option.) I’ve also tried promoting via Eventbrite (through which you can charge too) and FaceBook.

Everyday Tai Chi:

I use FaceBook live - and my sessions are open to all, and a YouTube Channel. One thing I have found - beware of Image reversal when using the front facing camera. (mOnk note: without using the front facing camera it is difficult to know if you are still in view). So, avoid using written signs and be conscious when telling people to go left or right, or when indicating which leg, arm or direction to move. I plan with extra material to upload this to a YouTube channel. Some people don’t use FaceBook on principal, but what can you do? We can’t be on all platforms all the time.

Independent Internal Arts:

I use Zoom for ease of use.

Invisible Tai Chi and Qigong:

FaceBook Live as it is open to all and Zoom. Facebook allows people to drop in, and potentially, I can attract a wider audience. Zoom allows me to see what they are doing, and give feedback.

Lighthouse.

We broadcast to just existing students. Many of our students don’t even use the internet so they have been left outside the complete picture. Often these are the ones most in need of this support. Others are learning to use FaceBook for the first time and expect us to understand their connection problems - which we are not qualified to do.

(mOnk tip: Someone subscribes to a course or series of classes and then says the course isn’t working. It is more often than not a bandwidth issue, hardware issue or software issue. Rarely is it your fault. In these cases I usually have prepared a PDF with a walkthrough of how to connect/download or stream, using screen grabs and step-by-step instructions. This saves a lot of time explaining the same thing over and over)

Matthew:

I’m teaching just existing students. I’m doing 3 sessions a week via Youtube Live. I charge my students a monthly fee using Paypal repeating charge. All going very well so far.

Mt. Washington/Silent Warrior (Different practices - Mt Washington and Silent Warrior.)

Mt. Washington: Zoom for an Aikido meeting once a week. For Silent Warrior, we are using Google Classroom for sharing videos and posting comments, and for feedback and insight. Though we can share info and try to work together, this is limiting compared to hands on training, but, better than nothing.

Three Treasures Qigong:

I use Zoom only. It's been a challenge and a learning curve getting students up for this, but I’m learning by participating in other Zoom sessions held by other Qigong practitioners. As many students are elderly, their knowledge and experience with the tools are limited. We all may have issues with bandwidth that will affect broadcasting.

2. Hours and Time Zones YOU TEACH

“By mirroring normal class times we hope to be using space people have already allocated in their diaries. -”

— Paul from Everyday Tai Chi

For the most part, schools have kept their original lesson hours for ease of transition from local to online, but in the future some of you may want to offer your classes to a wider audience. This raises the question of time Zones and at what hours to best broadcast live. I sometimes work in the Uk (GMT) sometimes in Spain (CET), whilst many of my students are in the US (several time zones), Canada, or elsewhere in Europe or Australia. This makes live broadcasting difficult as what is convenient for some, is impossible for others. One solution is to pre-record and upload later, but that means the live element is not there, nor any possibility of feedback. Many teachers point out this as a major flaw in online classes, but there are some work-arounds solutions, using free services like We Transfer. (Normal emails do not permit transferring videos due to file sizes). We Transfer is a free file transfer service, so you can encourage students to film themselves and send you weekly updates via We transfer for you to evaluate and give feedback. This could be an additional, and free service for you to offer your students.

Some teachers are already offering a variety of times - a public performance (for anyone to drop into) and something private for existing students, such as J.T. Actor who broadcasts publicly, early morning Qigong on FaceBook Live, then afternoon with a private Zoom class.

HOW LONG ARE YOUR CLASSES?

Mt. Washington: We are running classes for about half the usual class time.

mOnk: It is worth remembering that with online material you may not need to spend the same amount of time going over the same moves. Students can replay an example as often as they like, so instead of using teaching time repeating patterns endlessly, think about how best to maintain their attention. Try to offer background info, history, culture, Q&A, shared insights into other approaches and practices. Invite someone else to demo or talk for one session. I’ve tried offering a 10 minute only Live slot (in silence) on Facebook and that seems to be surprisingly well received. Perhaps for the short duration, perhaps because of the absence of verbal instruction. Now is the time to experiment.

3. WAYS OF CHARGING FOR CLASSES

When classes disappear overnight, it’s important to try and offer the class some way to unite online. It’s also important to let them know that this is not a charitable service, and as much as it may be a passion for you, it will incur costs in terms of money and time. Even for those choosing to give their classes for free, costs build up. You will need to ensure that students are aware of this. For example, you may need to buy microphones, lighting, cameras, tripods, backdrops. You may well need to pay for more online storage or hosting space, to take on more bandwidth as well as all the work spent daily setting up a studio at home for each class. What may start as a fun project, over time requires commitment, effort and resources.

Australian Academy:

I’m still in touch with local govt and getting paid to move my previously open park public classes online. I’m looking at posting private videos to YT and charging. “I think I'll need to move into paid online offerings to survive into the future.”

Discover Tai Chi:

Patreon is the way we are going. Encouraging students to visit, sign up, become supporting members and offer them a range of levels in which to engage. (Monk: note - Patreon does take some time to set up. It is a platform that has supported online creators for some years..It offers a range of levels so supporters can contribute at a minimal level or more throughly. For schools wanting to be around for a while in this field, and are looking a outputting regular content, it is one of the better options)

Earth Monkey:

People can pay via Eventbrite (super easy, and helps promotes events too) or spoton

Everyday Tai Chi:

I do it for the community. Some contributions are made to help cover insurance and training and I make a point of spending these back in the local community. Buy me a coffee I have been using and this works well. I add a link from my FB live and pin it to the top of the page. If you have retired students, then their income is protected so they often feel they want to be able to support me

Independent Internal Arts

All my sessions are free. As are all my classes.

Invisible Tai Chi and Qigong:

I use Venmo to offer goodwill contributions on a sliding scale.

Matthew

I use PayPal recurring payments with my students who pay monthly for access to the YouTube Live classes.

Mt Washington.

No fees. since we meet up once a week my old instructor isn't charging the few of us that train with him for lessons in the hope that we'll help him reestablish the school.

Three Treasures:

Asked for donations direct to my bank account. For those who don’t have online banking, I’m keeping a tally and they can either send me a cheque (at a point to be agreed) or pay me in person, if classes resume in the not too distant future. If the number grows, will consider PayPal. Most people are paying (I’m asking for a donation of £5.00 per session) but I have offered the classes for free for therapist friends who can’t work ATM.

Many people have lost their livelihoods over the last few weeks, and their future income is therefore unsure. One school is asking that anyone who is experiencing financial difficulties contact them and they will work something out. Others offer free online drop-ins, or reduced class fees. I have tried many models, including free or Pay What Your Want, with some success. Hosting costs are relatively high and increase with HD videos storage and numbers of students, so bear this in mind as you set prices.

4. The Future OF TEACHING

Many teachers and students see the present restrictions as being short term. They expect life to return to normality within a few weeks. Others are less sure and see these changes as having long term effects on not just social mixing, teaching and classrooms, but the economic and the political behaviour of us all. Consequently, they are organising material for long-term use with Patron, a free Youtube Channel or another online platform than just simply video-streaming via Zoom. Whatever you do, try to keep copies of everything you produce right now. If a student misses a class or wants to repeat a lesson, these will be invaluable to have posted on Youtube or other platform for those that inevitably, cannot always attend the online live session. But what do the rest of our teachers think about this digital future?

Happy Life Martial Arts:

I think it is reassuring how deeply human beings feel the need to connect with one another and to improve themselves. It is also instructive how technology, which is so often vilified as something cheap, easy, and unreal, can be every bit as rewarding, educational, and uplifting as meeting together in person.

Australian Academy:

I've been teaching Tai Chi full time for 42 years I've had no other job in all this time. I think I'll need to move into paid online offerings to survive into the future.

Earth Monkey:

I think I will need to offer both. I like the convenience with online, but miss the energy connection with my students. Lighting and camera work might be an issue as you have to be able to see everything.

Everyday Tai Chi:

I'm using this time to learn a little about creating online content - so I will probably continue to build a library of resources I can refer students to… I may use this to discuss the content of sessions when we return... perhaps the tale of the naming of "Grasp Sparrow's Tail" - or my prattle about Dan Tien. But I don't envisage continuing an on-line session once this is over. However, I am enjoying seeing other people's approaches. … and when others drop by into one of my sessions…I find it very supportive. This offers a sense of a really connected wider Tai-Chi community that I hope has a value beyond the lock down craziness. This may also be an opportunity to promote Qi-Gong as a practice to the wider community, so I may try and book in a 20 minute broadcast of that as well a couple of times a week.

Independent Internal Arts:

We will probably ditch it when things change. We expect the group to be meeting in a local park when circumstances allow, before moving back into the hall.

Invisible Tai Chi and Qigong

I think online will continue in some way. I do a ton of work with kids in remote regions so this works best.

Mt Washington:

For either school we might keep this for occasional stuff, but mostly our classes are in person, so overall no. Nothing beats hands on training, and this experience has driven this home. We can learn well from videos, particularly if you already have as strong background in another art, but without an experienced instructor to correct us, we'll just pick up bad habits that could be detrimental to further training and overall health. I think those that teach yoga are also having the same experience.

Three Treasures:

As a teacher I’m not enjoying the lack of interaction (both verbal and physical) with students. Some participants would prefer to have the video thumbnails left on so they don’t feel so isolated, others prefer them turned off as they are distracting. Balance is all, as always! I don’t particularly like watching myself on the screen, but I can then make sure I’m doing it right! And it was quite amusing this morning being able to show people where the Kidney 1 point was without doing contortions!

Discover Tai Chi:

Phil and Helen have spoken of the way that technology has suddenly come to the fore and that schools will either embrace it, or reject it. Either way, it opens new paths for teaching, in the same way it has done in other educational facilities over the last few decades. Possibilities of collaboration, skill-sharing, resource sharing, support and flexible time-tables should be welcomed, not as a substitute for hands-on-teaching, but as a supplement.

C0nclusion

““I’d say it will be difficult to put the genie back in the bottle! Who wouldn’t want a digital notebook of their lessons? As an added value to regular membership, it seems like online supplementation will become expected.” ”

— - Ando from Happy Life Martial Arts

This article comprises just a brief insight into the position of clubs and schools as they have responded to lockdown in the first few weeks. In time, this may likely change as we collectively settle down and find our niche - or chose to abandon the attempt altogether. Of course, people argue that online learning is not the same thing. But, that is the point., for instead of simply reproducing the same content, it offers us the opportunity to do something different.

Online learning is not just a quick-fix to keep your class together in a time of crisis. Online tuition offers another way of interacting and structuring classes. Resources, such as online documents, PDF’s, photos and sketches, audio files and video records can be accessed indefinitely and 24 hours a day, especially useful to students who cannot attend due to work timetables, travel distance or illness.

Class time is rationalised by removing endlessly repeating postures (monk tip: check out Fyse for 360 degree posture imaging or the Instagram owned Boomerang app for looping short clips) and instead offering content to contextualise the classes - to explain the philosophy, culture, music, poetry, meditation…you decide! It's your art - make it live! Make the curriculum more open and more interesting than a set of exercises alone. In the future, it’s going to be what differentiates us all.

“I find it very supportive. This offers a sense of a really connected wider Tai-Chi community that I hope has a value beyond the lock down craziness ”

— - Paul Mitchell

As regarding platforms, right now there is probably an over reliance on Facebook, as that was where people already were and was the easiest to plug into. But there are a lot of people out there, that on principle, will have nothing to do with it. Hence the need for applications like Zoom or Jitsi. My advice, use social media, but don't rely on it, and certainly don't become dependent on it. In the long term you will need a strong and independent platform or website. Now is the time to start looking at these possibilities and acquiring the skills to use them, in the same way you acquired other skills. And if you say to me that you never bothered to learn presentation skills, communication skills nor content creation skills, then shame on you! They are as important as the techniques you teach.

But what if you don't have those skills or experiences? Well, that is what we can all offer each other. If we can act collectively, this a rare opportunity to build and develop bonds that will stretch beyond the present moment. As Lindsay from Three Treasures suggests: "drop in on another online class, introduce yourself, see how they are doing. You can learn a lot by watching and participating and then asking for help."

Perhaps if we collectively publicise and share more: our free drop-in sessions, our introductions, our talks, our Q&A’s we could attract more people to the arts and more people to take advantage of this new world. We could organise joint live sessions, offer complimentary practices and even - take a deep breath here - encourage students to try out different styles, different disciplines in a new multi-disciplinary approach to learning the arts.
But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.

This article was written by Paul Read (the teapotmonk)

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