2020/2021 - COVID disrupts everything

In March of 2020, the unthinkable happened when the pandemic swept the world. No more indoor gatherings, no more contact with others, no more normal life.

It was a very traumatic time, not knowing how we are going to survive the disaster. I went through weeks of stressful time agonizing over how to continue teaching. I am not a techie but after learning about zoom, I ventured into learning how to offer virtual classes. After many trials and errors, I somehow managed to successfully conduct online classes for several months. The downside of this new format was that I lost may newer students along the way. It was inevitable. Learning tai chi virtually is not easy especially for beginners. I am thankful for those who stayed all the way through the virtual classes.

In June, we were able to start going outdoors. Students and I were so happy to be able to see each other in person, and practicing outdoor turned out to be very enjoyable. It was challenging still as we were dependent on good weather, and harsh heat in the summer and freezing cold in the winter was sometimes very difficult to deal with. Throughout the rest of 2020 and up until April of 2021, persevering through hot and cold, we continued to stay outdoors. I will always remember the coldest morning we ever had outdoors - 18℉. It was so cold that your fingers will almost freeze even with the gloves on and the feet will feel like ice after one hour, and yet, several students came to the class. I admire their dedication to their training, and feel very fortunate that I was able to continue teaching.

In April of 2021, I was finally able to start teaching indoors again.