After 20 years, the Morgan Hill Buddhist Center’s t’ai chi group can be seen most afternoons moving silently in unison, crouching, stretching and pushing their arms and hands in slow, graceful motions through the air.
An instructor faces the group in the center’s auditorium on Murphy Avenue, leading them in the series of martial-arts steps that require continuous practice, according to class member Georgia Sakai, 70, who has been in the local class for most of the last 20 years since its founding. T’ai chi is a Chinese martial art that is practiced not necessarily for self defense, but for exercise, socializing and most importantly, “balancing your health and your spirit,” said Sakai, an instructional aid at Morgan Hill Unified School District.
The form was founded in the 16th century, but the local class just celebrated its 20-year anniversary last year.
The group’s remaining co-founders, all in their 80s or older, tout the martial art’s contributions not only to their physical health, but also to improving their mental acuity and energy levels.
“I’ve always wanted to do t’ai chi because it keeps active and healthy,” said co-founder Yoshi Yokoi, 85. “The way we do it, it’s not fast or hard. We just get together once a week and it’s a nice way to keep yourself active – something to keep us going.”
Yokoi, who retired from her job at the Morgan Hill public library in 1988, recalls how the local group was founded by a Japanese woman who moved here briefly with her husband 20 years ago. Toshiko Tsunoda has since moved back to Japan, but she was taught t’ai chi several years earlier by a Chinese teacher, Yokoi explained.
The local group consists of about 30 members. They are mostly from Morgan Hill, though some of the students come from San Martin, Gilroy, San Jose and even San Juan Bautista.
They are mostly Japanese-American, and mostly women, though one of the group’s founders is a man. Kenji Horiuchi is one of the eight class founders who still attends the weekly sessions. His wife Fumiko Horiuchi joined the group with him in 1991. The couple live in Morgan Hill.
Now, the class is in high demand, with a waiting list for hopeful new members due to limited space to practice the group exercise. The annual fee has doubled in 20 years – from $12 to $25 – and covers the weekly instruction and practice, post-class snacks and costs to keep the practice hall open.
Another co-founder, Mary Miyata, 83, said she noticed an improvement to her health almost immediately after starting the classes in 1991.
“After three weeks of weekly lessons I found I had much more stamina, and I was alert,” said Miyata, a retiree from Santa Clara County’s department of social services. She related how she used to fall asleep every time she and her husband, Roy Miyata, drove to the Sacramento area to visit her daughter. However, after the third week of t’ai chi classes she remained awake the entire trip. “I realized it was t’ai chi that made me more alert.”
Miyata now runs a booth at the Morgan Hill Farmers Market, and claims that her back rarely aches as it used to 20 years ago, and she has not caught a cold or flu since she started practicing t’ai chi.
Morgan Hill t’ai chi class co-founder Kaz Miyamura, 84, said she had wanted to learn the martial art-as-exercise several years before meeting Tsunoda. Contacting the class’ first teacher in 1991 gave her the chance to learn. Except for a four-month absence from the class last year due to arthritic complications, Miyamura hasn’t stopped attending since.
“It’s relaxing, and I get to see my friends and visit with them,” said Miyamura, a San Martin resident. Following each class, the group enjoys snacks and hot tea, and socialize together.
There are varying types, styles and skill levels of t’ai chi. Some of those styles are fast and strenuous, but the local class practices at a slower, more relaxed pace. “At our age, we have to slow down a little bit,” Miyamura said.
And while t’ai chi practitioners in Morgan Hill look peaceful, slow and relaxed in their movements, it’s not easy. Miyamura noted that it takes time and a lot of practice to learn the steps.
Sakai said even though the Morgan Hill class’ form of t’ai chi is “very slow, if you do it correctly, believe it or not you will perspire.” Like Miyata, Sakai touts the martial art’s benefits to the practitioner’s immune system, as she said she recovers from colds more quickly since she started the local class.
“It’s for your health, but not to lose weight,” Sakai explained. “It’s for your health and your mind.”
