Meet Richard Iannuzzi

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Richard Iannuzzi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Richard, thanks for sitting with us today to chat about topics that are relevant to so many. One of those topics is communication skills, because we live in an age where our ability to communicate effectively can be like a superpower. Can you share how you developed your ability to communicate well?

I’ve been teaching T’aiChi for more than 15 years. I learned much of my teaching communication skills through observation of my teachers and my own experience in the classroom. Part of that experience came by tracking how the students respond to what I offer and then being willing to do things differently. I do my best to put myself in their shoes, so I can imagine how the teaching is resonating with them. Recognizing that there are many different learning styles, I do my best to teach to the many strengths my students have. I do that by focusing on offering a variety of presentations that include: verbal description and targeted feedback, hands on touch for postural corrections, repetition, and demonstration. I aspire to remain open to feedback from students on how they are experiencing the teachings and also have trusted senior students who I rely on to give me feedback. I enjoy playing with language so students don’t get too attached to certain words and risk missing the point of the teaching. I also take classes myself and observe how other teachers offer similar material and how I experience it. Since what I teach is T’aiChi – a relational art – I do my best to teach as a T’aiChi player, meaning applying the principles to how I teach as well. This also means that I am modeling the content. As applied T’aiChi, I prioritize listening to my students, doing my best to understand what they are asking or offering and then responding accordingly. I particularly enjoy trying to work with any question, similar to playing a character in an improv sketch.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I study and teach T’aiChi by offering classes virtually and in-person. What I most love about teaching and practicing T’aiChi is that it is a Tao (Way/Path): through mindful body movements, I am training and studying in a way of being in the world that goes to the very heart of being human and relating to our world and other people. It taps into a long tradition of wisdom teachings from several sources. I enjoy applying the art to how I teach. I feel the teaching moves through me, that its principles guide what I offer. I come from a lineage of teachers I can trace back many generations, and the current branch of which I am a part is Wolfe Lowenthal’s Long River T’aiChi Circle. (My offerings are listed here: http://www.longrivertaichi.org/piermont/richclasses.ht)

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three most impactful characteristics of my journey as a dedicated T’aiChi student, teacher, and head of a branch of the school are:
• Resilience: continuing to connect with reasons (old and new) for studying, practicing and teaching T’aiChi. Remembering that how I feel in the moment is not nearly as important as my alignment with my deeper purposes for engaging in the art. Finding new reasons to show up … and start with showing up!
• Care: that I am engaged in a practice that is about how to live harmoniously in this world, and that I can offer any benefits I’ve received to other people. Meaning; by connecting to something larger than myself (supporting other people in getting along in the world) provides much energy for my work.
• Change: being willing to do things differently, and learning from how it goes, Offering classes at different times, with fresh content, a new schedule; teaching in a variety of ways; playing with my practice

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

I regularly consider that my time in this human form is limited, and I like to think that I am already spending my time based on that awareness. Since I believe and understand that T’aiChi is a spiritual art that can cover all I can imagine on such a path, I project that I’d continue to invest in the practice to see where it can take me. I’ve already learned to appreciate its values quite deeply through my own experience, the resonance of the teachings in my being and the example of my teachers. And I want to share that with others. I suspect the more strongly I felt my life line’s conclusion, the less I’d let distractions steal my energy from what I know to be important and meaningful. . I’ve done some writing about T’aiChi which lets me reach a larger audience; I suspect that effort would receive more of my energy, as it is an facet of teaching on which I’d like to focus more.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.longrivertaichi.org/piermont/richclasses.htm
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LongRiverTaiChiCircleRocklandCounty
• Youtube: http://www.longrivertaichi.org/piermont/richclasses.htm

Image Credits

Fereshta Ramsey
Alison Nowak
Richard C. Iannuzzi