Tai chi: more than a method of self-defense A 45-year Roosevelt resident tells of her quest with the martial art BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer SCOTT PILLING staff June Counterman, of Roosevelt, explains the different postures while instructing a tai chi class in Roosevelt Borough Hall on Feb. 1. ROOSEVELT - Embrace the tiger. Return to the mountain. Grasp the sparrow's tail. Strum the lute. All of these phrases describe physical feats and allude to mental conquests, which is most likely why they are all used to describe postures in the slow-paced and methodical, muscle- and mind-oriented martial art of tai chi. June Counterman, a 45-year resident of Roosevelt, has been teaching tai chi in the borough for eight years. Her initial experience with tai chi came at a time when she needed to focus on the powers of her body, mind and soul to overcome the obstacles life had set before her. Approximately 18 years ago, Counterman had three operations on her right thigh to remove a tumor. The operations greatly reduced the strength she had in that leg. Determined not to lose her ability to walk without a limp, Counterman went through rehabilitation and committed herself to trying to stay active. At first, she walked in malls for exercise. Then, a neighbor in Roosevelt, Virginia Edwards, coaxed her into trying tai chi as an alternative to walking. SCOTT PILLING staff Neeta Contractor, a student in Roosevelt resident June Counterman's tai chi class at Roosevelt Borough Hall, practices postures in the short form of tai chi. Counterman plunged into tai chi lessons by signing up for a six-week course. During the first class, she was beginning to regret having signed up for six weeks, because she thought the martial art looked a little ridiculous. Not the quitting type, however, Counterman went to a second class and found herself thinking, I can do that. By the third class she was hooked, and she soon found herself taking tai chi classes three times a week. "I was totally hooked, and I could feel what I didn't see the first few times I went," she said. Today, at the age of 67, she readily states that she could easily defend herself against anyone if she had to. She is also quick to say that if she does not mention which leg had the surgery, no one would ever know. Her husband, Bill, 68, who was also initially skeptical of tai chi, now relates his own stories of how incorporating the martial art into his life has benefited his health. "Before I started, I was on three different blood pressure medications," he said. "Now, essentially I am off all of them." Susanna DeRosa, of Hopewell, taught June Counterman tai chi. DeRosa has been teaching classes in the Princeton and Lambertville area since 1973. She explained tai chi as the embodiment of the Taoist philosophy. "Tai chi balances all aspects of posture and it integrates the mind, body and spirit," DeRosa said. "It's a lot of fun to do and it's a nice, relaxing and integrative exercise that's very rewarding. You can feel yourself getting stronger." DeRosa said almost all of the physical work in tai chi is done in the legs, but that it requires pushing the hands, balance and a lot of mental work as well because students must learn, memorize and perform sequences of postures. "There is a standard sequence of movements that you learn and practice repetitively on a daily basis, ideally," she said. The short form of tai chi has approximately 36 postures and the long form has approximately 129. The forms are broken down into paragraphs, which are sections of postures that make the forms easier to learn. DeRosa said, "Everyone can progress at their own rate while people are working together in a class." The benefits of tai chi are innumerable, according to DeRosa. "It increases lung capacity, improves circulation, tones all muscles of the body and improves balance," she said. "There was a study done that concluded that after eight weeks of practice, it cuts down on incidents of falls in elderly people over the age of 70." She continued, "Basically, you become happy and healthy.". Pat Sackowitz, a former Roosevelt resident who now lives in Hightstown, said she started taking classes with Counterman about four years ago when she was recovering from breast and lung cancer. She said she immediately started noticing an improvement in her balance and state of mind when she started. "Once you know the moves, your mind and body flows with them," she said. "You are using your muscles, so you are taking stress off your joints. Your feet are always flat and rooted. Your spine is straight and your mind is in a quiet place. In your head you are feeling free and you are using your breath, which is massaging your inner organs." Sackowitz and two of Counterman's other students, Neeta Contractor and Margaret Moyer, went to Virginia in 2005 to compete in a tai chi event. In the shorthand yang-style competition, the three women placed third, second and first, respectively. Contractor said Counterman is an "awesome" instructor. "She takes personal care of each student, teaching them based on their ability, pushing them enough so students are challenged but not so much that they run away from her," she said. During the same competition, Counterman placed seventh out of fifteen in a competition where she performed tai chi using a saber sword, which is a curved sword with a blade on one side. She also practices tai chi using a straight sword, which has a blade on both sides. The swords are used for demonstration and are not sharp, she said. Although having students willing to participate in tai chi competitions is a plus for Counterman, that is not the focus of her classes. She said she teaches people in their 20s through people in their 80s at all levels. People of all ages and body types can benefit physically, mentally and spiritually from participating in the martial art, which also teaches self-defense. Her husband added, "We even had people in wheelchairs doing it," he said. In her experience, Counter-man said, she has learned that "it takes about a year to learn the short form, but it takes a lifetime to master it." "You are always growing and changing in the sequence of postures, and each posture you do you can always get more skilled at," she said. Counterman takes a tai chi class every Monday to "continue to grow as an instructor." Currently she teaches a Tuesday class at 9:30 a.m. in the Cranbury Methodist Church, which is sponsored by the Cranbury Township Recreation Department. On Tuesdays she also teaches a 3 p.m. class at Slim and Tone in Lawrence Township. On Wednesday, she teaches a 9:30 a.m. short-form class and a 10 a.m. long-form class in Roosevelt's Borough Hall. On Thursdays, she teaches a 9:30 a.m. class at the South Brunswick Senior Center in South Brunswick, an 11 a.m. class at the East Windsor Senior Center in East Windsor, and a 7 p.m. class in Roosevelt Borough Hall. On Saturday, she teaches another class at Slim and Tone at 7 a.m. For more information call (609) 448-3182 or e-mail bilcount@quixnet.net