By Jacqueline Jeon-Chapman, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury resident Bill Riordan practices Tai Chi every day for at least 20 minutes. He has studied Tai Chi – a Chinese martial art that involves gentle physical exercise and stretching – for 23 years.
“I get a lot out of Tai Chi, and not just the physical benefits,” said Riordan. “A lot of my best friends are people I met through Tai Chi. It also keeps the mind going. Tai Chi is not all that physically demanding. The difficulty comes in remembering what to do.”
Riordan offers many affordable half-hour Tai Chi classes in the area. He teaches two classes at the Shrewsbury Senior Center. His class on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. is for beginners and intermediate. His advanced class meets at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. Each class costs $3.
On Monday mornings at the Boroughs YMCA in Westborough, he teaches an all levels class that is free to anyone with a YMCA gym membership.
At Millbury Martial Arts, he teaches four days a week. The classes cost $125 for a 10-week course or $19.99 for three classes and a t-shirt.
A typical class includes a warm-up, forms, weapons and exercise. Riordan teaches the Yang style.
“A lot of the people who come to class are in their 30s and 40s. One lady is even 90 years old,” said Riordan.
Riordan has been teaching Tai Chi for over 20 years. He offered free lessons at Dean Park during the summer for 22 years. This year, he stopped teaching at Dean Park due to waning interest. He also offered free lessons at his workplace during lunch break for 15 years.
“I just started it myself. You meet people during the coffee break in your department and other departments, and I said: ‘Well, I’m going to start teaching Tai Chi. Why don’t you come?’ So you know, then the word spreads a little bit. Some people got really into it. And that was just fun,” said Riordan. “It was a way to just cleanse your mind, just give your mind a break, and give your mind something else entirely different.”
Ironically, when Riordan first started learning Tai Chi, he was reluctant to go.
“My wife suggested it. I really didn’t know enough about it, just that it was somehow related to martial arts. I actually resisted it a little bit, and then I thought, ‘It might be fun to learn something new in a mixed group, something outside of our normal comfort zone,’” said Riordan. “And it turned out we both liked it, so both my wife and I do Tai Chi.”
According to Riordan, Tai Chi builds strength, increases range of motion, improves balance and reduces stress.
“There’s an expression, ‘If you do Tai Chi every day for the rest of your life, you’ll be able to do Tai Chi every day for the rest of your life,’” said Riordan.