Welcome to February’s 50th Anniversary Blog – Pat Gorman

Pat Gorman with her spouse Steve “Tuna” Flores

In honor of the Tai Chi Foundation’s 50 years, each month in 2025, we are publishing blog posts featuring historical material, reflections by TCF tai chi teachers, and photos. We hope the images and words will connect the tai chi community to our school’s many strengths, expand our understanding of the art, and inspire our practice. And who knows? Perhaps something in this series will inspire you to share your experience as well; the door is always open.

February

This month, we’re featuring Pat Gorman, who, was an enormous influence on the growth of our school.

Pat Gorman began her tai chi studies at Grand Master Cheng Man-Ch’ing’s Shr Jung studio in New York City with Patrick Watson in 1973, where she also had her first exposure to traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Pat later earned several degrees (Lic.Ac., M.Ac., Dipl. Ac) from The College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture, U.K., and The Traditional Acupuncture Institute.

Pat, known affectionately as Patty, worked closely with Patrick Watson in the early days of the school to develop the curriculum from beginning level up through Push Hands 7. After Patrick’s death, Patty worked with the other Legacy Holders (Margaret Matsumoto, Gerrie Sporken, Sherry Kent, Greg Woodson, Alex Schwolow, Peggy Watson, and Margaret Olmsted) to keep the classes and training going and to develop work with Gerrie Sporken for the 8^th level and Roots and Branches Five Element Qigong. In addition, she also inspired interest in pole, calligraphy, poetry, and painting.

Patty had a brilliant, creative mind and wrote many blogs for the magazine Tai Chi Press and for the TCF website. She contracted an autoimmune disease, but it didn’t prevent her from using her skills in acupuncture, tai chi, and writing. She had an irrepressible spirit and was admired by all.

Pat Gorman passed away on November 28, 2018, leaving behind a school that is dedicated to preserving and sustaining the legacy of Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing, Patrick Watson, her Legacy Holder colleagues, and the many fellow tai chi teachers and apprentices within the international organization.

Her inspiration, joy, and creativity will be long remembered.

CLICK TO VIEW  a video of Patty sharing the early history of the Tai Chi Foundation and its unique curriculum.

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Selected Writings of Pat Gorman

• Tai Chi and Yin Yang, The Cyclical Nature of the Universe, Tai Chi Press, Summer 1991
• Can Push Hands Be Compassionate, “If the beginner student perseveres, Push Hand classes will eventually appear on the menu Tai Chi Press  Volume ll No l, 1993
• Getting Out of the Way of Force, “Getting out of the way of force, four ounces can move a thousand pounds.” Tai Chi Press, Volume ll No l, 1994

Pat Gorman and Greg Woodson practice Push Hands

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Tributes to Pat Gorman by Those Who Knew and Loved Her

Steve “Tuna” Flores

Friends and Family,

The sun is just rising in Bridgehampton. Clear skies and a strong wind blows.

Turkeys and birds and deer are at the feeders.

I think this is exactly the kind of day Pat would like to have for her sendoff. At the end of years of struggle and amazing accomplishments, our dear Pat has completed her last big project. She has died just as she wished, with dignity and calm in her bed at home with me by her side.

There will be a memorial service. I will announce when.

There will be placing of her ashes.

There will be rituals in keeping with those who loved her.

Her hopes forward are for spirit, love, compassion and continuation of the many ideas and projects she championed in her lifetime.

May we honor and remember Pat’s perseverance, passion, honesty, kindness and love.

Pat said she was happy at her hospice decision. Amidst our sorrow for such a sweet person lost, let us be happy that she was able to touch our lives so profoundly.

May today’s sunrise, the trees swaying in the wind, the birds and deer out our windows, all welcome Pat as she grasps the wind and commences her next journey.

Tuna

Rhoda Joy Jacobs

Pat Gorman was one of my first teachers in Saint Catherine’s Park on the Upper East Side of New York City and at Hunter College around 1975.  Obviously, her influence on me was great as I am still here!

I soon thereafter became an apprentice. I still remember how I learned from her gentle touch when she corrected me. Her words of Form feedback were always soft and encouraging.  She was a model of how I do the same with my students as best I can when I give them feedback–soft and encouraging.

As time ticked on, we became friends and had occasional dinners together at her and Tuna’s loft in Manhattan.  Later on, when Patrick became ill, she was right there for him and was able to let go of many things in her personal life to care for him.  And even later on, when she became ill, she continued to shine her light and pour forth with her teachings to our 8th Level group.

My heart smiles and I fill with warm sparkling energy whenever I remember her. She was a master teacher, a loyal friend and a beautiful spirit.

Judith Sullivan

I loved it when Patty taught, and I could spend time with her at Tai Chi Camp in Bennington. There was never any pretense about her. She was always open and friendly. I was fortunate to have taken the Medical Qigong class she and her husband, Tuna taught. It opened my eyes to how we could use tai chi and qigong therapeutically with our clients. I was also always sorry that my schedule never allowed me to attend her special classes on Long Island. Being around Patty made everything easier to learn.

Peter Kennedy

While I have studied and lived mainly in Europe, I did have the opportunity to meet Patty at a Winter Training in New York City in 2016. I clearly remember her wonderful presence and engaging smile.

She talked us through a meditation, the “story of the Tai Chi Form,” exploring the different elements and how they change as we go through the Form.  It was filled with her insights into the different energies and their relationships to the different movements between heaven and earth. This has had a very profound effect on me and my practice. Patty’s enthusiasm and depth of knowledge was like an elixir re charging everyone. This is something I will always have.

Thank you, Patty. We miss you. We are one.

Tina Curran

Patty was a listener. Yet, she was also one who found herself at the center of attention. But in so many situations, in our school and in life, I saw her open up to others, hear their stories and needs, and respond with empathy. That quality was in her Push Hands and her Fencing as well. And it was a part of what made her so effective as an acupuncturist and healer.

After her deteriorating body went past her being able to do Push Hands or Fencing, she remained still, and consistently able to hold the center, and fully listen and respond.

Margaret Olmsted

I first met Patty in the winter of 1976. I had moved to New York City to study with Patrick Watson, and she was his senior student. I was in awe of her ability, her confidence and her relationship with Patrick. Later I came to appreciate her insights and her ability to tap into a higher level of awareness and inspiration. One teacher referred to her as a “fountain of ideas.” I felt like a plebeian by comparison.

Patty had an indomitable spirit. When she got sick, she never stopped working on tai chi for the school. Her body became more and more disabled, but still she and Gerrie Sporken developed Roots and Branches Five Element Qigong for students and practitioners which transformed our tai chi and our school. In addition, Patty and Gerrie hosted 8^th level weekends on Long Island where they introduced us to the pole work and calligraphy. All the while, Patty wrote articles, taught classes, and worked with the Legacy Holders to help guide our school. She grieved the loss of her physical abilities at the same time her awareness of qi increased. She never gave up. Patty was a treasure and I still miss her.

Joan Campbell

Being left-handed, I struggled with learning the sword form and doing the sword drills, especially keeping the tip pointed at a spot on the wall and rotating the hilt in a circle, moving from my dantian, and keeping a beauteous wrist. When I complained to Greg, he told me to talk to Patty about it because she was also left-handed. When I explained my distress, she demonstrated doing the drill, using her right hand, of course, and she did it perfectly. My jaw dropped.

She was gentle, kind and encouraging with her words. She didn’t make me feel inadequate, and guided me to soften my anxiety about never being able to succeed. I felt a renewed inspiration about learning the sword. Now I realize that even right-handed sword learners struggle with that sword drill.

Patrice Wooldridge

Patty Gorman seemed to never dwell on limitations no matter what challenges she faced. She taught with an openness which conveyed total confidence in her students to bring alive her ideas for new programs and ideas (even if said student was far more doubtful about her ability!). She continues to inspire me through my memories of what she shared.

Edna Brandt

Patty was entirely brilliant and always a joy to be around. She was a skilled and inspirational teacher. Her mind was creative and ingenious, and her artwork was imaginative.

My favorite sessions with her that showcased her creativity were two weekends near her home in Shelter Island. One weekend explored poetry in relationship to tai chi. We wrote poems that used structures that allowed one to create a ti fang (a tai chi technique to affect someone’s balance) within the poem. Another weekend explored calligraphy, the use of ink, brush and paper. She taught us five brush strokes that express the energies of the five phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water).

The most fun and creative thing that I remember us doing was painting a sword form move with a single continuous brush stroke. When we showed the paintings to others, it was amazing how often they could see what the sword move was.

I often remember something she once said about tai chi practice: “Take your worst move and make it your best.”

Peter Schwartz

I knew Patty only in passing and didn’t have much interaction with her except four memorable experiences. In retrospect, I’m sorry I missed those sessions out on Long Island.

The first time I met Patty was when I went to Bennington College during the summer to do my B1 apprenticeship. I was a freelance writer and loathe to take time off, especially the two weeks that camp lasted back then.

She said it was fine to bring my computer (pre-laptop days) and printer and to do work during my apprenticeship, but added (paraphrasing) that people changed when they took the apprenticeship. She didn’t explain, but I assumed she meant that at some point I wouldn’t want to do work while I was there doing tai chi and spiritual work.

I was wearing some sort of exotic, ethnic shoes, and she wanted to know all about them.

The second time was also at Bennington (maybe the same summer) when she entered an Eight Ways class I was taking. It might have been Walking on Thin Ice. Or maybe it was Wearing the Moon Like a Cap. We’d been doing the movements quite slowly and mindfully, and she immediately tripled the pace, which upped the energy in the room a lot.

The third time was at one of our New York City locations when I was in a room with a lot of people doing Push Hands. I can’t remember the details, except that she embraced my left side with her right arm and said, “This is a push.” It surprised me because I didn’t feel it as a push at all, just a sort of one-armed embrace.  At one point, Patrick Watson came over. She turned to leave, and Patrick whirled around catching her with a hooked pinky, and she came back to me.

One final memory was of her leading a class and having us imagine a laser beam shining from the center of our front foot down into the ground. She also worked with the image of our tailbones being magnetically drawn down to the earth, telling us it was one of the Professor’s favorite images.

Mark Preston

I first met Patty when she visited Leamington Spa and London to attend her advanced acupuncture training with J.R Worsley and immediately liked her. Whilst in a couple with Linda Coviello (an American) I would attend Winter trainings in New York for a decade over the 1980s and 90s where I found Patty to be extremely friendly and welcoming. In those days she had a strength wrapped in softness that was inspiring. Years later on Shelter Island the crippling effect of Lyme’s disease on her body was devastating. I never heard her complain or indulge in self pity as she persevered with knees distorted to impossible angles, still able to manifest extraordinary ability in sensing hands and determined to transmit as much knowledge and wisdom as she could across a broad range of Tai Chi Chuan, Chinese medicine and philosophy.

Thank you Patty – you gave us so much.

Catherine Cody

Dear Patti,

This not a tribute to you, but a letter to you, to tell you how much, and in how many ways we miss you.   Not only did you teach me tai chi, but you taught me the value of living with someone in fun and acceptance.   We were One and we still are.

Hal Caswell

I remember Pat Gorman. I remember her as among the first to bring serious, deep study of Chinese medicine into the school. I remember her for her needles. When we would overlap at trainings, she would treat me. She was very skilled, and looking back, I see her insightful treatments as a source of my understanding and awareness of water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Today, when I give scientific presentations, an occasional slide will appear: a lake, a tree, a basket of fruit. They are there to remind me of the energy that I want to convey. Remarkably, no one has ever asked me to explain them, but they can be traced back to Patty.

I remember Patty for the energy and creativity she brought to the school. I remember Patty for developing and teaching us a new system of qigong based on the Five Elements.  I remember Patty putting a brush in our hands and challenging us to make a line. Just a line. I remember the workshops on Shelter Island, exploring deeper into tai chi, sword, and the arts. I remember sharing Gary Snyder’s poem “The Blue Sky” with her, and her appreciation of it.

I remember and honor her iron determination to keep studying, practicing, and teaching, even as her body failed her.

David Goodell

I met Pat at the Arica Domains of Consciousness™ training in New York City in 1974.  We were assigned to the same break-out group, sharing experiences in each of the nine domains.  Pat was a large presence – very attractive, smart, and totally focused on the task at hand.

She was a beautiful combination of both the worldly and spiritual.  I felt like she was completely accepting of me, from my sheltered little town, and protective, like I would imagine an older sister.  Within a year, Pat was one of the teachers making the monthly trip to Washington, D.C., to teach us tai chi.  We did our acupuncture training together as well, first at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia, Maryland, then in JR Worsley’s school in Leamington Spa, England.

Somewhere along the way she contracted Legionnaire’s Disease, a severe lung infection which very nearly took her life, and then an auto-immune disorder which left her in great pain and severely disabled.   Even in that broken body, her Push Hands was superb, proving that it is about consciousness, not physical prowess. Through sheer grit and willpower, she continued teaching and then furthering the art by helping develop Roots and Branches Qigong ™ and other more advanced aspects of the curriculum.

With her husband and soul mate, Steven “Tuna” Flores, she continued to study and practice acupuncture, participating in JR and Judy Worsley’s Master Apprentice Program™.   She and Tuna were both superb practitioners.

What I most remember about Pat was her fearlessness, her unbreakable will, her compassion towards those who were suffering, and how generous she was with offering support and advice as a friend, teacher, and fellow practitioner.

Fran Snyder

By the time I met Patty Gorman, she was weakened by illness but I could hear in her words what once was inscribed in her body–the tai chi form in all its beauty. I was smitten. I felt I had to talk to this woman, alone, face to face. She was receptive, and we quickly fell into conversation about master-disciple circles, as in the families that developed the tai chi forms, like Jesus and his followers, like the early rabbis and their insistence on voice transmission of knowledge. Patty asked me to write down the parallels between rabbinic Judaism and tai chi, which I did and which she read and sent to the Tai Chi Foundation for publication, though it never was published. This must have been in 2015.

In June 2018, my father died, an event followed five days later by a necessary surgery. My father had been an unhappy and angry man, not a good or loving father, and though he remained in my life as grandfather to my children and participant in family gatherings, I had no meaningful involvement with him. I felt no grief and I was convalescing nicely. I decided to join the summer tuning but found I hadn’t any fire and couldn’t do the lion dance. I wrote to Patty; we spoke on the phone. She said it was a real measure of my progress and understanding of my body that I knew I could not do the lion dance. Instead, she said, I should grow bamboo. Her prescription for healing was exact, and thinking back on it, I know hers was an empathetic understanding and that ours was an exchange between one body diminished and the other simply depleted.

So I grew bamboo, teeny shoots at first because I couldn’t get to 100% without feeling my insides groan. My father appeared in the room. Over the days, I grew taller shoots; my father watched. What did he want from me? Patty said to stay in the dantian, avoid the head, root and relax. Roots run, soil clumps, stalks strengthen –these were her metaphors. Bamboo, she wrote, is “the energy of growth and repair, of the bones growing, blood and fluids being created.” Life itself! From my father’s to mine, from mine to my son’s and daughter’s, from my brother’s to his three sons. Runners break new soil in ancient plots. My father went away. It was I who wanted something, something he’d given me that I could be grateful for. Bamboo is “rooting and adapting in motion,” Patty wrote.

When Patty died, I did something very rabbinic. I announced to the undergraduates in my class, An Open Book – Hebrew Bible as Literature, that someone dear to me and influential to my thinking had died. As Jews still do to this day, that day’s class was dedicated to Patty Gorman, and we learned in her honor.

Declan Rothwell

Pat Gorman was a shining example of dedication and commitment to tai chi and a wonderful inspiration to me.

Two experiences with her stand out:

I needed to have surgery and asked her advice regarding post-surgery recovery. She couldn’t have been more helpful, coming up with things from every angle to help my chi return to harmony and balance.

We were at an acupuncture conference together and she was unwell and using a cane, not very mobile, and in pain. Someone asked her about the Sword Form, and I and other conference participants could not believe her transformation from the frail, unsteady person she was, while she demonstrated the Sword Form with vitality and beauty!

It is poignant to reflect upon the fact that Patty and the love of her life, Tuna, are gone from us, such larger-than- life characters.  Life is short so live it to the fullest like Patty and Tuna, irrespective of the apparent obstacles.

Pat and Tuna

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First Discovering Tai Chi and the Tai Chi Foundation?

You can learn more about tai chi by exploring the diverse offerings of the Tai Chi Foundation (TCF). TCF provides live online courses, allowing you to participate in guided sessions in the comfort of your home. These virtual classes offer unique opportunities to connect with experienced instructors, ensuring that you receive personalized guidance and feedback. Additionally, the Tai Chi Foundation offers Teachable on-demand classes, providing a flexible and accessible way to learn at your own pace. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced practitioner, these online resources offer a wealth of knowledge to enrich your tai chi journey. For those seeking a more hands-on experience, check out the regular course offerings of TCF’s affiliated local schools.

TCF is a not-for-profit educational organization that promotes, funds, and teaches programs that enable people to learn tai chi chuan and embody its principles.

Be sure to check out our new TCF 50th Anniversary Shop, where you can find stylish tai chi t-shirts and other great branded merchandise!

The Tai Chi Foundation Editorial Team

Photos courtesy Tai Chi Foundation Inc.

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