Rob Wittig's Memorial Service Speech

(improvised from this outline)

Elizabeth had many different skills and contributed to many different worlds . . . and I only know a couple of them. There are many parts of her I don’t know and stories I can’t tell, so I encourage you to tell your own Elizabeth stories to me and to each other in the weeks and years to come.

As I see her,
Elizabeth embodied these principles and taught these skills

Flow
Listening
Balance

1) The Principle of Flow
Energetic, rambunctious, creative
Started as an art student, but didn’t like dealing with the object
Searching for a portable art form that leaves nothing behind
Found Grandmaster Hsu Fun Yuen; high level martial artist, distinguished lineage
“His form seemed like nature to me, strong and soft, rooted and light”
Studied with Master Hsu nearly every day for 10 years
Elizabeth: gifted physical mimic and quick learner
Learned many of Master Hsu’s forms
1991 went with Master Hsu to the International Wushu and Tai Chi competition in Zhoushan China
Surprise! Performing sword form on padded floor in front of 40,000 and TV audience
1992 she was officially adopted by Master Hsu as a disciple; a very big deal in Chinese Martial Arts, especially for an American, especially for a woman
Chinese Martial Arts Ethics include healing practices; if you learn to take people apart you need to learn to put them back together
Tai Chi as a traditional Taoist art: not just the body, but immediate surroundings, the neighborhood, the planet, the cosmos
Then something happened that she told me was the best thing that ever happened to her: Lisa, Emily, & Chloe entered her life
This interest in traditional Chinese view of nature as flow of energy was one of many things she shared with Lisa
Power partnership with Lisa
Lisa encouraged, supported and co-created Elizabeth’s Tai Chi Center Chicago

2) The Principle of Listening
Elizabeth and Lisa created a whole network of support for their students and clients
To be a Tai Chi student of Elizabeth’s and get bodywork from Lisa, this was the Double Happiness of them as a couple
And of course to have them cook for you!
Elizabeth and Lisa could both see how the stresses of modern urban life block the flow of energy in people’s bodies and minds
Tai Chi’s relaxation, grounding and balancing
Shiatsu bodywork’s relief for overworking muscles and support of underworking muscles
A perfect complement
Listening: Tai Chi term for understanding the alignment of opponent
Elizabeth’s skill at listening from across the room during class
Lisa’s listening with her hands during Shiatsu sessions
Elizabeth and Lisa: a therapeutic plan for every student

3) The Principle of Balance
Elizabeth and Lisa: the stress and energy blockages in environment
Same yin and yang, underworking and overworking
Homes and families need balance
The planet needs balance, just like its people do
They created Sustainable Return, a part of the school
Amazing series of environmental activities
Water, Air, Land, Wildlife, Lifestyle and Special Events
Gardening (Montrose Green Gardening), Beekeeping, Farming
Elizabeth and Lisa led an incredible amount of volunteering of all kinds to help the neighborhood, the region, the world

But there was one kind of rebalancing that Elizabeth was expert at that took me years to understand
Elizabeth: earthy Joking and wisecracking before class
Once the form started I got “serious,” “good student”
The clues: how she’d laugh pushing a 6’5” 300 lb guy across the room
Like Master Hsu’s laughter in his ‘70s as he unbalanced young athletes
Cheng-Man Ching’s giggles as he disappeared in Push Hands
I finally realized
Elizabeth’s goofy, surprising sense of humor was not just her personaliy
Humor is part of our Tai Chi tradition
Relax
Breathe
Don’t take yourself too seriously
Listen to the situation
Improvise a solution that is the kindest to all
(Convince a sparring opponent or a polluting corporation that aggression only leads to their own undoing)
Elizabeth’s students have used this skill of balancing 1,000s of times; with a boss or at a tense family gathering
Humor keeps us grounded and light (which we need right now)

So . . . I want you to help me recreate a great teaching moment
Imagine Elizabeth leading us in the ancient, traditional Tai Chi form
We’re all doing Single Whip
C’mon students! Help everyone get into Single Whip
Let’s all do it
We look over and we see Elizabeth, strong, powerful, expanded
And above her head . . . tied to her uniform . . .
Is floating . . . a helium balloon!
You all have one too! The whole place is full of balloons!
This became a tradition in the school for special occasions

So when we remember how she embodied flow, listening and balance
Let’s also remember the balloon