For over 25 years Chen Lien Young — Mr. Young to his students — has been helping others stay healthy limber and, well, young. The lithe and agile Young, who is over 70, has been teaching free Tai chi chuan class at the Potomac Community Center every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This past Friday his students, some of whom have been with him for more than 18 years, threw him a thank-you party replete with gifts, food and thanks. The program is one of the community center’s most popular with upwards of 90 students attending sometimes to follow Young’s slow and concentrated movements.
"You can tell there is something there," said Sherman Wong, a long time student of Mr. Young’s who now teaches his own Tai chi chuan class, during a thank you speech he gave, "There is something special about his program that makes it work so well."
Young started practicing Tai chi chuan when he had to have stomach surgery around the age of 42. Afterwards the doctor told him to stay active and fit so he took up the ancient Chinese tradition, which may benefit both the body and mind. He started teaching, his daughter Marguerite Sung says, to keep himself motivated to continue doing it.
"When I moved here I found I was getting old and needed exercise everyday," said Young during his thank-you party after the Friday class, "So I started my class Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He then sang a Chinese song titled "Remember Me Forever," saying "that to keep happy you need to keep a very happy heart" and music and Tai chi chuan have always helped him do that.
Also present were Frank and Charlotte Pascoe, two of Young’s students, who helped to organize the party. Charlotte read a poem she had written about the first day at one of "Mr. Young’s" classes while Frank comically acted out the Tai chi chuan movements that Young makes look so easy. Afterward both of Young’s daughters, Sung and Helene Myers, spoke to the crowd about their father and the influence of Tai chi chuang on their lives.
<1b>— Matthew Razak