Martial art focuses on peace, well-being

East Lyme -To the uninitiated, "tai chi" sounds like any of a number of exotic martial arts disciplines - and to think of it being practiced at a local senior center might suggest Social Security-aged ninjas running wild and breaking stacks of bricks with swift chops of their steely hands.

"People want to know: Is tai chi a martial art? Absolutely," said Bill Juhnevicz, who has been a tai chi instructor since 1979. "But it's not external martial arts. It's an internal martial arts form, and one thing it helps us do is relax."

He was standing in a mellowly lit, partitioned exercise room Friday at the East Lyme Senior Center, making introductory remarks to a group of eight students who had signed up for a beginning class in the discipline. Over the course of an hour, in his soothing voice, Juhnevicz explained and demonstrated a series of exercise routines that comprise a typical, comprehensive tai chi workout.

The idea, Juhnevicz said, is to meld the cerebral and physical, to find focus within one's body through meditation and slow, graceful stretching manuevers. Done properly and regularly, tai chi provides emotional, physical and mental well-being and aids healing.

"It takes three weeks or so before you begin to assimilate the process," he told the class, "but you'll be able to focus and feel so light you could float away. You'll learn to listen to your own body, and we let our bodies tell us what to do."

Juhnevicz said he's a "martial arts retread," having studied judo and karate for years before moving to tai chi.

"I actually broke bones doing karate," he said. "Tai chi made me feel better and improved my balance. It's about taking care of your body, and it's a lot less dangerous."

After a few minutes of introduction, Juhnevicz began to lead the pupils through the array of exercises.

The routines vary greatly by design - ultimately working each muscle group. One maneuver involved the sort of loose-limbed, free-swinging arm movements you'd associate with a little kid idly waiting in line for a movie.

Another suggested pushing and pulling a heavy, chest-high invisible force like a refrigerator, as if on the deck of a gently rolling ship. A third seemed drawn from the Pete Townshend pamphlet explaining how to do his trademark windmill guitar strum - although history's timeline might suggest the tai chi motion predated The Who by several centuries.

Throughout, the students all seemed to be able to mimic the various movements and, with a few allowances for certain creaky knees or balance mechanics, the session proceeded smoothly.

For John Harnly of Niantic, this was his first experience with tai chi, and the process of focusing on Juhnevicz made the process of learning the moves a sort of exercise in constant catch-up.

"I didn't know what to expect," he said. "I can see how it helps you, but I'm looking forward to getting the routine down so I don't have to watch the instructor so much." He smiled. "That alone makes it hard to relax."

Suzy Lamson of Waterford started taking tai chi in 2004 after a bout with cancer made her more aware of health and conditioning.

"What I like about it is, I like feeling in touch with my body," she said. "It took me a long time to get to that ... Everything else goes out of my mind and it's a very peaceful experience."

Niantic's Ed Foster said he'd enrolled in the beginning class after joining one of Juhnevicz's other classes midway through the several week course.

"I liked what I was learning," he said, "and I was impressed by the other students and how it was making them feel, but I thought I was missing some of the basics and should start from the first.

For his part, Juhnevicz was impressed with the first day of class. "There were a few regulars I've seen before, but a lot of them were new - and I thought they all did well. The whole group was very good.

"It sounds strange, but I look forward to the point when they don't need you any more. They can do it on their own and it works for them - and that means I've done my job."

r.koster@theday.com