In Memory of Maggie Newman (1924 – 2025)

Maggie was always in the zeitgeist of what Mr. Smith once referred to his school as “是正 South.” And many of us DC students made the pilgrimage to Maggie’s studio in New York — “ring the bell, say ‘Tai Chi.’”

Maggie, and New York, were very different from the Midwestern-raised Mr. Smith and suburban Bethesda. As Mr. Smith used to say, “Eighty percent of Tai Chi is you; I just give you twenty.” I know that both these teachers gave one hundred percent, and most of us barely got ten — not for lack of trying on either side, but because Tai Chi’s well is deep, and our ropes are… well... what they are.

I mention Maggie in almost every beginner’s class and quote her description of shifting the weight from leg to leg, “as if the weight itself were going under the floor.” Maggie’s form video is one of the recommendations in the new-student email I send out.

Some say we pass away twice — once when we die, and again when the last person says our name. Ms. Newman will live on for many generations to come.