With tai chi it's very important to learn to color inside
the lines. It's essential to do each move in just the right
way. Once you learn to do this, you begin to feel the
energy within your own body.
Once you are able to 'play' with the energy you must learn
when to ignore the lines. In my view Tai chi has a number
of similarities with improvisational acting.
Improvisational acting paradoxically has rules to follow,
the primary rule being to say yes to whatever line or
whatever situation is offered you. Everything is a gift.
My take on tai chi at this moment in my training, is that
every move your opponent makes is a gift for you to accept.
When you are able to feel your own energy, you can also
begin to feel your opponent's, then you can take their
energy in and redirect it where you like
… once you've begun to master the art.
I'm still working on it.
A training brother of mine told me he was cautioned to give
tai chi 10 years before he could really feel he had learned
something. Later someone told him it took 20 years to
achieve anything of note. He and I both think it was
because the first person had been studying more that 10
years and the second, more than 20. No one seems to think
they are where they should be.
My senior training sister and teacher, Miriam, was told to
start teaching beginners after a few years of training.
This was both a compliment of her abilities and a way to
ensure she continued to advance. She says she learns as
much from her students as they do from her and I feel the
same way. Now, after more than 14 years, she still feels
she is just beginning to learn the depth of tai chi chuan.
My master, after well over 50 years of study, still says he
wishes he had listened to his grandfather more. His
grandfather was a senior disciple (protege) of the great
Yang Chengfu and is the master who took over the northern
part of his Chinese training route. My master and his
grandson, Master Cui Zhongsan, is a well known high level
master in Beijing China.
It seems that the journey never really ends, that there is
always more to learn. This principle is the challenge, the
mystery, and the reward of studying taijiquan. I have found
a greater purpose for myself and it is saying yes to
learning all tai chi can teach me, and a part of this
lesson is discovering ways to say yes to whatever life
offers.
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posted by John Crewdson -
http://www.beginningtaichi.net/blog
Experience Free Bursts of Tai Chi(TM) click here -
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