Monday

The Exhibitionist

My neighbour mentioned that a lady did taijiquan on the beach…

Despite going there every morning, we hadn’t seen her. Then one day she arrived in her love heart sweater and short cropped hair. She stood on the shore in the most public place possible and did her yo-chi.

As time went by, we saw her repeatedly. She’d invite you to watch her. She sometimes brought her own audience; a short lady who got quite bored and resorted to jogging up and down or doing star jumps.

It may all sound sweet, but it had nothing to do with taijiquan. An earnest student finds a quiet secluded place and works intently on their form practice. They don't need an audience. They don't want an audience. taijiquan is not performance art.

This lady never did form. She was like a busker who couldn’t really play the guitar or sing, she just strummed the strings as a token gesture.

The rapturous expression and exaggerated arm waving of yo-chi were simply an attention-getting device. She may as well have stripped-off naked and jogged up the sand.

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