The only real weapon in our approach to tai chi is you. It is essential to regard your own body and mind as the weapon.
You must regard your body as a structure that can be employed creatively against somebody else.
When you pick up a weapon, it must become an extension of your body: part of your body. If the weapon does not move as part of you, set it aside.
Do not think of your hands as the main self defence weapon. Your body is the weapon - in particular the weight of the torso. Hands and feet are just a means of gaining contact with somebody else. You must feed movement and energy through your limbs and into the other person.
The knife is a very popular and dangerous weapon. We learn how to defend against it.
Students are not taught how to use a knife in self defence.
The mind is more powerful than the body.
Without achieving the appropriate state of calm awareness, picking up a stick or throwing a punch is a waste of time.
Intent powers the weapon, so the mind must be trained far harder than the body.
Although we teach weaponry, unarmed self defence comes first. If you cannot defend yourself against a punch, kick, grapple or knife, why bother learning how to use a sword?
Weapons practice in the lower grades is quite limited. The weapons are seen as a means to develop other skills, rather than an end in themselves. They can help to train whole-body usage and improve fa jing.
· precision
· better peng
· increased strength
· increased striking power
· better muscle tone in the arms, back and torso
· agility and footwork (none of the weapons forms are slow forms)
Dr Michael Greger (author of How Not To Die) recommends 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day.
The three doctors who wrote The Okinawa Program maintain that tai chi - with its ancient origins and incredible health benefits - is the ideal workout for modern people.
If this sounds like a lot of exercise, why not chop it up into smaller increments spaced throughout the day?
When you are in class and something is being explored, do not be passive. Think it through, understand it. Find the strengths and weaknesses; figure it out for yourself.
Following another is pointless; it will simply lead to ignorance and dependency, neither of which is desirable.
Within every lesson surrounding the tai chi practice there is a Taoist insight that pertains to how we interact with the world around us. The insight may concern physics, biology, philosophy or human relationship. There is never just a surface meaning.
A skilful student intuits what is really being taught.
The word 'lesson' has two common definitions:
A structured period of time where learning occurs
A moral or message
Tai chi lessons should not be comparable to learning Spanish cookery at night school or line dancing. They should combine both meanings of the word 'lesson'.
Students should learn new physiological skills and also gain an increasing perception of the underlying significance involved. Learning movements is not enough; there must be a deeper level to the tuition.
Balancing your tai chi with reading Tao helps your mind find harmony in life and you see things quite differently. Literal examples in class encourage you to see things differently.
How we were educated to regard reality is not the only option open to us.
Our classes challenge conventional wisdom and cultivate an inquiring mind that seeks out alternatives. Problematic situations now seem innocuous, and life becomes easier as your barriers soften within.
Form collecting is a modern habit which arises when a student is unwilling to commit the necessary practice to mastering a form. In short, the student gets bored.
Everyone becomes stronger in our classes. We condition the body to endure more exercise and develop some serious stamina. Age is not a problem unless you have serious health concerns. Nobody is ever pushed; they proceed at their own pace.
Slowly, patiently, the body re-grow. We test this emerging strength to encourage further development and confidence in the training.
Many students feel drowsy at the end of a tai chi session and feel like going to sleep. Yet they also feel pleasantly alert, but without any anxiety. Their muscles are relaxed and their minds are calm.
Ultimately, you reach a point where this dreamy state of relaxation remains throughout the day.
Beginners sometimes want to collect a whole series of forms. Why?
Form offers embryonic moves that teach the underlying principles, not set responses.
Form was designed to contain all the applications of the system without need of additional sequences/forms.
As a consequence, you only need to train one style of tai chi.
If you have trouble remembering the form, then take one movement home with you from class and drill that movement every day until the next lesson. Watch the Form DVD of you own it.
The following week, take home two movements, and so on... Pretty soon, you will have an entire sequence.
Tai chi is not like gym work or other martial arts.
Once a week training at your local karate class may result in a black belt in a few years, but this approach will not work for tai chi.
We are looking to move instinctively and naturally - without forethought or hesitation - and this entails regular practice of the form sequence.
People frequently complain that they have no time to practice tai chi at home.
A beginner only learns section 1 of the form and that section takes 2 minutes to perform.
Is there anyone on the planet who cannot set aside 2 minutes of their day for something useful and productive?
It is all a matter of priority.
Tai chi form was never intended to be a once-a-week exercise. It was designed for daily practice.
Ideally, 15-20 minutes should be set aside for form because the complete sequence takes that long to perform.
A beginner may only have 2 movements to train or a 2 minute sequence, but they should still consider committing up to 15 minutes practice to what they have learned.
