Unlikely?

If you have studied another martial art, then it is probably quite difficult to imagine how tai chi chuan can be used effectively in combat. The slow-motion movements lead people to doubt the art.

The Yang style of tai chi chuan was developed by a kung fu master called Yang Lu-chan.

Yang Lu-chan rose to fame in China by teaching his tai chi chuan to the Manchu Emperor's elite palace guards. His nickname was 'Yang-the-Invincible'.

Killer energy

Yang style has something of the feeling of 'killer energy' about it; it is more martial in appearance. A spectator can see the applications of the movements when they watch the form.

(Master Xu Shu Song) 

The website is having babies...

Sifu keeps discovering pages on his website that he can't remember writing...

Not cheap

Martial arts lessons are not cheap.

Usually you should expect to pay for some (or all) of these items:

1. Monthly tuition fees
2. Annual membership
3. Affiliation with a third party organisation/federation
4. Insurance
5. Licence
6. Competitions
7. Grading (usually quarterly)
8. Uniform
9. Patches/badges
10. Equipment/weaponry

Many classes expect new students to buy a uniform within a month of starting a class.
The new starter is also asked to pay annual membership, insurance and commit to a monthly standing order.

Discover for yourself

Instead of travelling to China or Japan, why not look at your own life? 
Find significance and meaning in your everyday activities.

Read, study, meditate, contemplate and practice.

Do not be satisfied with being a tourist. Ignore the kitsch and the reproductions. Seek what was once sought.

Live as though there were a fire raging in your hair...

My husband exemplifies this quote. He does not rush, dither or cram his life with ceaseless activity, but his days are meaningful and complete. He works, he rests. He spends his time doing things that he deems important. It is a mindful life, of contemplation, study, awareness and consideration.

One of his books admonishes: Talk alone is not enough. The path to tao means sweating white beads.

This is what my husband is like. He squeezes every drop out of life.

When student come to class: frazzled, harried, tense, confused... my husband does what he can for them. But there is not much he can do. He watches certain students become increasingly haggard and drawn; victims of their own lifestyle choices. You can see that Sifu wants to help, to advise, but usually doesn't. People only hear what they want to hear.

We must find the path for ourselves.

Apologetic vegetarian

An apologetic vegetarian eats food that looks and tastes like meat.
Rather than embrace the non-meat diversity of a real vegetarian diet, they eat meat substitutes in order to maintain a 'meat and two veg' diet.

Reproductions

There are many tai chi classes around the world that offer a reproduction of tai chi that has very little bearing on actual tai chi.
It is quite easy to fake tai chi: move slowly, dress well, appear peaceful and speak softly.
If you are pretty and graceful, it helps.

Free from...

It would be nice if we could all eat organic, wholesome food and live without exploiting the planet.
The world has been regarded as a resource since the dawn of time.
Pollution, strip mining, deforestation, environmental disasters, garbage, water shortages and livestock are all sad testimonies to our modern way of life.

Plastic is a petroleum by-product. Metal is acquired by strip mining. Stone is obtained by quarrying.
Wood involves the destruction of natural forests.

Could we realistically live without any of these products?
It would be nice.
Sadly, there is often a need to compromise, to fall short of the ideal. But this does not mean that you should not try.

Commitment

If you trained taijiquan for 2 hours a day (every single day) for a year, that would mean 730 hours a year.

It will take 13 years to become an expert.

Relationships

In our society of disfunctional relationships, separation and divorce it may be prudent for people to be less rash with love... Are you in love? Are you compatible? Have you thought things through?

Yes, love is not logical, measured and straightforward. But a relationship is more than just lust, hormones, affection and familiarity. On what basis are you building your realtionship? Is it vanity? Is it sex? Or easy availability? Are you soul mates or simply intimate friends?

How many marriages end in divorce these days? How many people have affairs? How many people choose not to marry?

It may sound boring, but taking a moment to think things through is important. To contemplate. To reflect.

I love you...

Are you truly in love, or are those three special words being employed cheaply?

Society is filled with insincerity. How earnest are you? Are you burning with passion? Are you comfortable, contented, in bliss?

Or are you simply following a convention?

Dismantle the set

The experienced-level student applies the small san sau against a knife attacker.
They also dismantle this drill to see how it works.

The student uncovers power generation methods, hidden strikes and chin na throughout the set.

Your choice

Every student is given the same opportunity to attend classes, grade and progress.
Some people make the best of that opportunity.
Others do not.
It is up to the individual.

The determining factor is commitment.

Balance

Students often wonder how much they should train at home.
Ultimately, it is up to you.
The aim is to combine work, rest and exercise in a way that feels harmonious.

Prove yourself

Master Waller is unlikely to ever be as popular as other teachers.
We do not cater for the modern mentality.
Students are not pandered to or pampered. We will not cave-in to pressure or go easy on you.

Everyone who attends our classes is expected to embrace the art and work hard.

That is why the 40 minute qigong exercises and the other challenges exist.
They weed out the half-hearted people.
And - more importantly - they lay a powerful, necessary foundation for what comes next.

Every student has the opportunity to penetrate the art; it is up to the individual.

Darkness & shadows

  A traditional Japanese tea house balanced darkness and light to produce an atmosphere of ease and calm.
 Shadows and dimness serve to settle the mind.

 In modern houses it is possible to modulate the amount of light allowed into a room.
 Voiles and curtains can be adjusted to adjust the mood.

 Bright lighting and flickering screens are not relaxing.
 Avoid the hypnotic dance of light.
 Embrace darkness and shadow.

Leaving gracefully

Do not leave rashly. Do not lose your temper.
Do it well.

Write your instructor a brief, courteous e-mail or letter explaining why you are leaving.
Aim to avoid blame, criticism or recriminations.
Avoid being off-hand, making assumptions or being rude in any way.

If you feel that you may want to re-join the class again at some later stage, ask if this is possible.
Be careful not to spoil your chances with disrespectful words or conduct.

Even the most difficult of students sometimes show a surprising degree of good grace when leaving.
By leaving well, you will be remembered well.

Advanced power

Advanced power is versatile and complex - demonstrating a broad degree of insight.
It is also remarkably understated.

The advanced practitioner wields the art effortlessly: with no self-consciousness or division between art and individual.

Myths & legends

Chang San-feng is credited with having devised tai chi.
He is widely believed to have been a fictional/mythical character.

Did Sherlock Holmes or Gandalf invent football? This sounds like an absurd question, but is perhaps equal in nature to the notion of Chang San-feng creating tai chi.