Mastery

Mastering tai chi requires the following:

• A lifelong commitment to the furtherance of the art
• Spontaneous demonstration of every and any aspect of the art
• The ability to train other people to become Tai Chi Instructors
• An embodiment of the principles outlined in the Tai Chi Classics
• Highly accurate rendition of every exercise/form/drill/application
• Extensive knowledge of every facet of every subject in the syllabus i.e. 'jing'
• An in-depth understanding of every facet of the exercise/form/drill/application
• How the exercise/form/drill/application links to other aspects of the curriculum
• The ability to dismantle and explain how and why the different components operate
• Grace, ease, subtlety, sensitivity, nimbleness, appropriateness, simplicity are all a given
• The willingness to train disciples to acquire every aspect of the teaching and perpetuate the art themselves
• Unselfconscious, skilled and utterly effective application of the art in combat employing chin na, jing and shuai jiao
• The ability to develop, improve and deliver a thorough, fully differentiated syllabus suitable for all ability levels and all ages
• The ability to dismantle and explain how and why every form posture operates and how it can be applied in at least 7 different ways
• Comprehensive theoretical knowledge and the ability to discuss and explain how taoism, martial theory and actual practice all tie together
• The ability to apply the tai chi principles (yielding, stickiness, peng, jing, composure, connection, 4 ounces etc) in every situation with absolute ease and certainty

Mistakes are OK

Your tai chi master does not expect your practice to be 'perfect'.
They are looking for effort and hard work; not flawless practice.

You will be gently corrected every lesson.
Slowly, you come to realise that making mistakes is inevitable... and OK.
There is no need to get upset. No need to become defensive.

When you stop pushing yourself to be perfect and accept your own flawed nature, relaxation follows.

A man of Sung did business
 In silk ceremonial hats.
 He travelled with a load of hats
 To the wild men of the South.
 The wild men had shaved heads,
 Tattooed bodies.
 What did they want
 With silk
 Ceremonial hats?

 Yao had wisely governed
 All China.
 He had brought the entire world
 To a state of rest.
 After that, he went to visit
 The four Perfect Ones
 In the distant mountains
 Of Khu Shih.
 When he came back
 Across the border
 Into his own city
 His lost gaze
 Saw no throne.

 (Chuang Tzu)

Single palm change applications

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds4u0uOGKPA

Bitterness

Many relationships end badly.
There remains bad feeling, resentment, anger and a sense of things left undone or unsaid.
It is unhealthy to carry bad feeling with you through life.

Anger and pain stress the body.
You must learn to let-go and move on...

Business

With tai chi there is always some conflict between the quietude and anonymity suggested by taoism and the necessity of publicising your services in order to attract students.

Master Waller manages to accomplish both aims by hosting 2 websites designed to educate as well as advertise.

His Newcastle Tai Chi site is purely for advertising his classes whilst the Neijiaquan site is deeper; addressing tai chi, taoism, zen and encouraging the reader to look at the art from a broader perspective.

http://www.newcastletaichi.co.uk/ 
http://www.neijiaquan.co.uk/

Rather than pitching himself as being the purveyor of all knowledge, Master Waller encourages the student to seek the truth for themselves, in their own practice, their own class, their own lives.

Rachel

Form applications

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdqp1kQ3S0Q

New starters

When a new starter begins a tai chi class they bring with them all manner of baggage:

1. Fear
2. Poor balance
3. Preconceptions
4. Physical tension
5. Emotional issues
6. Poor coordination
7. Bad habits of body use
8. Very poor bodily awareness

Usually the student is completely unaware of these impediments.

Certified

Some tai chi schools offer certificates to support different levels of attainment, whilst others do not.
In terms of tai chi history, the issuing of certificates is quite a recent invention.

Master Waller in a long shirt

Humility

Accept that your tai chi is going to be pretty lousy to start with.
You cannot hope to master the art overnight...
Don't beat yourself up.

Be realistic.
And patient with yourself.

Rachel

Tai chi frees the body and helps with relaxation and overall circulation.
It activates muscles, sinews and joints in the body. It strengthens physical power without stress.
It maintains youth and aliveness, and slows down the aging process through rejuvenation.
Tai chi calms and collects. It clears and sharpens the mind to help us in focusing and centering our daily activities.
When the body and mind move harmoniously together, the human spirit soars.

The ultimate benefit of tai chi is to experience living in a healthy, wide-awake state of being.

(Chungliang Al Huang)

Tai chi via a book or DVD

I recently came across an NHS listing concerning tai chi in which it advocated learning from a DVD or book.

This is pretty outrageous.

The impression of the NHS page was that tai chi was comprised of "poses" and that tai chi practice entailed moving between poses.
Is this really what people think tai chi is about?

A dangerous degree of ignorance, especially when coming from the NHS.

Rachel

Responsibility

Mastery requires comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment.
The master must also be capable of training other exponents to become instructors themselves.
A tai chi master is responsible for the perpetuation of the lineage and must cultivate disciples to learn every aspect of the art.

Tai Chi Master

The term 'Master' in the martial arts usually refers to a practitioner who has dedicated at least 25 years of hard training to their chosen art, amassed tens of thousands of hours practice and is very good at their stuff.
Mastering tai chi requires the following:

• A lifelong commitment to the furtherance of the art
• Spontaneous demonstration of every and any aspect of the art
• The ability to train other people to become Tai Chi Instructors
• An embodiment of the principles outlined in the Tai Chi Classics
• Highly accurate rendition of every exercise/form/drill/application
• Extensive knowledge of every facet of every subject in the syllabus i.e. 'jing'
• An in-depth understanding of every facet of the exercise/form/drill/application
• How the exercise/form/drill/application links to other aspects of the curriculum
• The ability to dismantle and explain how and why the different components operate
• Grace, ease, subtlety, sensitivity, nimbleness, appropriateness, simplicity are all a given
• The willingness to train disciples to acquire every aspect of the teaching and perpetuate the art themselves
• Unselfconscious, skilled and utterly effective application of the art in combat employing chin na, jing and shuai jiao
• The ability to develop, improve and deliver a thorough, fully differentiated syllabus suitable for all ability levels and all ages
• The ability to dismantle and explain how and why every form posture operates and how it can be applied in at least 7 different ways
• Comprehensive theoretical knowledge and the ability to discuss and explain how taoism, martial theory and actual practice all tie together
• The ability to apply the tai chi principles (yielding, stickiness, peng, jing, composure, connection, 4 ounces etc) in every situation with absolute ease and certainty

There is no real consensus as to what constitutes a 'Tai Chi Master'.
Peter Southwood suggested the following guidelines: 40 years martial arts experience, 20 years teaching experience, 30,000 hours of tai chi practice, stage 5 skill with all forms and be capable of teaching other Instructors.

Honesty

If we can be honest and accepting of our own faults, then humility follows.
We also have the opportunity to adapt, change and stop making the same mistake.
This is part of learning.

No consensus

Some people consider an advanced level of practice to indicate mastery, whilst others do not.

The Tai Chi Union for Great Britain call their basic tai chi chuan instructors 'advanced' and their master grade 'senior'.
The Chinese Wushu Association, National Sport Commission and the Chinese Wushu Research Institute consider 'advanced' to indicate grandmaster.
There is no consensus.

Rachel