By
It’s not
enough to know the movements of Taijiquan and then go out and begin
teaching.
Knowing the set of movements does not mean that you can actually move!
A ballet
dancer for instance cannot simply learn
And it’s
exactly the same with Taijiquan where so many students simply learn the
postures of Tai Chi and then practise the whole set thinking that they
can then
move. It takes a special set of exercises to learn how to move
correctly for
the self defence art of Taijiquan.
Many
students tell me that they do not need to learn how to move in this
manner as
they only wish to teach it for health etc. How wrong they are as you
cannot
even begin to teach Taijiquan until you have learnt the martial side of
it as
both are inextricably linked to form a well balanced set of movements
which
when combined are excellent for health. Even if one only ever wishes to
teach a
lunch time class for the local CWA where the average might be 60 and
blue
rinses abound, it is important to be able to show them the martial
applications.
As an
instructor you have to be able to impress students and even old ladies
and old
men are impressed with the martial knowledge that you should possess.
And it is
very important to be able to show the applications and more importantly
be able
to use them in a realistic situation, as this gives all students a much
better
understanding of what they are trying to achieve. You must however be
able to
explain exactly why you are showing the applications, in that the Qi is
activated along certain meridians when these are know etc.,
So when I
teach one of my ‘Master Teaching Classes’, I always begin
with movement and
almost always even seasoned Taijiquan practitioners have difficulty
with even
the simplest of the Wudang Movement Exercises. Basically, these
exercises
embody the very essence of Taijiquan but in a much simpler way. They
will teach
you how to activate ‘Spine Force’, that great power that
comes directly from
the accumulative additive effect of each vertebra being joined in power
to
release when necessary. They will also give you great calmness and
stillness in
all situations, physical or mental.
When
someone first begins to learn these exercises, they often think that
they are
too easy, however, when they are corrected, they soon realize that they
are not
as easy as they seem and indeed they find that it is very difficult to
even
take one step in the Taijiquan martial manner. It’s all the
internal stuff that
makes it difficult, however, once achieved; one wonders how it was so
difficult.
You can do
these Wudang stepping exercises at any time of the day in any
situation, even
so that people looking on cannot notice that you are doing something
weird, as
they are just moving steps.
A huge
amount of energy is generated while performing the steps in the way and
a great
calmness comes over the body so they are excellent for any stressful
situation.
And more importantly, they teach you how to move the body and always
maintain
balance and to gain great power, always maintaining the upper hand in
any
situation.
It is very
important for the prospective teacher to know how to move as it is
impossible
to teach others correctly without knowing it yourself. Like a guitar
teacher
who cannot play the guitar, you cannot teach Taijiquan without knowing
the very
basics of movement.
The next
thing that I teach in my Master Classes is not the form and how to
teach it but
rather how to punch! This may sound strange, however, if you cannot
punch, then
you cannot teach Taijiquan because although you may never in your life
need to
punch, knowing exactly how to punch with great power from a very short
distance, teaches us how to use the Qi and how to move the body to gain
the
greatest healing effect or self defence. Without fa-jing, you know
nothing.
That is a saying told to me by Chang Yiu-chun and he always taught
fa-jing even
before he taught form.
The
mechanics of correct punching or striking with any portion of the body
is so
complex but at the same time simple that not many have ever achieved
true
fa-jing. And whether you like it or not, you must seem as if you know
what you
are talking about when teaching and you have to impress the students.
Fa-jing
punching is a way of not only getting their attention, but also to keep
their
attention up and giving them something to strive for. And this is why I
teach
these areas first up in my Master Teacher’s Classes. It not only
gives the new
or old teacher ammunition, it also shows them that perhaps they did not
know it
all after all.