I think the first few lessons are the most difficult for teacher and
student. It is especially difficult if the student has a history of martial
arts training. The student wants his skills recognised. The teacher is not
interested in prior experience. If mutual understanding cannot be
established the relationship is doomed. It's not the failing of the teacher
but the ego of the student.
(Jeff)
Setting the agenda
New starters sometimes make the mistake of thinking that their martial
arts instructor is some kind of personal trainer.
They tell the teacher want they want to learn and how they should be learning
it.
Given that they have no comprehension of the syllabus and no sense of what is to
come, such suggestions are naive in the extreme.
In taoism this is called 'the cart leading the horse'.
Judging the whole from the part
There is an Indian folk tale about six blind men inspecting an elephant:
The first man encounters the side of the animal and believes it to be a wall.
The second man imagines the tusk to be a spear.
The third man thinks that the trunk is a snake.
The fourth man considers the leg to be a tree.
The fifth man feels an ear and believes it to be a fan.
The sixth man finds the tail and is certain it is a rope.
A beginner does not understand the syllabus. They are the blind man and the
syllabus is the elephant.
They see what they want to see. What they are capable of seeing.
Arrogance, experience and conceit are what blinds them.
Pride
People often are quite proud of what they have studied or accomplished.
They imagine that their past experience somehow translates into skill in other
disciplines.
Sometimes this may be the case.
At other times, it may prove to be the opposite. Preconceptions and habits often
hinder progress.
Comparison
Comparison assumes that you are judging like with like. Yet this is
seldom the case.
Tai chi schools are apt to be quite different from one another.
The underlying principles being taught should be the same, but the application
and exploration of these will vary relative to the personality of the teacher.
Comparing tai chi to other martial arts is pointless.
Tai chi encompasses and assumes an understanding of taoism. This one fact in
itself changes everything.
Controlling
An arrogant person tends to be very controlling. They push, they force,
they manipulate, they bully.
This attitude is not tai chi.
It stems from fear. From insecurity. From a realisation of personal
insignificance.
Tai chi is all about flowing, harmonising, yielding and changing.
If something does not work, you do not push harder. You try something else or
you walk away.
Tempering the ego
A good martial arts class works on the character of the student.
Ego is sublimated, arrogance is dismissed.
The student learns to observe the rules of the school, and studies the teachings
of the art.
Their own opinions, expectations and feelings are not important.
This is hard for the modern person to accept. We are a pampered culture, used
to instant gratification.
The ego must be tempered.
An arrogant person cannot learn tai chi. They never penetrate the depths of the
art because their pride makes them stupid.
They fail to see things clearly, and make assumptions based on incomplete
understanding.
Only a person who has the benefit of hindsight can offer comment on the tai chi.
Such a student would be advanced level.
Arrogant teacher?
Is your teacher arrogant?
This is a tricky one because you have no real way of telling for sure.
The main means by which you can assess a teacher is by their capacity to do the
art.
If your teacher is soft, powerful, insightful and offers a thought-provoking,
challenging syllabus, then maybe they are skilled.
If they can teach abilities that are internal and effective, maybe they do know
what they are doing.
Ultimately, a student cannot assess their teacher's ability in any meaningful
way.
Yes, if the teacher is blocky, forceful and external - they are clearly unskilled.
But if the teacher can use the art, then you have no way of gauging the length,
breadth and depth of their skill.
A teacher might well seem arrogant to you, but to a more seasoned student they
may seem to be remarkably modest and understated.
The student simply sees what they want to see. What they are capable of seeing.
Only a fool would imagine that they are seeing the entirety.
If you think that your teacher is arrogant, ask yourself whether or not you are
fit to make such an assessment.
Maybe you are the arrogant one, and your perceptions of the world around you are
slewed by your ego.
Remember that tai chi is an internal martial art. By its very nature it conceals
the truth.
Page created 1 August 2002