Enter each situation without telegraphing your arrival and leave without a trace.
(Barefoot Doctor)
Mistakes
Everybody makes
mistakes during tai chi practice. This is quite
normal and human.
Once you become aware of a mistake it is usually easy to correct.
Ultimately, a student learns to feel when they are making a mistake and then
correct it themselves.
At this point, they are responsible for their own practice.
Some faults are more serious than others and could lead to injury; especially
during a self defence situation.
Gaps
Gaps are holes in your practice that can be exploited by an opponent.
A gap may be caused by poor postural alignment, leaving a leg behind when you
step or failing to complete an application.
Every mistake represents an opportunity.
It is essential that we spot those gaps in the class and correct them.
Deficiencies
A deficiency is a lack and in tai chi this typically refers to:
accuracy
awareness
anticipation
emotional instability
failure to yield
no groundpath
no neigong
poor connection throughout the body
poor footwork
tensing the muscles
Deficiencies are qualities that weaken
the way in which you practice tai chi.
They need to be identified and corrected.
Gaps and deficiencies can cripple your self defence abilities.
Identify
Your teacher cannot reasonably spot all of your mistakes, so it is
important to enlist the help of your practice partner.
If you are making a mistake they need to tell you in a friendly way and offer
help if you need it.
Contact
Tolkien wrote "the burned hand teaches best".
Partner work must involve physical contact.
If you succeed in escaping, only to forget about your opponent, a gentle slap
reminds you.
If you evade a punch, but leave yourself wide open, a second blow will remind
you.
A playful tap is much more memorable than a conversation and takes
far less time.
Page created 5 June 1998