The mastery of proper fundamentals and their progressive application is the secret of being a great fighter.
(Bruce Lee)
Corrections
Some people look unhappy when they are corrected. Others look
irritated.
It is important to consider why you are being corrected...
Tai chi is not competitive or petty. Your teacher corrects you because they care
about your progress and wellbeing.
Uncorrected practice can lead to injury. Accept the correction with good grace
and courtesy.
You can learn from it.
Tai chi practice can always be improved; there is no conclusion to the training,
no place to rest.
You will never reach a 'plateau' unless you stop the discipline.
Do not become arrogant, defensive or emotionally-invested in your practice.
Unavoidable gaps and deficiencies
Once you are capable of performing the tai chi without making
obvious mistakes, it is necessary to become aware of flaws in the system.
Every self defence application has areas of weakness and you must know what they
are.
These cannot be patched by improving posture.
It is simply not possible to offer the perfect counter to every conceivable
attack.
You must simply accept the flaws and learn how you can compensate for their
existence.
Silk arms
Silk arms is the first exercise that explores how to use gaps and deficiencies
to your advantage.
It uses relative positioning to offer holes in the defences and trick the
opponent into attacking.
This approach is taken from the Art of War; apparent weakness is utilised to
lure the opponent closer.
The intermediate syllabus takes this much further.
5 challenges
The first test of your ability to adapt is the 5 challenges.
From the very first challenge you must demonstrate an awareness of your
weaknesses and how to compensate for them.
Page created 5 June 1998