No one ever said it was going to be easy.
(Inspiral Carpets)
Tai chi is not
easy to learn
Tai chi involves an awful lot of learning.
Also, the body must completely re-grow in order perform it correctly.
The habits of a lifetime must be allowed to change.
People find it difficult to change, so patience and persistence are
required.
Patience is necessary
Nothing in
tai chi should be forced.
Effort is not required, just commitment,
If you really want to learn something and have enthusiasm, it is effortless,
like play.
Tai chi takes many years to learn, and there are absolutely no shortcuts.
Education takes time
Imagine teaching a child to read English literature...
The child must learn how the letters are formed, then how groups of letters
become words, how words become sentences and so on.
Even when the child can read, the skills are still being extended; they can
be developed beyond school and into further education.
It may take a child 12 years to complete standard education in the UK, 2
further years for college/sixth form and 3 more for university.
At this point, a person could have a literature degree.
The entire process took 17 years.
Learning tai chi is no different.
The here and now
Ambitious students actively delay their own progress by failing to pay
attention to what is right in front of them.
The teaching occurs in the here and now:
A young boy travelled across
Japan to the school of a famous martial artist.
When he arrived at the dojo he was given an audience by the sensei.
"What do you wish from me?" the master asked.
"I wish to be your student and become the finest karateka in the land," the boy
replied.
"How long must I study?"
"Ten years at least," the master answered.
"Ten years is a long time," said the boy.
"What if I studied twice as hard as all your other students?"
"Twenty years," replied the master.
"Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all my effort?"
"Thirty years," was the master's reply.
"How is it that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will
take longer?" the boy asked.
"The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is only
one eye left with which to find the way."
(Joe Hyams)
If you have one eye on the future
and fail to address the immediate, your progress will be slow.
Set ambition aside and train.
Page created 7 January 2005