Adversity can make or
break us.
If we do not learn from adverse conditions, we will be broken.
(I Ching)
Mistakes
Many people become upset when their teacher corrects their practice
and sadly this is a throwback to the stigma associated with making
mistakes.
Making mistakes is inevitable and healthy; it does not make you a 'failure'.
The mistake itself is not a problem.
Your response to the mistake is what counts.
Whether you have an emotional response (however minor) or a psychological
response is important.
Ideally, you should politely accept the correction and change your practice
accordingly.
Helping
Working with
new starters is
invaluable.
It teaches you to explore why you are doing what you are doing.
By involving yourself in somebody else's learning, you help your own
understanding considerably.
DIY
In
the
experienced syllabus you will be
encouraged to self-correct your tai chi practice.
This will enable you to learn forms more easily and help new
starters with their own tai chi.
Ultimately, it will give you the ability to gauge the material for yourself,
without the need of a teacher.
Your practice
Being responsible for your own training is difficult.
It is far harder than just following somebody else or being obedient.
You must take an active role in your own development.
The worst thing in tai chi is to 'go through the
motions'
- this is the path to slow decline and perhaps injury.
Inaccurate stances become habit, sloppiness creeps in and your tai chi falls to
pieces.
Even at the
advanced level, you cannot ignore the
fundamental concerns.
Self-correction
Consider every posture as you are performing it:
Where should your hands be positioned?
Why?
What is your body doing?
What
application could be employed?
Are you balanced ?
Is your timing correct?
How are you producing that movement?
Which
neigong are you developing?
These concerns should not plague you; just be quietly conscious of what you are
doing and probe the exercise for gaps & deficiencies.
Page created 2 February 1999