You have said it, but you have not understood.
(Jesus of Nazareth)
Graduation?
The
beginners syllabus is always
relevant. Although you may graduate, you still must train the basics.
This may sound odd but tai chi is no different to anything else you learn in
life.
Consider: Does an adult discard the alphabet?
Will your times tables become redundant some day?
Admittedly, you may no longer practice these, but you probably use them
every day of your life.
Tai chi is just the same.
A student must take the
beginners material with them as they continue on
their journey.
The
core principles and drills need to
be refined and revised until you can use them instinctively.
It will take as
long as it takes.
The tai chi syllabus does not have a graduation or conclusion.
Beginner
All a beginner needs to do is get the hang of the
tai chi way of doing things.
This entails some
qigong, section 1 of the form,
some
neigong and a lot of self
defence work.
No one is expected to be an
expert.
You are just being introduced to the material.
Given that so little of the syllabus has been covered, you cannot expect to
understand the tai chi.
That comes later, in the
advanced syllabus.
Until then, the next decade will be spent refining it and adding new
insights
and
perspectives.
To leave the beginners syllabus you must prove that you can apply tai chi
(at a crude level) in
self defence.
Spiral
The syllabus is finite in content but infinite in depth. Do you understand?
The quantity is fixed, but the
quality can always be improved.
We are not offering multiple
forms and
countless drills. What would be the point?
One
form is more than
enough and it will take you as long as you live to really come to
terms with
it.
If you think otherwise, your standards must be low. Look closer.
Self defence is
continually being refined, and the ongoing addition of
jing and neigong only serve to improve your abilities.
Intermediate & beyond...
An intermediate level student
broadens their perspective of tai chi and
hones their skills.
They learn increasingly subtle ways to use the
body using new exercises
and old.
Maintaining and improving the beginners syllabus is crucial.
You do not simply cover a topic and walk away. You come back to it
endlessly.
The
form is like this. A
beginner only learns section 1. An intermediate student learns the rest.
But neither know the form.
They only have a sense of it, relative to where they are in the syllabus at
that particular point in time.
As the student progresses, their understanding alters and they are capable
of
seeing more.
Beginner's mind
Upon reaching the advanced syllabus, you realise that tai chi is
simple yet
complex.
It is important not to confuse 'simple' with 'simplistic', for it is
anything but simplistic.
This insight
changes you and
the most fundamental exercises make sense in a way they never did before.
Your new neigong teach you how to move in a more
harmonious way and enable you to
lose
yourself in the tai chi.
When you have rediscovered the wide-eyed
wonder
of a child, you are ready to
teach.
Your eyes are innocent again and you can relate to a beginner once more.
Your
arrogance and
conceit fall from you.
You
respect
the syllabus and any person who chooses to undertake the
journey.
Page created 13 October 2000