Knowledge does not keep any better than fish.
(Alfred
North Whitehead)
New starters
New starters are often confounded by the fact that they cannot
understand the tai chi immediately.
They sometimes assume that the
explanation is poor and the teacher is inept.
Can the teachings be articulated so readily, so easily? Can there be such a
thing as a verbal understanding?
Talking
If we could teach tai chi by simply
talking to you, why bother with years of physical exercise and study?
Words have severe limitations. It is important to realise this fact.
The word for chocolate does not taste like chocolate. Even the memory of
chocolate does not taste like chocolate.
Life can only be
experienced through the doing.
Context
If we said to you: "This one goes over there to the left..." does this
make any sense to you?
Of course not.
We have not established a
context. We have not introduced the component
parts. We have not demonstrated what is occurring.
An explanation only has
meaning relative to something.
If the
subject has not been established, the teaching
lacks context. It floats around,
untethered and meaningless.
Complexity
If we told you that the human body were just skin and bone, would you
accept this as being
true?
Or that the human mind is made up of two halves: conscious and unconscious?
Does the
explanation do it? Are you now furnished with
understanding?
Hardly.
The human body is complex beyond
belief. Medical science is potentially millennia away from truly
understanding how it works.
Systems are seldom just one thing.
A cursory
explanation will not illustrate how the
seemingly separate parts function as an integrated whole.
The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But Marlow was not typical… and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze.
(Joseph Conrad)
Verbal understanding
There is no verbal understanding. This is a silly delusion. All
understanding must be actual.
A blind person may claim to understand what 'red' means, but do they?
Of course not.
A chair is not the word 'chair'. It is not a picture. It the
experience
of the sitting. The functionality.
The substance. The reality of the thing. The 'this-ness' of the chair.
This is why you cannot learn tai chi from a book or a video. You need human
contact. You need to
touch people, to feel.
Tai chi is a
physical art - there is no 'verbal understanding'...
Seeing
A beginner lacks the acuity to understand what they are seeing.
It would be akin to a novice motorist looking at the engine of their car.
Does it mean anything?
Compare their bewilderment with the discerning eye of a trained
mechanic...
The beginner sees what they are capable of
seeing. Sometimes this is simply what they want to see.
Advanced level tai chi does not look remarkable. It is not showy or impressive.
It looks smooth and easy. It also
appears to be stunningly ordinary. Casual.
To a beginner there is no indication of skill.
They simply cannot discern what the advanced practitioner is doing or what the
significance is.
Curriculum
Our tai chi school has a
curriculum. The art is not taught in an ad hoc way.
Given the sheer complexity and sophistication of tai chi, this approach is
imperative.
The material needs to be introduced
slowly and deliberately, with the permutations
and connotations thoroughly explored at each step of the journey.
Regular revision is a must.
As the student begins to physically demonstrate their comprehension, more
material can be added and the existing training can be re-considered.
Familiar practice is dismantled and the constituent parts are explored in
greater detail.
The learning process is a spiral, turning both outward and inward.
Talk is a necessary requirement if we are to communicate. However, the best
teachings are silent.
The greatest
skill is shown by example.
Page created 5 January 2003