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| Amateurs | ||
| Written by Rachel | ||
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E-mails
Every week we receive an e-mail from a well-meaning individual asking for a
few tai chi "tips & pointers"...
They are usually a physiotherapist, Alexander Technique teacher, nurse, school
PE teacher or a care home worker.
The person explains that they use tai chi in their professional duties but would
like a bit more detail. Could they borrow some material?
Self-delusion
When people send an e-mail asking for tips & pointers, they are usually
surprised when we ask whether or not they are seeking
teacher training.
They quickly point out that they are not a tai chi teacher and do not wish to become
one.
At this stage, a conundrum is evident.
The person isn't a tai chi teacher, doesn't want to become one, and claims not
to be teaching tai chi.
Yet... they are teaching tai chi albeit in an amateurish manner.
No
We decline to share tai chi material with amateurs. And discourage them from
continuing their bad practice. We invite them to leave tai chi tuition to
professionally qualified instructors.
What's the big deal?
Apologists argue that learning tai chi
from an amateur is better than not doing tai chi at all.
How so?
Would you entrust an amateur dentist with your teeth?
A partially trained optician with your eyes?
An unqualified physiotherapist?
Injury
There are a lot of tai chi practitioners in the world with
bad knees.
This is the outcome of major misconceptions and shabby teaching.
Other risks include shoulder joint problems and
lower back pain.
Naive
With the widespread appeal of tai chi there has emerged a growing trend
towards amateurism.
Some groups actually train without a tutor...
Others are led by an unskilled amateur who
is not qualified to teach.
The danger of amateurism
Imagine that you have a serious illness
and seek the reputed health benefits of tai chi...
Who would you rather study with: A) a skilled, experienced
instructor? or B) a well-meaning amateur?
Training any exercise system or martial art under
the guidance of an amateur/charlatan is dangerous.
It can lead to injury, and will inevitably cause
mistakes and
misconceptions.
Simplistic mentality
When learning any in-depth skill or art,
a teacher is needed.
There are very few people in the world who can learn to play the
piano by themselves, cook like a
French chef, become a doctor, speak Spanish or perform tai chi properly
without professional help.
If you imagine that learning tai chi is any different to learning how to play the
piano... your understanding of tai chi is woefully simplistic.
Tai chi is more than
form
With the advent of performance art tai chi people have begun to think of
tai chi purely in terms of 'form'.
This again is simplistic.
Form is just one facet of the art.
Stages of skill
Within form practice there are 8 distinct skill levels. Most tai chi people never get past stage 1.
Form collecting
Rather than progress through all 8 stages with one form, the tai chi
amateur learns a new form - again at the most
fundamental, simplistic
level.
Form collecting is a sign of limited understanding
and boredom.
No instructor?
Training in unsupervised groups or being
self-taught is essentially the blind leading the blind. No one has a clue what the 'big picture' is because no one possesses the
necessary knowledge or skill.
Wild misinterpretations are
misconceptions hinder any credible hope of
progress.
We're all students...
Amateurs who possess limited knowledge will tell the doubting student
that everyone is a student, that we are all on this journey together...
OK. So, why am I paying you money?
In my opinion
Amateurs have opinions about tai chi based upon
their ideas/notions.
The martial arts have no need for opinions.
An opinion will not help you to deal
effectively with an assault... only knowledge,
experience and real skill will prevail.
A theoretical grasp of combat will not prepare
you for the reality, any more than some
sense of tai chi biomechanics will enable you to
use the body in an optimal way.
Real knowledge is not based on opinion.
The instructor
The role of the instructor
is to guide the student.
They are responsible for implementing the
syllabus, correcting mistakes,
suggesting new considerations and generally moving the student in a
forwards direction.
There are no plateaus in tai chi; you can always look
deeper into the art.
Tai chi for health teacher
Expect a teacher to have:
• At least 5 years experience
• A professional teaching qualification/long-term extensive teaching
experience under the guidance of a reputable instructor
• Membership with a recognised body (i.e.
The Tai Chi Union for Great Britain)
• At least 10,000 hours of practice behind them
• 10,000 hours of continued improvement,
insight and development
Taijiquan fighting method
A taijiquan instructor will take
significantly longer than a tai chi for health
teacher to gain the necessary skill and experience.
Once skilled, they can commence teacher
training.
Beware of amateurs...
Tai chi is great providing it is taught with skill and integrity.
It is a sad truth that most tai chi for health teachers are not
professionals. They are often well-meaning
amateurs potentially doing more
harm than good.
Be cautious.
Find out more about the art for yourself. Gain some measure of
understanding
before attending a class.
Ask the teacher about the style being taught, the
methodology behind their
teaching.
Ask to see their syllabus.
Don't take our word for it
Find out for yourself.
We strongly encourage you to read:
•
The Essence of Tai Chi Chuan - The Literary Tradition by Lo et al
• The Sword Polisher's Record by Adam Hsu
•
Tai Chi Theory & Martial Power by Yang Jwing-Ming
•
The Power of Internal Martial Arts by Bruce Frantzis
•
Chinese Boxing by Robert Smith
•
There Are No Secrets by Wolfe Lowenthal
Taijiquan is a
recognisable fighting style
If you watch wing chun applied in combat, it looks distinctly like wing chun.
The same could be said of judo, aikido, ju jitsu, pencat silat etc.
By the same reasoning, the martial art of taijiquan must look like taijiquan. What does taijiquan look like in
combat? Taijiquan looks like taijiquan.
The form, pushing hands,
you know... taijiquan.
If the martial expression of taijiquan does not
look like taijiquan, it is probably not taijiquan.
10 questions to ask a tai chi teacher
Try asking these 10
metacognition
questions:
1. Which treatise(s) would you consider to be The Tai Chi Classics?
Which author is most accessible to you? And which parts do you struggle to
put into your practice?
2. What role does 'shen' play in tai chi?
3. Explain the significance of 'folding'.
4. The name of the art refers to the 'yin/yang' diagram... So, how
does tai chi use yin/yang?
5. Illustrate the difference between 'jing' and 'li'. What bearing
does this have on 'peng'?
6. What does the expression 'invest in loss' refer to?
7. Explain the difference between the first 4 powers and the second 4
powers.
8. Which of the Taoist Classics do you find most relevant/pertinent
to tai chi? And why?
9. What is 'mutual arising'?
10. How does '4 ounces of pressure' operate in practice? What are the
active/passive manifestations? And how do they differ?
If a tai chi teacher cannot answer every question comprehensively -
verbally & physically - they are not
skilled enough to be an instructor.
Look for somebody who can provide good answers.
Page created
18 March 1997
Last updated
28 January 2020
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