Clumsy
   
     

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Sensitivity

If your aim is just to brutalise everyone with your powerful strikes, you are training the wrong art. Our classes are not about fighting.
Nobody wants to be injured. No one wants to break an arm or lose their front teeth.


Respect

Being careful with the people you train with indicates respect. You care about their wellbeing. It makes you look better as a person.
You come across as strong, but controlled. You have the power but you use it sparingly.


Brutal

Our classes place a far greater emphasis upon framework than other classes do. This will be particularly evident in the later tai chi syllabus.
Your whole-body strength should continue to increase as your body becomes stronger and more connected.


Control

The danger here lies in your ability to manage this strength. Slamming into everyone is simply not skilful. It is clumsy. It makes you seem oafish and brutal.
Your power needs to be controlled.


Softness

To do this you must use the least amount of force at all times. Keep it smooth and soft. Listen to what is happening, be aware of the sensations, interpret the feedback.


Clumsy

Clumsiness is an indication of low skill. As you progress through the syllabus you must demonstrate a growing capacity to use the tai chi properly. Ineptitude speaks for itself.


An oaf?

If you cannot gauge how much force to use then you have no real skill. Imagine picking up a glass...
If you cannot determine the necessary degree of pressure to apply, you will either drop the glass or crush it in your hand. Neither is acceptable.
 

She did not consciously think, "Ah, today I learned this and that; I gained this much." You do not do it step by step that way, by adding on coatings of varnish, or new paint. When learning becomes you, then it appears as you need it, when you are being you. Sometimes true learning surprises you when it emerges.

 (Chungliang Al Huang)
 


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Page created 18 April 1995
Last updated 16 June 2023