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How much do you know?
Thinking of the tai chi syllabus in terms of percentages is
interesting. And inspiring. How much of the syllabus do you
actually know?
Approximate percentages for student grades:
Lower grades = 6% studied
Lower dan grades = 56% studied
Teaching
Instructor grades know:
Instructing = 61% of overall syllabus
Expert = 80% of syllabus is known
Mastered?
Sifu Waller would
contend that nothing is truly
mastered,
and that everyone should be continually
expanding their
knowledge/skills/understanding.
Knowing 100% of our syllabus does not mean that an instructor knows
100% of all that can be known about tai chi.
That would be absurd.
How long will it take to become a
tai chi teacher?
Remember: before teaching, you must have
something to teach. You must know the art thoroughly.
Learning how to teach
A school teacher must be educated for 17 years before commencing the 9 month
teacher training course.
An Alexander Technique teacher requires 3 years full-time training.
A piano/music teacher studies for about 10 years before considering teacher
training.
What about a ballet teacher? A mechanic? A joiner? An electrician? A yoga
teacher? A scuba diver? A driving instructor? An accountant? A doctor? A
lawyer?
All of these time scales are contingent upon ability and aptitude.
Although it might seem that the necessary time to master the requisite
skills and attain a level of expertise would depend upon the field and your
own talent level, those who have researched the subject repeatedly come up
with the number of 10,000 hours. This seems to be the right amount of
quality practice time that is needed for someone to reach a high level of
skill and it applies to composers, chess players, writers, and athletes,
among others.
Although the number of hours seems high, it generally adds up to seven to
ten years of sustained, sold practice - roughly the period of a traditional
apprenticeship.
(Robert Greene)
Beyond teaching... expertise?
Being an expert is more than just talent. You need to put in the
work.
An expert must have at least 10,000 hours of
practice behind them.
Dr. K. Anders Ericsson found that this was true of any art; whether
tai chi, dancing or playing the
piano.
Not so simple...
However, it is not just 10,000 hours... It is 10,000 hours of continued
improvement, insight
and development.
10,000 hours spent doing the same thing doesn't lead to expertise because
the individual is still within their comfort zone.
For more detailed insights and information regarding 'deliberate practice'
we encourage you to read Dr Anders Ericsson's book
Peak.
The maths
If you worked a 35 hour week for 47 weeks a year, it should
only take 6 years to become an expert at your job.
The key factor here is practice time.
If you want to become good at tai chi, you really need to train at
home between lessons.
Tradition
Traditionally, students were encouraged to spend long, long hours each
day drilling their qigong and tai chi.
This is how Sifu Waller was taught.
Hence the Chinese homily:
"I have eaten more salt than you have rice."
Training this much has pros and cons.
Modern
Sifu Waller does not advocate the traditional way of home training.
He suggests that students limit themselves to a reasonable amount of
training relative to how much material they know.
e.g. a beginner would train up to an hour but no more than that.
In lieu of enormous amounts of daily training Sifu Waller advocates
patience.
Casual
A student who attends tai chi lessons most weeks over the course of a year
may accrue 80 hours of practice each year.
Committed
A keener student attends one class a
week, workshops and also trains for an hour a day
at home.
This could mean 400 hours of practice each year - five times as much as a casual
student.
Comparison
It will take a casual student 5 years to accumulate 400 hours of practice by
class attendance alone.
How long does it take to learn to play the
guitar? How many lessons are needed to speak Japanese? Obviously it depends
upon your purpose. Do you want to be the next Segovia or Clapton, or just to
play a few simple tunes? Do you intend to translate haiku, or are you simply
preparing for a two-week vacation? Although the skill of your teacher and
your talent level will certainly influence your progress, the duration and
intensity of your study will be determined ultimately by the level of
expertise that you seek.
(Michael Gelb)
Page created
21 May 1996
Last updated
16 June 2023
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