Self-assessment | ||
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How much do you know?
People sometimes attend tai chi class for many years without
reflecting
upon how much they have actually learned.
Often the student has acquired some measure of relaxation and a greater sense of
the art. But how much do you really know?
Assess yourself
It is very easy to determine for yourself how much
tai chi
you know. There's no need to ask Rachel or Sifu Waller. Just look
at the
curriculum:
Look carefully at the
syllabus pertinent to you. Read through the list of topics. Tick off the
ones that you know.
Know your stuff
Let's say you are considering 'moving qigong'...
If you know all of the exercises and can perform them - by yourself -
without any revision or reference to a handout or DVD, then you may indeed
know the exercises.
Just do it...
Occasionally people think they know something
but when called upon to demonstrate the skill,
they flounder. How come? It's
simple: they don't really know it.
There's no such thing as 'verbal understanding' in
tai chi. You either
know something or you don't. There's
no grey area.
If you
can't do it, you don't know it.
(Mike Sigman)
The right order?
Students may say that they know the exercises but not in the right
order. They wonder if that counts as 'knowing' the exercises... Surely this
answers itself?
If you knew the exercises, you'd also know the order. It's like
counting to 10. 7 comes after 2, not
before.
Cramming
A common learning ploy is 'cramming'. Last minute
intensive study... This is viable in terms of passing a topic, but what
happens when Sifu Waller later realises that you don't actually know the topic?
He'll insist that you learn it properly. Like you should have done in the first
place.
Charity
People sometimes want Sifu Waller or Rachel to consider their practice 'adequate' when the student knows full well it is not.
What is the point of this?
If a student wants to cheat themselves, that is their
business. Expecting the teacher to participate in the lie
is absurd.
Quality
All forms of exercise can be dangerous if done
badly and tai chi is no exception. It is in the student's own interest to know
each exercise thoroughly and perform it correctly.
Time served?
A student may be in class for many years and believe that this translates
into knowledge or skill. If it does, prove it.
Demonstrate what you know.
You may have been taking lessons for a decade, but that doesn't make you
'experienced' unless you can actually do the
requisite skills...
Truth
The advantage of assessing how much you really know (and how far advanced
your practice is) resides in the sense of perspective it brings.
It prompts important questions, such as: Are you
making the best use of the lessons? Do you need to
practice more frequently? Are there big gaps in your
knowledge and ability?
Martial arts
Martial arts training is all about
being honest with yourself. If your skills are poor and you get punched in the
face, there's no talking it away or rationalising the
experience. It happened. It is fact.
The solution is to expose your own gaps and
deficiencies, and sort them out.
Further reading
•
Assessment
•
The
essence of the art
•
Syllabus
•
Self-differentiating
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
30 November 2023
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