Teaching levels

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Students

In a taijiquan class people are often required to work together.
Sometimes a more experienced student may help other people out.
Are they teaching?
No.


Not teaching

Examples where no active teaching is taking place:

1. Spotting
   - students are shown what a mistake looks like
   - they work with other students and look for that mistake
    

2. Helping (learning-by-helping)
   - a helper might assist in preparing the room or cleaning up afterwards
   - they may greet new starters
   - they may undertake responsibilities in class that exceed those of the average student
    

3. Leading
   - a more experienced student performs exercises in front of other students and the junior students follow along
   - this involves simply copying/imitating

Knowledge

The inexperienced student lacks the necessary knowledge-base to actually teach taijiquan.
Yes, they can effectively 'lead' a follow-me group, but this remains a far cry from teaching because the process is essentially passive.
It makes little demand on the student's knowledge.


Teaching

Teaching is a dynamic process.
The depth of the teaching is determined by the knowledge-level and aptitude of the teacher:

1. Instructor
   - an instructor can perform all aspects of the curriculum skilfully
   - they can observe, identify and correct faults
   - easily comprehensible examples and illustrations can be provided
   - a scientific approach demonstrating correct/incorrect methods is evident
   - the basic principles of the Art are evident
   - full differentiation is apparent
   - martial skill is thorough and comprehensive
   - questions can be addressed with relative ease
    

2. Expert
   - the material is much more familiar (10,000 hours of experience)
   - a far broader degree of context and understanding is shown
   - biomechanics, martial skill, The Tai Chi Classics and Taoism are intertwined
   - adriotness with 36 Strategies, The Art of War, The Book of Five Rings is evident
   - The Tai Chi Classics are the primary resource for highlighting the nature of the Art
   - The Way and Its Power is frequently referred to and readily demonstrated
   - Te is fully understood
   - lessons concerning jing, 13 postures, neigong, chin na, shuai jiao, weaponry, self defence and meditation are all immediately to hand when teaching
    

3. Master
   - every aspect of every exercise, form, drill and application is fully understood
   - the subtle nuances, the relevance, the interconnectedness of all things, the significance of the seemingly trivial
   - a broader cultural and historical richness is evident
   - complex physics principles are rendered straightforward, comprehensible and apparent
   - applications look more like 'sleight of hand' rather than brawling
   - the training is subtle, understated, with no need for aggression or competition, no need for reciprocity or validation
   - a high-level communicator
   - can cope with any question or uncertainty with a gentle ease
   - possesses the ability to reverse-engineer/dismantle the Art

Context

Teaching and not-teaching ultimately comes down to context.
An instructor understands taijiquan from a broader perspective; they know why things are done.
The student may know what is done, but they do not understand how or why well enough to be teaching anyone.

Page created 9 August 1999
Last updated 03 April 2017

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