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| What is kung fu (2) | ||
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Tai chi way
Tai chi is physically and mentally challenging; but in a very different
way to mainstream martial arts. Long, gruelling training sessions are
discouraged. Overtraining is as bad as not training.
Tired muscles and sore joints are unhealthy.
Moderation
Although tai chi seeks to achieve many of the same goals as external
martial arts, it is not external. Hard-style training is external. Tai chi
adopts a slightly milder approach.
The difference is not in the aims of art but in the manner in which the work
is undertaken. Refer to the Wang Treatise.
High repetition
To gain familiarity with the tai chi movements, high repetition is
necessary. This is the same as external. The difference lies in the time
scale.
Be patient
An external person hammers their body by training intensively; thereby
accumulating the required number of repetitions. The tai chi person
spreads their training out.
Instead of long, sustained training sessions, they train little and often.
It takes far longer to perform the necessary practice, but there is far less
risky of injury and the body is not unduly taxed.
Strength
This same attitude is applied to strength-building. Be patient. Give
yourself time. Rest. Allow your body time to grow and change. Avoid pushing
or forcing an outcome.
Deliberate practice
Simply working hard will not necessarily lead to progress. It needs to be
deliberate, focused improvement designed to improve your practice by
developing key skills outlined by your instructor.
The student must implement corrections, study the recommended books,
undertake assignments and challenge their comfort zone.
A young boy travelled
across Japan to the school of a famous martial artist.
When he arrived at the dojo he was given an audience by the sensei.
"What do you wish from me?" the master asked.
"I wish to be your student and become the finest karateka in the land," the
boy replied.
"How long must I study?"
"Ten years at least," the master answered.
"Ten years is a long time," said the boy.
"What if I studied twice as hard as all your other students?"
"Twenty years," replied the master.
"Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all my effort?"
"Thirty years," was the master's reply.
"How is it that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will
take longer?" the boy asked.
"The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is
only one eye left with which to find the Way."
(Joe Hyams)
Combat skill
Tai chi combat skills take a lot of time to develop. Alongside
applications, striking methods and grappling skills, the student is also
discovering how to move in a whole-body, energy efficient manner.
This multi-faceted approach ensures that the training remains intelligent
and moderate. There is no scope for overtraining or being aggressive.
Bad influences
When you read accounts of how traditional masters trained, it can be
tempting to commit to a punishing regime. Ask yourself: is this necessary?
Is it even productive?
By being patient, you are following the Taoist method of not too much and
not too little. Just enough.
The tortoise and the hare
Aesop's fable The Tortoise and the Hare captures the
difference between tai chi and external training very nicely. The
tai chi training is often slow and steady whereas external is fast.
Speed becomes a major issue later in the tai chi syllabus when the student
learns cold jing and fa jing. Until then, sensitivity, timing, positioning,
agility and jing are cultivated.
Running on empty
Modern people are often running on empty. They fail to take adequate rest.
Many of the exercise methods they adopt lead to even greater fatigue.
Stimulants, sugar, caffeine and fatty food enable the individual to carry on
when in fact the real solution to fatigue is of course rest.
Tai chi doesn't endorse this attitude. If you're tired, rest. Don't push
yourself. Train every day, but train moderately. Not to an extreme.
3 methods
Our students study 3 kung fu (Chinese boxing)
methods:
Chin na (seizing)
Shuai jiao (take downs)
They all use the body in an
internal way.
Chin na and shuai jiao are
kung fu methods rather than a separate system.
Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Do your work, then step back.
(Lao Tzu)
Worth reading
•
Neijiaquan
(internal martial arts)
•
Cross-training martial arts
•
Tai chi fighting method
Page created
21 May 2003
Last updated
23 October 2023
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