Finding a tai chi class
The beginner’s
enthusiasm is such that he cannot imagine what blocks could lie ahead to
halt his progress. If some decisive challenge to his continuing on does
occur at this early stage, he will likely abandon his practice altogether.
(Dave Lowry)
Finding a class
Finding a tai chi class may sound like a simple enough proposition, but
there are many considerations to take into account.
Many classes purport to be teaching tai chi, but are really offering tai
chi-style exercise.
Often the teacher only knows a few warm-up exercises and a short sequence of
movements.
They move their arms around and the class copies.
Synchronised arm waving is not tai chi. No matter how pretty it looks. Or
how nice it feels. Or how popular the class is.
Choose wisely
The world is saturated with well-meaning, inexperienced tai chi instructors.
These teachers are teaching an imbalanced syllabus and fail to offer the
complete art.
The art is slowly being ruined, watered down to a point where there is
nothing internal left.
Choose
your class carefully:
Confusion
When people look for a tai chi class they inevitably have expectations,
ideas, notions,
opinions
and preconceptions.
These will all hamper you in your search.
What you need is some idea of what tai chi really is...
If you go
looking for what you think it is,
you may indeed find something that fits your requirement, but is it really
tai chi at all?
Gratification is no proof that you have found a good class. You may merely
have found a class that pleases you.
▲
What makes tai chi 'tai
chi'?
Tai chi is not simply slow motion exercise. There are very specific
qualities that need to be present for the training to be called 'tai chi'.
You cannot simply ad lib and think that you are performing tai chi.
There are three short documents detailing the nature of tai chi:
They are referred to as 'the
tai chi classics'. The
art must follow the instructions given by these three expert teachers.
▲
Partial knowledge
There is an Indian folk tale about six blind men inspecting an elephant:
The first man encounters the side of the animal and believes it to be a wall.
The second man imagines the tusk to be a spear.
The third man thinks that the trunk is a snake.
The fourth man considers the leg to be a tree.
The fifth man feels an ear and believes it to be a fan.
The sixth man finds the tail and is certain it is a rope.
Having a limited grasp about a subject denies you any hope of having
perspective.
You judge according to what you personally understand or experience, and this
can have some significant drawbacks.
Your knowledge has no context and consequently no meaning.
▲
A class must teach
Every tai chi class should be following the
classics, and teaching
these basic skills:
If they are not offering the fundamental skills,
what are they teaching?
Qigong and
form without an understanding of the 'principles'
is empty, hollow, and has questionable value.
The vibe
When you enter a class, you notice all manner of things simultaneously.
These factors coalesce to produce a vibe.
Ask yourself:
Is the class friendly?
Are people having fun?
Does the teacher explain things well?
Is there humour?
Do you feel safe?
Can you feel a change in your body?
Is the lesson interesting?
Are you challenged with new ideas?
Does the material make you think?
Are you making progress?
Is the teacher calm or tense?
Do they move with ease?
Family?
A tai chi teacher needs to cultivate an atmosphere of friendship,
care and respect.
The classes need to be akin to an extended family, with students feeling quite
safe and comfortable with one another.
No matter what is happening in your life, the school remains a good place to be.
Traditional tai chi designations are familial in nature: 'older brother',
'younger sister' etc.
▲
The
teacher
Tai chi teachers come in all shapes
and sizes. Some have impressive skills or can move in a pretty way.
Ultimately all that matters is what they can teach you.
It may be worth asking:
What style of tai chi do they offer?
Is the teacher a master of one style, or do they offer many?
How long has the teacher been practicing tai chi?
If offering self defence, how long have they been training martial arts?
What was their main teacher called?
How long has the instructor been teaching?
Do they hold a teaching qualification? If so, who did they obtain it from?
How regularly does the teacher practice tai chi?
Is tai chi their focus, or do they offer a selection of martial arts or therapies?
The
teacher is not
What the teacher is not:
a celebrity
a coach
a counsellor
a guru
a keep fit instructor
a medical practitioner
a monk/priest
an on-line chatroom buddy
a performance artist
a personal trainer
a therapist
Do not be caught-up in
superficialities. You are seeking to learn tai chi. This is all that matters.
▲
Ready
to teach?
(i) Knowledge
No one should consider becoming a teacher until they have something to teach.
Many tai chi classes are tutored by people who have seen a fraction and believe
it to be the whole.
Teaching people a fragmented view of tai chi is deceptive; it denies the student
the richness of the complete art.
No matter what the style, tai chi practice must always contain the tai chi
principles.
The qualities on the list are what make the art 'tai chi'.
If your teacher does not know them, they should not be teaching anybody.
(ii) Ignorance
Inexperienced teachers can be dangerous.
Their lack of knowledge can lead to significant errors in judgement and
perception.
Tai chi is not a flawless art.
It can be taught badly. It can be taught in a strenuous, harmful way.
If your
knees hurt, your teacher is doing something
incorrectly. Or you are.
In the wrong hands, tai chi can potentially do more harm than good.
(iii) Aptitude
Not everyone has an aptitude for the art.
Some people just do not get it, no matter how hard they train.
10,000 hours
Being a tai chi expert is more than just talent. You need to put in the
work.
A good instructor should 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.
Do the maths: if you trained tai chi for 2 hours a day (every single day)
for a year, that would mean 730 hours a year.
At that rate, 10,000 hours would take you 13 years of practice.
Consider:
Sifu Waller has trained martial arts for
approximately 3-7 hours a day (and occasionally longer), 365 days a year,
since the early 1980's.
His primary focus since 1990 has been tai chi.
He has somewhere between 20,000 - 30,000 hours of practice under his belt.
▲
Scholar
Tai chi is based upon a complex theoretical foundation, explained in the taoist classics and the tai chi classics.
The taoist classics are:
Lao Tzu/Tao Te Ching
I Ching (book of changes)
These works introduce a variety of insights, including:
The tai chi classics are:
There are also martial classics, including:
36 Strategies
The Methods of the Ssu-ma
Questions and Replies Between T'ang T'ai-tsung and Li Wei-kung
T'ai Kung's Six Secret Teachings
Three Strategies of Huang Shih-kung
Wei Liao-tzu
Wu-tzu
A tai chi instructor is usually
also a scholar. Without an understanding of these crucial works, much is
lost.
▲
Syllabus
Tai chi is a complex, detailed martial art and it needs to be taught in a
thorough, methodical manner.
Haphazard, piecemeal tuition will not work.
Expect a
syllabus that is progressive, differentiated
and proven.
Every school should be capable of showing the student where they are in terms of
progress, what they should be working on, and what happens next.
▲
Self defence
If a tai chi class claims to be teaching self defence, it
needs to have a comprehensive curriculum on offer.
The skills should include:
Chin na
- cavity press
- sealing the breath
- dividing the muscle
- misplacing the bones
Conditioning exercises
- seasoning the body to combat
- strengthening joints, bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments
Countering punches, kicks and grapples
- solo attacker
- multiple attackers
Countering a knife
Energy work (qigong)
Escapes
- from a wide variety of holds, locks and situations
Floor work
Form application
Gangs/multiple opponents
Internal power
- neigong
- reeling silk
Self defence
Striking
- fa jing
- using body weight
- striking bags, target pads and people
- punch, palm, finger, elbow, shoulder, knee, kick
Weaponry
- sticks, knives, swords
- improvised weapons
- modern weaponry (rather than ancient)
Experience
Nothing beats
experience.
A class needs to be run by an experienced instructor who is well-versed in
teaching their art.
They need to know it inside out. This will not happen overnight.
Experience comes from long-term practice, from looking deep into the tai chi,
exploring it and understanding it for yourself.
A good instructor has probably been training for a decade or more in tai chi,
and may well have an extensive background in martial arts.
It is worth determining whether or not tai chi is the teacher's sole concern.
Be wary of classes taught by people who lack experience or who obtained a
teaching qualification via some fast-track course.
▲
Skill
How does a beginner gauge the
skill of a teacher?
With difficulty.
It is best to turn the situation on its head and ask the teacher to demonstrate
to you what tai chi skill means.
A good teacher should easily be able to accommodate you.
The existing students in the class are also a valuable indicator: how skilled
are they?
Do their skills look impressive?
Are they relaxed?
At ease?
Can they cope against
21st Century attacks, featuring a knife or
multiple opponents?
▲
Martial skill
A good teacher should be capable of
demonstrating
tai chi self defence
without hurting you.
They can demonstrate striking power on a focus mitt.
Do not be afraid to ask questions.
Gauge the effectiveness of what they show you:
Did it work?
Did they compromise themselves? Were they over-committing?
Was there any adverse feedback?
Did they allow for multiple attackers?
What did it do to the opponent?
Were they forcing an outcome? Or did it flow?
Was it easy to perform?
Smooth or jarring?
Was it hurried and quick? Were they calm and composed?
Can they evade an armed opponent?
If you doubt them, ask them to perform it on you.
▲
Form, but no substance
A tai chi class should offer you a system of exercise (and self defence)
that builds your strength and skill, gently and consistently.
It should also balance body, mind and emotions.
In order to fully understand the tai chi, the teacher must possess an in-depth
martial understanding of the art.
Mere theory is insufficient.
Self defence tips & pointers are plain useless.
There needs to be a fully comprehensive working knowledge of the system, and the
capacity to use it spontaneously.
As a student, you may not care for self defence at all. This is fine. Not
everyone wants martial skills.
But the teacher is different.
A teacher cannot afford to have huge gaps in their understanding.
What the teacher does not know, they may assume or omit. This can be a
dangerous and foolhardy approach to take.
▲
Your own
agenda
Everyone has an agenda.
The more honest and open you are about your own, the more likely you are to find
a suitable class.
Do you have health-problems? Have you bad knees? A bad back?
Are you concerned about being thrown on the floor?
Does the prospect of self defence training frighten you?
Is your age an issue?
What are your expectations?
Are you willing to commit to a weekly class?
Do have previous tai chi experience? (Are you hoping that the new class will be
the same as the old?)
Are you attending class because you really want to, or because you think you
should?
▲
Give it a
chance
The first lesson you have in tai chi will be hindered by your own
personality.
Even if you have trained tai chi before, you are unlikely to see past the veil
of your own self-consciousness and fears.
It is usually worth trying a few classes.
That way, you can settle-in a little and really observe what is taking place in
class.
Pay particular attention to the more
skilled students: what are they training? How adept do they seem?
Are they having fun?
▲
Locating a class
The world wide web is a good place to look for a class:
Tai Chi Finder
http://www.taichifinder.co.uk
Search engine
http://www.google.co.uk
If the school has a
website, read it
thoroughly before trying the class. The site may answer many of your
potential
questions.
▲
Can you recommend a class in my town/area?
No. We cannot offer any
recommendations.
Every tai chi school has its own agenda. Each school
has its
own values, concerns and interests.
These are not necessarily compatible with other schools.
Our advice is to explore what is available in your area. Try out some classes.
You may find something you like. Something that appeals to your values, concerns
and interests.
▲
Page created 25 October 2002