Form collectors
Immaturity is the craving for greater and wider experience.
(Krishnamurti)
Acquisitive
Beginners sometimes want to
collect a whole series of
forms. Why?
Form offers embryonic moves that teach the
underlying principles, not set responses.
Form was designed to contain all the applications of the system without need
of additional sequences/forms.
As a consequence, you only need one form.
Two-person sequences are different to form. They represent an
opportunity to practice in a pseudo-combat situation.
Boredom
Form collecting is a modern habit which arises when a student is unwilling
to commit the necessary practice to mastering a form.
In short, the student gets bored.
It can take 10-20 years to get really good at one system of tai chi.
How many modern people have that sort of patience?
Form is not kata
It is important not to think
of tai chi form in terms of karate kata.
Karate students learn kata in order to train specific insights and skills.
Learning the kata is a way of gaining a thorough, well-rounded sense of the
art.
Each kata is different and necessary - it imparts a new lesson - and adds
another piece to the whole.
However, kata and form are ultimately not the same thing.
Form teaches 'a way of moving'.
A style of using your body.
A habit.
You do not need to learn several forms.
All of the lessons and skills are contained in the one sequence.
Principles
There is no real advantage in training more than one form. Any (and every)
form should teach the same underlying principles.
Form choreography is akin to learning the alphabet.
You do not need to learn two alphabets. One will suffice.
Challenge
Some forms are admittedly more sophisticated than others, and require
greater skill.
Whilst there may be merit in challenging your body with new material, can
you honestly claim to have mastered your existing material?
Most tai chi practitioners are not experts.
The more forms you collect, the more diluted your practice and the less time
you have to train (and understand) each form.
Go deeper
Once the form choreography is accurate and familiar, the real work begins.
The choreography is the beginning of your tai chi, not the end of it.
Instead of learning a new, novel form, study the one you have.
Explore the body mechanics, how power is being generated, what lessons it is
teaching you, and what you can do with it.
Feel it become smooth and subtle as your body grows into the sequence.
Seeing
Lao Tzu said that you can know the whole world without leaving
your room.
He was referring to
awareness.
Learning
tai chi is not about new moves, new choreography or new
applications.
Tai chi is to be found in the subtlety, the nuances, the detail, the
quality.
Energy release
A
form
is a choreographed sequence of movements.
These movements are called 'postures'.
Every 'posture' is a biomechanical device for producing 'jing'
or energy emission.
By shifting your weight, turning, flexing and moving - you can release
energy in a particular manner in a given direction.
Biomechanics
If you earnestly explore a posture you can determine how the
body needs to
move in order to generate power.
You can find the appropriate balance, the necessary
degree of weight transfer and all the subtle
neigong
qualities that enhance the effect of the posture.
Then you can work with a partner to see how to optimise the biomechanics.
Your aim is to produce the greatest effect using the least physical effort.
This must also feel physically comfortable, safe and follow the principles
of the
tai chi classics.
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Page created 25 May 1998