Texture
Two methods enable us to rectify our hearts:
The first is study,
enriching our mind through practice and discipline;
training, studying until an inner light begins to grow within.
This seed of consciousness, the sages teach, should be nourished and kept in
silence.
The second is the cultivation of
virtue.
A sincere student discovers the working of tao by overcoming all manner of
temptation.
Hordes of riches are outweighed in merit by a single word, virtue.
(Loy Ching-Yuen)
Syllabus
A syllabus is quite different from random progression.
You slowly explore the material, adding new qualities, probing existing aspects
further and adding texture to your understanding.
Layer-upon- layer of insight must be added to your tai chi. It must be
understood and refined over time.
Drills
Drills are designed to encourage your body to try new possibilities
suggested by the forms.
A minor aspect or nuance of form is embellished and developed into an entire set
in its own right.
This trains a whole new skill and further adds to your perception of form.
In their own right, tai chi drills are nothing.
They serve to extend your grasp of form and increase your 'natural unnatural'
range of applications.
A drill invariably suggests where to go next, what to do next and is usually
smaller circle than form.
Form
Most
tai chi schools run out of material once the form has been studied and fall back
on learning different forms, or forms from other styles of tai chi.
Whilst both of these options are viable, they will not necessarily produce a
deeper understanding of tai chi.
The movements of form can become more subtle and internal through continual
practice but the emphasis for many people is quantity rather than quality.
Neigong
Neigong is nothing special or mysterious, although some people may pitch
it that way.
It is simply the means of adding internal strength to your tai chi, and unifying
the body in the process.
Each neigong represents an additional nuance that slowly helps to build a
stronger, more natural body action.
Reading
You cannot underestimate the value of reading the tai chi classics or Tao
Te Ching.
Time spent reading the right sort of material can add incredible depth to your
tai chi.
You begin to make unexpected connections and associations. You see things that
were formerly unclear.
The obscure sayings finally make sense and you realise how to put them into
practice.
If your tai chi does not reflect the tai chi classics, is it really even tai
chi?
Do not waste your reading time with material that offers no tangible outcome.
Accounts of various masters and lineage stories seldom offer a direct
quantifiable benefit to your training.
Texture
Texture is how something feels.
It is the substance; the tangible sensory impact of the material.
Your tai chi should have a particular texture to it.
When performed it should feel a certain way; as though your limbs were moving
themselves and all you can sense is the movement.
To a partner, your body should seem rubbery and springy.
When your tai chi lacks depth, it is hard and brittle - like pseudo-karate.
Page created 5 August 1999