The wrong path
He taught me to vibrate the breath and body rather fiercely and loudly like
a growling lion, stretch the tendons, turn the waist like the motions of a
food mixer, hit my own body and then flap my arms in the air.
I started accruing some fa jing, although of a more shocking nature, rather
than the smooth kind that can come from tai chi.
The drawback is that it made my energy jumpy.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Led astray
In your
quest for martial power, it is very easy to be
led astray.
Gimmicks, short-cuts and secrets will promise you everything you desire.
The danger lies in the fact that you are inexperienced.
Your
quest is based on
your perception of what is important, of what
is necessary.
To a more experienced student, those same concerns may seem irrelevant or
misguided.
Secrets
Tai chi hides its secrets in the open.
Your inability to comprehend them is a reflection of your own
occluded nature.
To unlock tai chi, you must change yourself.
If you are not discerning and scientific in your study, years may be spent
practicing
material that conflicts with the
tai chi
classics, and does not really follow the way of tai chi.
Aggressive approaches
Some methods involve shouting and
aggression, with abrupt jerky actions that may
cause tension in the body and problems if you are prone to migraine.
Although the muscles remain soft, there is a definite
jarring element to it.
Bruce Frantzis sees this approach as giving-in to your animal nature, instead of
sublimating it within the human.
A softer approach
Our school has adopted a
softer attitude.
We are not critical of other approaches, we simply have no desire to use them.
Yielding offers a softer approach to tai chi and is the underlying
precept in our school - the quality of yielding defines the very nature of
tai chi.
Gravity
We prize the use of gravity because anyone can utilise it. It adds
power to the weak or the strong, and all you have to do is relax.
Neigong
Neigong requires a certain kind of body movement that naturally
produces fa jing.
Nothing is forced.
Neigong naturally encourages the whole-body action necessary
for fa jing - the process is continual and ongoing.
You become capable of energy release without having to try.
The wrong path
There are many aspects of the
syllabus that will be different to how other
schools approach the material.
Every school has its own agenda and focus, and
the way in which tai chi is practiced will
reflect the character of the teacher as much as anything else.
We are keen to avoid the 'cult
of the personality' and feel that the teacher should remain in the
shadows rather than the forefront of the class.
Our syllabus follows martial science and the
tai chi classics,
rather than the opinion of one individual.
Page created 11 August 2001