|
|
||
| Direct transmission | ||
classes qigong tai chi kung fu about us reviews a-z
.JPG)
Nervous system
The sense of touch is actually quite
complex.
Within the sense category of 'touch' we may include: pressure, pain,
temperature, shape, softness, texture and vibration.
Tai chi aims to improve our brain's
capacity to interpret and respond to the data
it receives.
Communication
Touch is a form of communication.
When a person is afraid or ill, physical
contact can help to reassure them.
If you are emotionally calm and open
to other people, this will be transmitted through touch.
We can share our compassion without the need of
words.
Connection
Touch transcends the physical. Softening internally will help you realise that you
are part of the world.
If you want to interact with the world in a healthy
manner, be willing to relax your barriers and get in
touch with other people. This does not mean watching the news...
Fear
There is a modern phobia of physical contact.
People quite often do not like to be touched.
Yet, touch is one of our senses and if we ignore it, our world becomes far
lonelier.
In tai chi we consider touch to be very important; by working with
somebody else we can help them to feel how their own body operates and help
ourselves as well.
We encourage people to become accustomed to physical proximity from the
start of their training, to relax, soften and
be receptive to other people.
Open
A person cannot very well learn combat if they
are uncomfortable touching other people.
Even if you are learning tai chi for health,
it is necessary to work with other people through
partnered exercise.
Working alone offers no feedback.
Only through working with another person can you really begin to
feel what is happening.
Without a partner you will never know if your
connection is complete or your jing apparent.
The balance
The yin/yang symbol expresses partnership; the
harmonious joining and intermingling of two
apparent opposites.
This principle lies at the root of all tai chi
practice.
Learning through touch
For tai chi students, nothing is better than
working with the instructor directly.
You feel how they move, how softly they make
contact and how little effort takes place.
This is an invaluable experience.
Your instructor offers you a physical
illustration of what is to come.
They embody the very characteristics and
qualities you are currently working
towards.
Without working 'hands on', this
understanding is not possible.
Distance
A book, video or workshop cannot offer direct transmission.
You need to train with the instructor, in
addition to your own practice.
Tai chi study must be tactile.
Training with the instructor changes how you use the tai chi. You become
soft, sensitive and fluid
in a completely new way.
But if you cease this relationship prematurely,
old habits encroach and the body
forgets.
Tai chi fighting method
We seek to perpetuate the art of tai chi.
We want to pass it on, and every lesson is
designed with this in mind.
As with any artist, the instructor is very
particular.
We want to make sure that every aspect has been thoroughly understood and
retained.
The standard is very high.
Steal my art
The instructor is offering you their
art every time you make physical contact with them. Are you alert enough to learn from the
experience?
That is the question.
Direct transmission
For 20 years Sifu Waller
was the lineage student of the
renowned teacher Peter Southwood; undertaking his bai shi and
tea ceremony in 1990.
He had more than 500 private lessons with Peter and taught in Peter's class
for a number of years.
Every private lesson featured pushing hands,
applications,
martial sets and combat.
Fast-track
The best source of direct transmission is the 'inner school'.
It offers serious depth and is not for the half-hearted
student.
Indoor tuition is aimed at people who want fast-track
progress through the tai chi syllabus.
Indoor students are people who train
very closely with the
instructor.
They have a chance to really
feel the art.
While the
teachings of a martial tradition may be
recorded in scrolls or expressed verbally, those
outside the tradition who gain access to this
information have little chance of learning much of practical value. Such
instructions invariably consist of vague
references or riddle-like aphorisms. These
cryptic axioms suffice for the conveying of deep secrets because the martial
artist who receives them properly has spent an enormous
amount of time apprenticing under his master. They
have in common, teacher and student, the specialized
vocabulary of their tradition, as
well as similar experience in the physical
actions demanded in learning it. The teachings, however, opaque they may
appear to the outsider, have meaning to the
initiate and his master because the two
have endured the long process of
training together.
(Dave Lowry)
Page created
25 November 1996
Last updated
16 June 2023
▲