Martial expectations | ||
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Advanced martial art
Having read a few books, beginners expect to acquire
fighting skills that exceed
those of wing chun, karate, aikido or ju jitsu.
This sounds like a reasonable ambition.
But the individual is seldom prepared to put in the
time or effort
necessary.
Learning a martial art
When learning a martial art there are
essentially 3 stages:
Most students
want to do stage 3 but
flounder before they even
reach stage 1. The white belt is an introductory grade. It
is not stage 1. It is simply health training.
Tai chi for health
Faced with a major health crisis in the 1950's, the People's
Republic of China turned to the old/classical Yang style tai chi for a solution.
They wanted a form of exercise that could be
performed by students of all ages.
The simplest way to achieve this was to remove
the more demanding fitness component
and the combat.
Most modern tai chi classes are
teaching an art that an old person could cope
with... By definition this cannot
conceivably be a
martial art.
A martial athlete?
Combat is not easy and there is a risk of injury if the student is unfit.
This is true of any martial art. To reach a high level of skill, the student
needs to take a lesson from sport.
They must become a lot fitter, but not necessarily a martial
athlete.
Commitment
A student of judo may train 2-3 times a
week in class. How many tai chi people are prepared to do the
same?
Work
Every martial art requires dedication and commitment.
There are no shortcuts or exceptions.
If you expect to use a martial art, be prepared to put in the time and
effort.
You want the fighting skills? Do the work.
My interest was in growing and being effective, not in projecting an
emotional investment in the superiority of any martial art system. After
all, it is the person who fights, not the martial art system.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Volume
As you move through the
syllabus, the fighting
skills are
more challenging and the volume of material increases.
It is necessary to practice what you have learned, hence the need for more
classes.
Your progress is contingent upon your level of
commitment.
Home training
The majority of your training should take place
at home.
A beginner might only train sporadically or maybe 30 minutes a day.
An lower grade student should be putting in about an hour.
This does not need to be in one stint, but it should be daily.
If you are not making this commitment, that is OK. Re-evaluate your
ambitions and accept that the journey will take a lot longer.
Martial art
Partner work, combat practice and corrections are vital in tai chi, so you need to attend
as many lessons as you can.
Remember: if you want the credibility of a judo student, then you must train
like a judo student.
Proof
You may not be able to persuade the general public to believe that tai chi is a credible martial art.
But you can show them. To do this you must train the art properly yourself.
Boxing
The popular book Chinese Boxing by Robert Smith refers to kung fu as
being 'Chinese boxing' which is what kung fu has historically being called.
The word 'boxing' summons images of fists and punching.
Taiji is supreme ultimate (yin/yang)
and signifies the process of dynamic balancing.
Quan is fist (combat/martial art/boxing).
Dynamic balancing boxing renders the art as a process.
Guiding principles
The main thing is to adhere absolutely to the guiding
principles of the art.
These were outlined in The Tai Chi Classics.
If your art deviates from these, then you have gone astray.
Seek tuition from a teacher who is committed to training an art that applies
martial skills in a thorough and convincing manner.
What is martial?
Spend some time researching the nature of combat. See what other martial arts
classes and styles are doing.
Gain an understanding of what combat entails.
Is your class exploring a realistic range of martial
scenarios?
How do you address fear?
Naturalness
The more closely your training follows the natural
inclination of your body, the
more likely you are to use the lessons it teaches in actual combat.
The accuracy of the art must pertain to the spatial parameters of
groundpath,
the strength of good alignment and
skilful body use.
Image
Sport tai chi,
1960's hippy approaches and Age Concern classes still predominate
the public perception of 'tai chi'.
It may never be possible to change this public image.
But you can still train the art with integrity.
Overconfidence
People who are new to martial arts training begin with an
enthusiastic attitude.
They dream of attaining a high-level skill.
Then the reality sets in.
Hard work, their own level of
commitment,
patience, the volume of material to learn,
the time it takes to become
skilled... these are all key factors.
Only the keenest student gets through even 1%
of the overall syllabus.
Too early in the morning? Get up and train. Cold and wet outside? Go train.
Weary of the whole journey and longing for a moment to stop and rest? Train.
Continue on in the spirit of perseverance.
(Dave Lowry)
Page created 2 March 1995
Last updated
30 November 2023
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