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Curiosity
The keen student - burning with curiosity - needs no prompting to train, needs
no incentives or encouragement.
The unknown beckons and they approach the mystery eagerly.
Self-reliance and self-discipline may seem necessary, but they are not.
When you are alive with interest and passionate to know, you have no need of
self-discipline.
People always make time for the things they want to do.
Your life
How do you spend your life?
Working?
Watching TV?
Mid-life crisis?
How many people suffer from a mid-life crisis? And what exactly is a mid-life
crisis?
Surely it is the realisation that there is more to life than
earning money.
Life is fascinating, mysterious, exciting.
Yet, sitting at your desk or on the sofa... life seems somewhat dull.
Errors and
lapses in attention that may be forgiven when we are beginners are illuminated
in a harsh spotlight by our teachers as we progress.
(Dave Lowry)
The journey
Instead of fading slowly within the confines of their own life, the rare
individual undertakes a journey of intimidating difficulty.
They do not withdraw in fear from the uncertainty ahead.
Nor do they question the need for a quest.
Learning an internal martial art is an intensely personal adventure.
There will be startling insights, unexpected joy and occasional moments of
genuine fear.
More than you expect
It is a mistake to think that we are just 'fighting' or engaged in
combat training.
We are undertaking something far more significant and meaningful.
To appreciate our training you must gain a more profound
understanding of
existence.
Tai chi students are required by their art to see a
different world.
A major cognitive shift is necessary.
Everything changes.
A spiritual life
There is something simple and wholesome about a life spent cultivating
grace, awareness and
calm.
It is an almost monastic existence.
You practice, study, contemplate,
meditate, experience insights and you
learn continually.
What's the point?
Training the internal arts is an endeavour that will
enrich your life.
You will experience:
These qualities will affect your
everyday life and enable you
to live more fully and consciously.
Additionally, self defence skills will help to provide a sense of ease and
harmony in a culture filled with conflict and adversity.
Not a beginner...?
You may have some degree of natural power.
However, it is unlikely that you really put it to good use in your life.
Most students who have been training for a while are in the same situation.
They are too strong to be considered a 'beginner' but not technically skilled
enough to be considered a kung fu student. The student is indulging in learned
helplessness.
Basics
To break from limbo the student needs to become skilled at the
beginners grade.
Do the assignments. They are easy and short.
Perform section 1 of the Long Yang form accurately enough for it to be martially
viable in the long-term.
Acquire some skill with pushing hands, partner work and
qigong.
The Way and Its Power
The rare beginner realises that great
power is at their fingertips.
They recognise that the ancient Taoist books are
science manuals containing incredible
knowledge...
The question is: what are they going to do about it?
Some students just talk. Others
train harder.
What are your options?
A student has only 5 options:
Plod
Stay put
Deteriorate
Quit
We encourage everyone
to choose option 1...
But we refuse to motivate you. Our job is to
instruct, not to coach.
Sifu Waller is not a personal trainer.
The long haul
The study of the internal arts is the work of a lifetime.
And so he sets off on a path to mysterious destinations.
He does so in spite of observations by others that such a way is naïve, outmoded
or idealistic. He goes because he knows others have gone before, because the
unchanging direction of the way attracts and calls to him.
He goes because he is compelled. He sets out on a journey of a lifetime because
he senses that this way is the one to lead him to a place very much worth the
going.
(Dave Lowry)
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
04 May 2023
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