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| Steal my art | ||
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Steal my art
Stuart Alve Olsen’s book Steal My Art is about his experiences
learning tai chi from T T Liang.
Liang would not simply give the art away to people.
He expected his students to be like thieves: sneaky, cunning, observant and
resourceful.
Sifu Waller uses this same attitude.
We provide detailed lessons, a website and handouts. But these things do not
contain the complete art.
Traditionalist
Traditionally, in China a martial arts instructor was very reluctant to take on
new students. How come? If the student's skills were inadequate it
would directly reflect on the teacher.
On a mild level, this made the teacher look incompetent and affected their
reputation. More seriously, it could mean that the teacher would be put to
death for failing in their responsibility.
Consequently, traditional tuition tended to be harsh and severe. The
teacher hammered the student and adhered strictly to Confucian terseness.
Awkward teacher?
Sifu Waller's teacher was Peter Southwood.
Peter was a difficult man to learn from.
He used the traditional approach of teaching tai chi; which relied
upon the student's ability to observe what was occurring.
Fortunately, Sifu Waller had over a decade of martial arts and body work
experience behind him when he started learning from Peter.
Observant
The method of teaching Peter employed required the student to be very
attentive, and he would not
discuss any topic until you had identified it
within his practice.
Although not many people had the patience and determination to steal his
art, Peter ensures that those who did were extremely observant.
Unless your commitment to
the art was sincere, you would not be capable of
taking his fighting skills for yourself.
Learning how to teach
It is important for an instructor to
understand the art well enough
so that they can perform if effortlessly themselves and also be capable of
dismantling it so that someone else can reach that ability level.
Sifu Waller passed a post-graduate teacher training course in order to
understand how to teach.
There is so much more to teaching than being able to do the material
yourself.
You must be capable of breaking the material down.
The syllabus needs to be offered piece by piece so that the
knowledge grows
incrementally and the student can understand it for themselves.
I do not enlighten those who are not eager
to learn, nor arouse those who are not quick to give an explanation
themselves.
If I have presented one corner of the square and they cannot come back to me
with the other three, I should not go over the points again.
(Confucius)
Reading is no substitute for practice
Many students read a lot about
the art on-line or in
books.
They mistakenly believe that reading equals skill.
This is like Neo in the film The Matrix... martial
arts
skills are downloaded into his
brain, but could his body perform the
skills in real life?
No. Muscle memory,
nervous system, perception,
balance, rhythm, timing, pace,
range, reach,
sensitivity, listening,
stickiness...
These vital consideration/skills are only
understood through sustained long-term
physical practice.
Real life experience.
Black belt 'graduation' mentality
The general public seem to regard the black belt as being some sort
of martial arts graduation.
This is a misconception.
At best, a 1st dan black belt martial arts student could be thought of as 'experienced'
- no longer a
beginner, but far from expert.
This graduation mentality is naive in the extreme.
Martial arts students who begin studying black belt material are at
the foothills of advanced practice, having completed the
lower grades.
There is no graduation.
Study and practice cease when you are too infirm to continue.
Skill cannot be bought
Paying money for lessons does not mean that you are learning
tai chi.
It means that you are paying for lessons.
And nothing more than that.
Learning is different from attending.
If students cannot remember what they have been taught, they should make
their own notes in lessons.
Skill cannot be given
It is common for a student to ask for more and more detail.
They want web pages that explain every nuance and subtlety, that elaborate
upon each minutiae of practice.
Essentially, they want you to give the art to them. It does not and cannot
work this way. Your body performs the fighting
skills.
Your body makes the art manifest.
Nobody can give this to you. It must be taken.
A cunning thief...
A dedicated student aims to steal their master's art.
This is akin to
acquiring a trade secret.
Only by taking
responsibility for their own learning can a student hope to
learn the true depth of the art.
To quote Loy Ching Yuen:
Why is the root of
wisdom so deep?
Because it must be planted in our lives.
The road to the precious capital is not for the inattentive.
Fast-track
The best opportunity to steal the art lies with 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.
Sifu's indoor experience
Sifu Waller attended Peter Southwood's regular class, workshops,
weekly private lessons (500) for 25 years and additional indoor sessions. He
really sought to steal his teacher's art.
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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