White T-shirt | ||
Health | ||
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4-tier uniform
There are 4 different levels of uniform in our school. Each corresponds to
the level of training being undertaken:
A student wearing a
white T-shirt is a health
practitioner.
Not a martial student
A student who is getting fitter by training
health material is not a
martial student. They are a health
student.
The student has
nothing to offer but an absolute willingness to follow the teacher's
instructions and direction without question or comments or personal
improvisation.
(Dave Lowry)
Get fit
White T-shirt students need to get
fitter.
They need to develop strength,
stamina, suppleness,
balance, coordination,
connection, agility,
nimbleness and patience.
Most people are not quite as fit as they imagine
themselves to be.
Fight your demons
The biggest obstacle facing a white T-shirt student is their own
ego, opinions,
misconceptions and points of view. Stubbornness,
pride, arrogance,
laziness and naivety must be overcome.
There are no short cuts, no quick fixes, no
favouritism or charity.
Train at home
Training every day at home is the first real
step towards making progress in tai chi. If you do not practice,
how exactly do you plan on becoming skilled?
Tai chi is hard work.
Skill is the outcome of countless hours of
repetitive, habitual, mindful training.
Health student
Many tai chi people are perfectly happy training
tai chi for health.
This is great.
They have made a commitment to their own
wellbeing; an investment in their
future.
Tai chi for
health?
Tai chi for health students continue to wear the
same uniform throughout their training, regardless of how high up the
syllabus they progress.
Martial student?
Students who want to go further and learn taijiquan
need to prove their sincerity by training
hard and working through the
syllabus. Talk and wishful
thinking is not enough.
You may have all sorts of wonderful ideas, what you
consider to be valuable contributions and insights, your own personal take on
matters. Nobody cares. Quite the opposite.
The fastest way to alienate yourself
in a dojo is to make known these ideas or to volunteer your suggestions on how
training might be better or more effective.
(Dave Lowry)
Further reading
•
Are you strong enough?
•
Condition
•
Cross-training in our school
•
Fitness level
•
Full strength
•
Martial arts fitness
Page created
7 March 1998
Last updated
26 January 2020
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