… Bored?

Boredom is one of those strange things we fear so much we’ll do some of the craziest things to avoid it, especially as children. I’ve met a lot of people who would really benefit from practicing tai chi but won’t give it a try. Often times they think it’ll be too boring. Yet I don’t know anyone who has stuck with it who finds it boring.

There are so many details in tai chi’s slow movements that you just can’t focus on all of them at the same time. We can only focus well on one thing at a time. After you’ve focused on one detail long enough that it becomes almost automatic, then you can focus on the next detail.

Master Cui Zhongsan, my master, is still working on the details after almost 60 years of practice. To me this is what makes tai chi so interesting, not to mention how good it makes me feel. So if you’re one of those rare people who love to be bored stay away from tai chi, because you’ll never quite get to the place of boredom.

When I work with a student I never give them more than a few details. Once they have those, there are plenty more to come. Every time I work with my teacher or my master I’m given new details to work on. Sometimes they’re new details only because I’ve forgotten them, but that’s a different story all together.

“The secret in boring people lies in telling them everything.” - Voltaire

Bye for now,

John

P.S. I found this picture on Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/jamelah/583341746/

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