John’s Tai-Blog @ Camp Tai ChiTai Chi and anything I can relate to Tai Chi … like life

I love the snow flakes analogy, and as we believe that no two snow flakes are the same, the principles that make up the fakes are the same, even with the differences of their form, they are still fundamentally “snow flakes”.

Sheldon,

Good catch, the fundamentals of tai chi are always to same, regardless of how we individually look when we move. There is always more than one way to get to the same place.

Merry Christmas,
John

Hi John,
I’ve always been interested in the different ways that tai chi masters move even when they’ve grown up together and studied together as children and teenagers. Take the Four Tigers of the Chen Village, including Chen Xiaowang and Chen Zhenglei. They do the Laojia Yilu form very differently, and yet they are cousins and had the same teachers most of the time. The snow flake analogy also applies here.

I’ve been told that when you study tai chi, you are an artist. You learn the basic strokes and techniques, and then you apply your own personality and creativity to the art. But at the core, the principles of quality are the same.

My experience in tai chi is that no two people perform the same, but most people I’ve met haven’t even been taught the basic strokes. This is especially true in the Yang tai chi taught in America. I studied Yang for over a decade and within an hour of meeting a good Chen instructor, realized everything I had learned was empty and of extremely low quality. My Yang teacher had told us he was a master, and I believed him. Thousands of American tai chi students are in the same situation. Most don’t know it, and those who are told often deny it, because they’ve invested money and developed an emotional attachment to their teacher.

In the years since I took up Chen style, I’ve met many other tai chi people, some who have studied and taught for 20 years, but have no concept of internal body mechanics. Most of these people were Yang students. When I’ve shown them, the reaction is always the same — like a light bulb illuminating their eyes. Usually these have been simple things like ground path and peng jin, or a simple fighting application using proper body mechanics. Most have no idea what whole-body movement is, and few have studied silk-reeling properly (I was first told to imagine your chi spiraling through your body, which is totally wrong).

So, while I never want to be critical of others or other styles (I do think there are some quality Yang people out there but the typical YMCA or storefront teacher isn’t one of them) I think it’s important to try to bring quality internal mechanics to the attention of those who aren’t learning it (most often, their teachers, who they consider masters, don’t know this information).

Ken

Ken,

You make a good point about most tai chi taught around the world, not just in the US. If you travel to China and play tai chi in any given park, sooner or later someone claiming to be a master will approach you wanting to teach you the “right way”, whether they know it or not.

I think the main reason most of the poor quality tai chi you’ve seen is Yang, is because Yang Style is the most common style at this time. I’ve too have witnessed low quality with Chen Style tai chi.

Sometimes poor tai chi is a problem and sometimes it isn’t. When someone wants nothing more than better balance or better health, then they can learn tai chi that is more likened to chi kung and has no real martial intent or functionality and receive considerable physical benefits. I’ve witnessed this a number of times with students who don’t really understand the movements, and can’t quite seem to grasp them, yet experience significant and real physical improvement.

Here in the US teachers often proclaim themselves masters after a mere 10 years of study. The Chinese are considerably more humble. My Master allowed himself to be referred to as a master here in the US only after my teacher pointed out to him that he would be around Americans calling themselves masters, masters with considerably less than a 1/4 of his experience. He disliked being called master despite the fact he had long been considered a master in China, and by the way he still prefers that his Chinese students call him teacher.

Master Cui has taught me that you never stop learning if you are to learn real tai chi. There are always refinements and self-corrections to be made; to make your tai chi more effective, to remain loose with structure; to be constantly vigilant that every appropriate part of your body begins and ends each form in unison.

Thanks for such a great and detailed comment. I also think it’s very good that you prefer not to be critical of others or their styles.

John

P.S. If you’d like to learn more out Sifu Gullette here’s a link: http://internalarts.typepad.com/ken_gullettes_internal_ma/2009/12/another-chi-master-preys-on-the-weakminded.html

I study Wu style and find that many versions exist as well(not all of which is high quality) but as my Si Kung says (helps if you imagine a heavy chinese accent): “Bad tai chi is better than no tai chi.” I think what he means by that is that if we are all seeking the same goals than we should support each other, regardless of style or title. When I attended a seminar in Toronto a few years back with some real masters from various styles (Yang, Chen, etc), I saw that there are more things that unite our styles than make them different (no surprise given the lineage). Unfortunately, as Ken pointed out, a new student cannot tell the difference between a quality teacher and the rest. That’s why teachers from different styles and from different types of martial arts should support each other. I have seen many students come and go and know that tai chi is not for everyone. Maybe another martial art would suit them better. If I am aware of a high quality teacher in another style, then I would refer the student to them.

Something else that I once heard from my Si Kung was :”When someone who doesn’t know tai chi sees you doing the form, they will say your form is so beautiful, when someone who is experienced in the martial aspects of tai chi sees your form, they will say your form is so powerful”.
So in the spirit of your snowflake analogy, each snowflake is delicate and beautiful but the accumulation of all of those snowflakes will create a powerful avalanche indeed. That is why practice is essential and why we will always be but beginners in tai chi.

Claude

Claude,

Very well put. I don’t think I have anything I can add to your comment.

Thanks,
John