High Standards. We all have them. We all want our student to practice harder, practice more, practice correctly. We have these standards for ourselves, why not for everyone else? After all, they pay us to teach them the Correct Way, right? At what point do we allow our students to just be? 

I struggle with this in each class I teach. I give corrections, watch the transient follow through, then come the next class, the correction is gone and I have to give it again. And sometimes again, and again but nothing changes. And eventually, I get irritated and either stop giving it, or chastise the student for “not listening”. I think the student doesn’t care, or can’t learn, or worse, thinks I am wrong. 

Who am I to define Correct? Sure, I’m a 20th generation disciple of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang, who is widely known as the Standard Bearer of Chen style Taijiquan. I’ve studied taiji for almost 20 years. I have a Duan Wei ranking from the Chinese Wushu Association. But what does all that mean? It only means that I have been willing to put in time for my practice, and that I’m willing to teach others what I know. It doesn’t mean I practice it correctly, all the time, or even part of the time. Sometimes, I don’t practice for days. 

I think as teachers, all we can ask is that the student shows up. We offer to pour tea in their cup, and either they take it or they don’t. If in class their lack of interest or lack of hearing is disruptive to the class, then we may need to address it. I do this, and once it cost me a student. But everyone makes a choice to come to class, to pay the fees, and whatever their reasons, they are there, we should teach them, and what they take away is theirs to take, not ours to demand. 

Great documentary on taijiquan in Chenjiagou featuring Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang

“Making Pesto” is an analogy I used in the intermediate laojia yilu class tonight. I was trying to elucidate the idea of sinking into the lower body, or “sitting in the hips” during the transitions. The hip joint should move like a mortar and pestle, maintaining strong contact through the range of motion, without rising up or separating. An analogy only, since of course the hip joint shouldn’t really be separating anyway. 

We practiced this through a couple of moves. The question arose about how best to practice this technique. The tale of Chen Fake doing 30 rounds of laojia yilu a day has been a topic of conversation lately, and the thought of “making pesto” through all 70 something moves x 30 reps was a bit intimidating. 

So how to practice? 

I played classical piano from age 3 to age 20. I was a very serious student - I was told I could have really gone somewhere with my talent (but I chose a different path). I can easily compare practicing piano to practicing taiji.

Scales, and pieces. Silk reeling, and form. Basics, and flow. 

My signature piece was Fantaisie Impromptu by Chopin - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantaisie-Impromptu- an exceedingly difficult piece that I happened to play very well. For many years I practiced this piece, and for as many years, I practiced scales, over and over, and over. I never could have mastered this piece without the practice of scales. And it wasn’t like I practiced scales for a while, then mastered the piece, and never had to practice scales again. I always had to practice scales. At the same time, I had to play the entire piece, over and over, and over. It wasn’t like I played it a few times, and mastered it. I always had to play the whole thing, many times. 

It’s like that with taiji. Practice the silk reeling, flow the form. Practice the moves, flow the form. Work the technique, flow the form.

You have to do both. That’s how you move toward mastery. 

We have Grandmasters and Masters, 19th generation and 20th generation, friends and family dropping in to teach at the Taoist Sanctuary this year! 

• April 12-15 Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing
• July 10 - 16 Master Chen Ziqiang
• August 10-12 David Gaffney and Davidine Viaw-Soon Sim
• September -  Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang
• November -  Stephan Berwick

Something for everyone! Don’t miss any of all of these great opportunities to learn Chen style Taijiquan from the Chen family and their 20th generation disciples. 

Special offering in March - Qi Gong with Ken Cohen, one of the world’s foremost experts on Taoism and Qi Gong. This will be offered as a 6 week evening seminar on Tuesdays at 7pm. Starts March 6th. Space is limited so sign up early! 

Follow us to keep up with the latest offerings—check out our webpage for more information on seminars and classes. 

http://www.taoistsanctuary.org

discoverynews:

Stunning Images of Rare Albino Hummingbird

These beautiful shots of an extremely rare albino ruby-throated hummingbird were taken by two teens and two preteens.

keep reading

Here’s the thing about taiji. You can practice it for a lifetime! It lends itself well to practice for health, martial ability, strength training, relaxation, and old age. You can practice superficially and enjoy, or you can go into the deepest examination of each and every move and revel in the complexity. 

Taiji has kept me busy for 18 years, and I expect to continue down this road until I am no longer able. 

Everything is everywhere in the form. Once you realize that, then you make the choice to think about either everything or nothing. But you can’t choose to think about nothing if you don’t understand this.

The universe makes perfect sense, if you know how to read it.