They usually assemble together, hoping that they could change the state of the globe with one hot exhale of carbon dioxide. Do you think they could be the cause of global warming? ... One wonders if they think that their act could decrease world hunger and diminish the threat of global warming. . . . Hmmmm!?
This group reminded us of the Art of War cult. (That is another long post.)
Ruminations and Afterthoughts
So, how many Taiji players do you really know, who could comprehend the technicalities on how this martial art system really works!?
From our observation, the majority of the "Taiji" masses are always concentrating on a few "big picture" technicalities and the final outcome without understanding the true connection between the grand fundamental points.
There are some knowledgeable people who could explain to the newbies on how the fundamentals worked from a ground up perspective.
Then there are the numerous messengers who usually dominate their entire group as the authority and delineate the newbies on how it all works from a top down view in terms of the "imaginary results." . . .
Interestingly, a few of them could barely transform their Taiji experience into their daily life on a 24/7 basis. Humorously, they are the salespeople of the group.
The commonality of the novices is that some of them are studying it for the purpose of finding some level of self-enlightenment. Once the fundamentals are learned (not mastered), they dashed to their favorite social media channels and boost to the world about their neophyte achievement.
Some might get lucky in receiving the benefits from practicing it correctly. The rest of them are just declaring that it does help them without personally specifying the long-term benefits.
The rarity during one's learning of Taiji or any other internal martial arts is to discover the skilled person who could patiently explain to the novices- the connecting "balancing point" between the general perspective and the wide array of specific points with real examples.
The challenge for the "skilled person" is determining whether it is worth his/her time to explain that "balancing point" to them. ... In summary, that skilled person would rather spend time honing their skills in their own private terrain.
The Assessment Points
In any niche, the ratio between the group of messengers-pseudo specialists are greater than the experts. To filter the competent instructors from the masses of amateurs, assess their skills carefully.
Use their advanced students as the measuring gauge. Study if they are able to integrate the attributes of breathing, balancing and rhythm into their practice. Examine if they can stay "relaxed, grounded, centered, calm and whole" in each and all of their movements. Those two grand perspective are what most "current and future" students have always missed.
Following are other assessment points:
- Are the advanced students able to mindful about the principles before ever employing a move?
- Are the advanced students able to stay focused on their movement without being distracted?
- Are the advanced students able to practice in isolation?
- Are the advanced students able to utilize their Taiji skills outside of their practice?
- Are the advanced students able to multi-process within their surroundings ?
The knowledge of identifying what are the relevant factors is what the serious Taiji players are focused on.
The Chief Benefit of Taiji
Building and augmenting the skill of one's mindfulness is the name of the game. The state of mindfulness could enable the desktop strategists to understand certain Chinese strategic classics in a different light.
One could build this unique skill through the practice of integrating the state of relaxation, the state of grounded, the state of centered, the state of calm and the state of being whole through the control of the breath. Regardless of the difficulty, it could be done
The other options to building the skill of mindfulness are: Six Harmonies and Eight Methods System; Aikido; Baguazhang; Xingyiquan, and Yiquan.
It is difficult to learn "real" Taiji in a group setting unless the group is quite serious about it. In most cases, most group setting focuses on the social aspect of the activity. . . . Those who are seriously interested in learning Taiji, should seek a competent instructor who is patiently experienced in teaching them on an one on one basis before ever seeking an expert.
Final Points
So, what is the fallacy? ... The day and the time for Taiji practice does not matter to some serious players. They could practice in isolation or with a group of technical equals who understand the Big Tangible Picture (BTP) behind their practice and will practice with a purpose. One of the most significant traditions that counts is the daily practice of their personal exercises.The importance of timely practice only concerns the serious Taiij players who have studied traditional Chinese medicine.
Side Note
The ultra class experts are usually staying away from the ranked amateurs who have publicized themselves as the true specialists. They isolated themselves from the masses for the purpose of staying focused to their practice to the nth degree. ... In some rare instances, some of these experts usually privately trained their most dedicated students behind the closed doors for the purpose of preserving the essence of the system. ...
The ultra class experts are usually staying away from the ranked amateurs who have publicized themselves as the true specialists. They isolated themselves from the masses for the purpose of staying focused to their practice to the nth degree. ... In some rare instances, some of these experts usually privately trained their most dedicated students behind the closed doors for the purpose of preserving the essence of the system. ...
You could learn more about this topic by visiting the following sites
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- Cook Ding Kitchen (Possesses an outstanding listing of quality Taiji sites)
- The WuShu Centre
- Energy Arts
- Wing Lam Enterprises
- Be not Defeated by the Rain
- Smiling Tiger Martial Arts
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