Tai Chi Chuan Instructor has Never had a Lesson in Tai Chi!
I began my study of tai chi with a book, Lee Ying Arng Modified Tai Chi for Health. I spent hours a night memorizing the form, trying to figure out the applications, trying to figure out what it all meant. And, it didn’t mean much.
So I went through Chen Man Ching, and Chen and Yang and Wu and Sun, but they all spoke this gobbledegook that didn’t make sense. So I began doing my Karate, I had near ten years experience in karate, and the thing started making sense. I was using karate power to wake up the form, and it worked, and then I was able to translate what was happening into Tai Chi power.
More important, I was neglecting all the mysticism and bushwah philosophy in the books and using physics. The martial arts, you see, as taught through the oriental method, are taught through the memorization of random strings of data. In physics you look for a reason, and a logic, and that will lead you to a concept.
Now, ancient stories claim tai chi was created in a dream by san feng after he watched a bird and a snake fight. Or, it was started by a general in a village, who was retired from war and wanted to make up games for the children. Neither of these concepts have much verifiable validity, but we can’t just discount them out of hand.
Maybe the general in Chen village couldn’t do the martial arts the way they should be done, and maybe he actually came up with something unique. And the vision of the snake and the crane, though I am a true believer in physics I would not speak ill of visions, for visions are the dreams and inspiration of the human race. Still, whether rehabilitation of the broken warrior, or the stuff of dreams, tai chi does not make sense without the application of physics.
So this is what I want you to do, I want you to get a book on physics. Make it a simple kids book, simple pictures for illustrations, that sort of thing. It would really help if it was aimed at describing a motor.
Now, go over that book, and make lists of the terms are the same as in tai chi chuan. Rooting is grounding, what are these things called leads, where is the generator, and so on. Do that, and when the deep innards of your tai chi chuan start to reposition, do not come complaining to me.
Al Case has studied martial arts 4O years. He began Tai Chi Chuan in 1974, became a writer for the mags in 1981, and originated Matrixing Technolgy, which is the study of physics in the martial arts. You can get a free ebook on Matrixing at Monster Martial Arts.
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