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Shanti School of Internal Martial Arts
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Taijiquan and changes in perception of teacher and student
By Tim Richard
Taijiquan is much more than learning a martial art style or practicing self health care. Tai chi helps you gather the energy to achieve your goals in life. Most dedicated practitioners know that by doing tai chi they are seeking knowledge and clarity that they can carry over into other aspects of life. They are not just doing taijiquan, they are learning to know themselves better and fostering greater well-being so that they can influence the direction life takes.
By practicing tai chi, blocked energy (Chinese call it "chi") is released, allowing you to cultivate that newly available energy for facing life’s challenges and coming out of them more empowered. As a result, you become more adept in the art of life, as well as martial art.
A hallmark of tai chi training is to reach a point where you are most poised to absorb new knowledge. Usually, comprehension comes incrementally according to what you are prepared to take in—physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. Most of us must rely on our teachers to show us how to cultivate this potential on one’s own. Qualified teachers can make a big difference in how this unfolds in your practice. A good teacher understands intimately this milestone of internal martial art learning because they understand the core aspects of tai chi from in-depth training and self-discipline that it takes to learn the most subtle principles. If they don’t, it will be obvious.
I respect my teachers, George Xu and Susan Matthews, who obviously have cultivated a valuable amount of discipline and humility to advance as martial artists. I see in their forms hours of intense training and self-discovery. They are like sounding boards for me to measure my own progress. Both have cultivated a lot of energy and they are unique in freely sharing knowledge and enthusiasm.
Taijiquan really is more than just learning a form. What you learn in tai chi helps you to cultivate greater reverence for life and for the earth, and have a more-abiding respect for others, and to make better choices for making the world a gentler place to live. If I wanted to throw myself into a challenging situation, then I think that tai chi is a good way to do it.
© 7/10/2006