New learners don’t need to get bogged down with the
Taijiquan’s high philosophy. Especially during the early stages of one’s
training journey where it is too
profound and complex to be applied in any practical way. Being able to recite
the system’s advanced theories and repeat parrot-fashion whole verses from the
Taijiquan classics means nothing if it is not supported by sustained training
so that a person can physically manifest the principles of Taijiquan.
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| Wang Xian: "You must train past your body's normal limits". |
How intense should this training be? The following
quote by Wang Xian makes his opinion quite clear: “Taiji training is very hard.
You must train past your body’s normal limits – many times past these normal
limits. Normal training just will not do. You need to push”. In a previous post
I noted Chen Xiaoxing’s advice to one of his student’s in Chenjiagou “not to
underestimate the importance of hard physical training”.
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| Tian Jingmiao: "It's all a matter of repetition". |
Some years ago we trained in Beijing’s Purple
Bamboo Park with Tian Jingmiao, a disciple of the renowned Beijing based Chen
Taijiquan teacher Lei Muni. She said that, “Practice is simply a matter of repetition, the more you do the better you
get”. To incrementally increase the level of both intellectual
understanding and physical skill we must work through the different stages of
training in a logical manner. There is a saying that all
practice must be done “according to the
principles”. The principles
start with the fundamental requirements. Then, on this foundation, learners
advance in a step-by-step manner towards the higher levels of skill. To use a
modern analogy: “learning Taijiquan
is like installing a computer with hardware and software in order to improve
its capability. The hardware increases
the physical capacity of the computer, making it stronger
and more functional. The software, on the other hand, performs the functions of the hardware and increases the number of functions. In order for a computer to perform increasingly complex
tasks, it is necessary to continually upgrade both the hardware and the
software. Taijiquan requires an exponent
to possess a strong and useful body – the hardware, as well as trained skills –
the software”.
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| Chen Zhaopi |
An
article by Wang Xian recalled a favourite verse that Chen Zhaopi liked to sing:
Right
now I am old, but I can still stick to the floor.
I
want someone who can be my successor.
Even
with sweat pouring out everywhere, I am happy.”
