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| A student's role in the first stage is to watch the teacher carefully and try to replicate what they see. |
Physical Mastery - The first stage is where the foundations are
laid. Foundations that, depending upon their depth and integrity, will
determine the ultimate height a person can reach in their practice. In
Taijiquan, on the physical level mastery of form is the bottom line requirement
of training. By form we’re talking about the development of correct postural
integrity and movement patterns, rather than the memorising and collecting of multiple
routines. Whether the discipline being trained is Taijiquan, Karate,
calligraphy or tea ceremony, the traditional way of passing on skill is highly
structured. Teachers serve to provide a model form. A student’s role is to
watch the teacher’s every movement carefully and then try their best to
replicate it. Through almost endless repetition the physical forms will
eventually be internalised. In the words of Buddhist scholar and Aikido master,
the late Taitetsu Unno (1929-2014): “Words are seldom spoken and explanations
are rare; the burden of learning is on the student.” Learners who have never trained with
traditional teachers often rail against the idea of training without being
allowed to discuss and talk about every movement they are asked to do. But it
is important, as the great philosopher Confucius said, “…not to mistake
eloquence for substance.”
The foundation laid down in the
first stage is solid ground we can push off from, a root from which real skill
can develop. Students who are stuck in their own minds either through ego or a
lack of confidence in the method never get to lay down the necessary base. In
his treatise Cultivating the Dao,
Daoist master Liu Yiming (1734-1821) explained: “Foundations” means having an actual ground, a root. People do not
succeed in attaining the Dao because of their egoism and selfhood… When there
are egoism and selfhood, you are filled with a selfish mind and cannot walk on
an actual ground… a hundred obstacles obstruct the way, at every step you find
obstacles and hindrances and in every pursuit you get stuck in the mud… Our
ancestral masters taught that one should first of all lay the foundations for
refining oneself. This is because they wanted us to perform the whole practice
from an actual ground, in order to rise from what is below to what is above,
and to reach the deep from the shallow using the operation of gradual progress.”
In this first stage then, the criteria
are precise, stringent and progressive. Taijiquan students have been passed
down a systematic map of a training process that must be deeply embedded.
Psychological Mastery
Eventually and paradoxically the learner
is freed from the constraints of the form through mastery of it. Accepting and
committing to follow a repetitive and little-changing training routine for an
extended time inevitably leads to certain internal psychological changes.
Remembering the time he spent with his own teacher, Taijiquan master Zhu
Tiancai said: “These fourteen years consisted of repetitively training the
principles of Taijiquan. Training in this way can often be monotonous and
grinding and you come to realise the path is long and there is no end point.” It
is this very monotony and grind that examines the student’s commitment and
willpower, while simultaneously tempering the character. By falling in line
with the process, they become calmer and stoic and accepting of the requirements
of the task at hand. Imperceptibly, from the earliest stages of training,
negative traits such as impatience, stubbornness and pridefulness are polished away.
As time passes this consistent
training rids the body and mind of bad habits, and bit by bit a practitioner’s real
strength, character and potential begin to emerge.
Real confidence and self-belief
are key differentiating factors between a successful or unsuccessful outcome
when facing a strong opponent. It can be tempting to suppose that the high
level of self-belief demonstrated by top class practitioners is something they
are born with. For sure every individual is different and some seem more
confident than others from an early age. But often it is a trait that has
developed over years as a person senses their increased physical and technical capabilities.
The words of fourteenth generation Chen Taijiquan master Chen Changxing leave
no doubt about the importance of balancing physical and psychological aspects: “To get the upper hand in fighting, look around
and examine the shape of the ground. Hands must be fast, feet light. Examine
the opponent’s movements like a cat. Mind must be organised and clear… If hands
arrive and body also arrives [at the same time], then destroying an enemy is like
crushing a weed.”
Spiritual Mastery
Spiritual mastery is inseparable
from psychological mastery but is only set in motion after an intensive and
lengthy period of training. Speaking of the different levels of progression in
Taijiquan Chen Xiaoxing explained: “Taijiquan can be considered in three stages.
In the first stage, the aim of training is predominantly for improving physical
fitness. In the intermediate stage, the purpose is for developing the ability
to attack and defend. At the highest level, the main emphasis of practice is
self-cultivation.” At the heart of this self-cultivation is a search for
naturalness and spontaneity, leaving behind predetermined responses and being
able to respond exactly as required. Physical skills have been honed to the
highest possible degree and, reaching this level, an individual trusts their
responses completely. This free expression of one’s capabilities is only possible
when the ego has been subsumed. Mistakes come when we over-think or hesitate. Taitetsu Unno also said: “One becomes
vulnerable when one stops to think about winning, losing, taking advantage,
impressing or disregarding the opponent. When the mind stops, even for a single
instant, the body freezes, and free, fluid movement is lost… Ultimately,
physical, psychological and spiritual mastery are one and the same.”
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| Chenjiagou Chen Family Temple image - naturally and spontaneously responding as the situation demands... |
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