Are we breeding a generation of "taiji bums"?

Just finished reading an excellent article called Mastering Taijiquan by Yang stylist Sam Masich, where he writes of "a generation of taiji bums; enthusiasts seeking out patchwork solutions as they study odds and sods from various sources to gain some semblance of a full curriculum".
 
Masich's article passionately calls for practitioners to return to the discipline of "full curriculum" training.  While this will inevitably vary within different schools and disciplines, within Chen Taijiquan it would typically include:

- Zhan Zhuang (Standing Post)
- Chansigong (Silk-Reeling Exercises)
- Taolu (Handforms)
- Wuqi (Weapons -divided into long and short weapons)
- Tuishou (Push Hands)
- Applications

 Each element of the curriculum shares a unifying set of movement and structural principles. Practised in its entirity the syllabus produces fully rounded martial artists - strong and fluid, rooted and agile, calm and at the same time alert.  By the time a student works through all the handforms, long and short weapons, push hands drills etc he posseses an extensive body of material. Perhaps there is too much information available today as students flit from style to style, missing the traditional idea of immersion within a chosen discipline. Or perhaps it signals a lack of confidence or belief in the system one is training in. Within Chenjiagou Taijiquan who are the most admired practitioners - Chen Xiaowang, Wang Xian, Chen Xiaoxing, Zhu Tiancai, Chen Zhenglei, Chen Zhiqiang, Chen Bing etc etc etc... - each the product of confidently and exclusively following the traditional syllabus.

The Four Essential Elements of Martial Skill

During a seminar in Poland last year Chen Xiaoxing told one of the participants not to underestimate the importance of external physical training.  Many modern Taiji players think only in terms of internal energy, qi, quietness etc.  Vital as these are, they are just part of the equation.  In an article entitled Taiji: Ancient Methods and Modern Science, Chen Ziqiang, spoke of the four key attributes that must be cultivated if an individual is to be successful in combat:

• gongfu
• jishu (knowledge of technique)
• shuzhi (body constitution)
• li liang (physical strength)

It is not possible to fast-track gongfu or fluency with a broad range of techniques.  These aspects are only possible with time and experience.  However, physical strength and body conditioning can be greatly increased in a relatively short time.  Strength training is not a new phenomenon in Taijiquan – just think of the many auxiliary training exercises – pole shaking, heavy weapons training, stance holding etc.  Look at the top masters and ask yourself, as well as being relaxed, calm, balanced etc, are they physically strong or not? If we claim to practice Taijiquan as a martial art then all these aspects must be addressed in our training.  This is no easy feat.  In the words of Chen Ziqiang: 

“It is very rare to find someone who has achieved excellence in all four aspects of gongfu, technique, constitution and strength. In my family, for example, since Taijiquan was created it is said that only Chen Wangting, Chen Changxin and Chen Fake have achieved this.    The rest of us are striving to be as close as we can to this perfection”.

Taiji – Lost in a digital world

Everywhere we are continually bombarded with messages -  twitter, facebook, texts… all of which of course have to be attended to immediately.  In a recent post internet guru Seth Godin highlighted Allison Miller, aged 14 who sends or receives an astonishing 27,000 text messages a month. Broken down that’s about about sixty an hour, every hour she's awake.  In Godin’s own words: “Some say that the problem of our age is that continuous partial attention, this never ending non-stop distraction, addles the brain and prevents us from being productive. Not quite. The danger is not distraction; the danger is the ability to hide”.

Chen Xiaoxing: "Train everyday - if you really want it!"

What has this got to do with Taiji? People today often comfort themselves that the busy pace of life today makes it impossible to train like the teachers trained when they were young in China.  Of course they would like to train more but life is just so busy…  Someone put this to Chen Xiaoxing when we were training in Chenjiagou and he was clearly irritated at the suggestion that things were easier in his time, dismissing the idea out of hand.  He spoke of the back-breaking work they had to do when all farm work had to be done by hand and laughed that even when machinery became available, they were to poor to afford it.  Then came the Cultural Revolution where he toiled in a brick factory. But they still found time to train.  As he put it, most people today work about 8 hours a day.  Beyond that the individual has the choice to do what they want with the time.  Chen Zhaopi, teacher of the “Four Buddha’s Warriors” of Chenjiagou put it very simply saying that: “Besides having the direction of a good teacher, the main criterion is whether the person himself is willing to put in the hard work”.  

Developing skill in the traditional way takes time, patience and perseverance. So turn off your laptop, switch off your mobile phone, log out from your facebook account, stop stalling and get on with the real work!