Newcomer's
come expecting all sorts of things from Tai Chi.
Many have expectations of 'weird' physical sensation.
I don't knock this, it is understandable and indeed
I would suppose that 'connecting' with some other
power (able to leap tall buildings with a single
bound etc.) was one of the things that I hoped
for from Tai Chi myself, maybe even yearned for.
I suppose that was so, but I have forgotten now.
My observations since is that those who expect
the most are always the most disappointed, and
those that practice the most are those most satisfied
and surprised! The visualization associated with
'Beginning' is "the Sun rising slowly above
the horizon" and the purpose of practice
is to train the body to react instinctively and
without thinking or at least without calculation
of gain or loss. The Sun comes up, the Sun goes
down. The Moon comes up and the Moon goes down.
That's it!
The
use of various aids to practice in the form
of visualizations is valid as that - cue or
prompt, however the practitioner is advised
to remain fully aware of 'what is' and does
well to remember the Zen adage that "When
the finger points at the moon; contemplate the
moon, not the finger".
Trivial
aids set low aims yet complicated rules are
impossible to follow. The Middle Way is recommended
and in Budo Martial Code the phrase that points
to this is (simply) "Walk the Path"
(Do not yearn to be on some other path).
The
prominence of Zen and Taoism in Budo Martial
Arts practice must be recognized as highly influential.
Between them (noting also that they are each
product of different times and separate cultures)
Zen and Taoism effectively cover the extreme's
of nonchalance and hostility with regard to
"outside form".
The
Ancients had it that the sequence of postures
and the associated 'visualizations' of any and
all Tai Chi Form ought not ever be written down.
Time has eroded that ideal, but Tai Chi is not
unique in its need to adapt to this changing
world. Before you right now is "me talking
about Tai Chi", this time using the web;
one of the thousands of 'new' novel and challenging
ways of getting in touch with each other that
technology unrolls endlessly before us these
days. None of these new fangle tools of communication
should really compromise or threaten Tai Chi
anymore than all that has gone before, because
like before, they make no difference or have
no effect upon the 'spirit' of Tai Chi which
exists far beyond words and closer to visions.
