Page 27 - Simplifying T'ai Chi Rev3 2017

Chapter 4 Your T'ai Chi Teacher 29

there to learn but your teacher loves to teach and learn.
Do not hesitate to query why a move should be made in a particular way or why a
hand or a leg should be placed in just this position and not in another. The answer
probably lies in the application of that move in a combat situation and often this is
disguised by the slow and apparently meaningless action of the form.
It is not the intention in this book to delve into these deeper aspects, but your
teacher should be capable of justifying the rights and wrongs of a particular
posture. A bonus of understanding a little of the original intent of the movement is
that you will achieve better posture and an additional mental trigger to help you
remember the move.
Bear in mind too that it can often be difficult for a teacher to project him/herself into
the mind of the learner, but your teacher should always empathise with you, and
you with your teacher. Mutual respect and adaptivity to your needs are essential,
and become even more important when teaching/learning T'ai Chi as an aid to
health and well-being.

At first I take up T'ai Chi as a hobby,
Gradually I become addicted to it,
Finally I can no longer get rid of it.
I must keep practising for my whole life
- it is the only way to preserve health.
The more I practise, the more I want to learn
from teachers and books.
The more I learn, the less I feel I know.
The theory and philosophy of T'ai Chi is so profound and abtruse!
I must continue for ever and ever....
It is the only way to improve and better myself.

T.T. Liang (Liang Tung-Tsai, 1900-2002)

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