My Tai Chi teacher, Li Lian, often talks about his early training years with the late maestro Wu Tu-nan. Mr. Li started at the age of 16, an age for a youth to be a bit boisterous, impatient and showy. He used to practice the form in a rather flamboyant manner, fast, exaggerated with load of frills. Grandmaster Wu used to tease him by commenting, ''In my opinion, your Tai Chi form should be called 'flowery Tai Chi'''. He went on to explain to Li Lian that learning Tai Chi is far more than just learning the external form. ''You have to learn to be still first, then contemplate, and finally practice it''.
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| My teacher, Li Lian |
To me, mental stillness is much harder to achieve then physical stillness. Most people cannot sit still because their mind doesn't allow them to. A lot of western Tai Chi students find it extremely hard to practice the pole stance (standing still) because they find it extremely boring to do it. A lot of people have to be doing something during their waking hours (if not related to working); as a result they make themselves busy all the time often doing rather meaningless activities (such as watching rubbish on TV or excessive shopping). It reminds me of a mule with a blinker driven around a stone mill. A beast of labour has no choice, but we do have choices. Too often I hear students moaning, 'I'm too busy I have no time for practice'. But busy with what? I bet if we all scrutinize our daily activities, we'll be able to find at least 50% of them unnecessary. We are simply in the habit of performing them because busyness and noises are what constitute life for most of us. A mind that is always buzzing cannot possibly be contemplative because it is always focusing outward. To be contemplative, one has to turn the attention of the mind within, gazing inward; but this won't happen until we've learned to stop to feel compelled by our need to be doing all the time. Once the mind has stopped spinning around, it becomes contemplative and fresh understandings will spring forward of their own accord.
My teacher Li Lian always stresses the importance of applying 'listening' while practicing Tai Chi form. In my personal experience, performing a form is like singing a song, a song without words or sound; but instead of singing with your voice, you're singing it with your postures, your Yi and Chi. You cannot feel your Chi unless your mind is quiet and you listen attentively inward.
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| Li Lian in his youth with great maestro Wu Tu -nan |
When it comes to the actual practice itself, some teachers say the more the better. But to me, practicing the form once with full attention and acute listening is better than practicing it dozens of time with a busy mind and mechanical repetition with not gaining any fresh understanding along the way.
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