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Past News Posts

September 2010
By Sifu Calph
On October 22, 2010 at 07:36

One of my favorite writers on tai chi chuan is Adam Hsu who teaches numerous styles of kung-fu in Cupertino, California. He writes that, as students, we should approach our tai chi chuan like babies. It should seem like a mysterious, interesting new world to explore. Our eyes should be fresh, our bodies willing to learn a totally new way to move. Learn to move very differently than our daily lives at work and play.

Also, the form is not just a series of movements to be memorized parrot-like. Rather, it is a tool to learn how to move in a relaxed, natural, and powerful way. The form must be done seriously, like writing Chinese calligraphy. Learning tai chi is like learning how to write. It takes practice of every single stroke before one can write properly and correctly. One posture by one posture. One form by one form. Make every point correct. And, tai chi must be practical: it is analogous to swimming--you must get into the water and move.

Grandmaster Wong has mentioned that one of the reasons why tai chi chuan is such an interesting world to explore is because within this one art is contained many of the techniques that are similar to other softer arts, such as aikido and ju-jitsu.

"No force against force."
"Soft overcomes hard."
 
Perhaps this is why tai chi chuan has been called "The mother of all Martial Arts."