| Interview Grasping Opportunities When they
Arise
– interviewed by Instructor Lis
Does luck play a part in our lives? Is our course predetermined? Is it a matter of
grasping opportunity when it is presented? The decisions we make and the decisions others
make can have far reaching and inconceivable effects upon us.Three years ago, Brian’s
father wanted to try Tai Chi. His interest stemmed partly from a general desire to try new
things and partly to improve his health. He took Brian along to a Beginners’ class in
Isabella Plains. Dave was the instructor.
Perfect timing! For Brian, it was a revelation. Two weeks earlier, he’d quit a highly
stressful job after five years of increasing tension. Coupled with that was a traumatic
split from his girlfriend. Brian knew something had to give and preferred it wasn’t
him. Changes had to be made.
Having trained with a Tae Kwon Do school as a child and having also done a little karate,
Brian wanted to avoid the competitive and underlying aggression promoted by the hard style
martial arts academies. In that respect, Tai Chi was very appealing – no tests, no
gradings, no fighting.The holistic nature of the art appealed to him, in particular the
Qigong. Brian had never done any meditation before. The introduction of this practice into
his life could not have come at a better time. Luck? Or was Brian able to recognise and
take full advantage of the chance when it was offered?
Although attending only one class per week, he
practised every day and within a couple of weeks, noticed immense changes in his mental
well-being. By the end of that first term, his friends noticed how much more relaxed and
positive he was.
Physically, Brian had always been fit and healthy, having been
involved in sport all his life. However, he realises, in hindsight, that
his body was incredibly tense at that time. For this reason, the
coordination was initially difficult for him. I suggested his other
martial arts training may have helped with that but he said, “In Tae
Kwon Do, they talk about using the hips but don’t look at the precise
coordination of body to arms. There is no connection between the upper
and lower body so there is no force properly generated. Tai Chi
coordination and weight transfer
 is
much subtler." He mentioned he was flexible when he started but his
other coordination wasn’t good. We discussed the importance of practice
and he agreed that he was predisposed to practise diligently because he
had done other sports which required individuals to train alone. For
example, when he played cricket, he would set up a single stump and
spend hours bowling at it. The massive upheaval in his life, personal and
professional, was mid 1999. Now Brian is attending Refinement class at Wanniassa and
practising four or five days per week. He learned the Tai Chi Sabre form last year. The
house he rents has a patio that is perfect for Tai Chi training. He said that when he
eventually buys his own place, he will design a special Tai Chi area.
Half way through 2001, Brian decided to try the Chinese Internal Martial Arts course
offered by the Academy. Because of his early experience of hard styles, he was interested
to explore the soft internal training techniques. He also wanted to take his practice and
understanding of Tai Chi to a higher level through the martial arts training. The previous
training he had done in hard styles had approached the particular art as a sport, with
little reference to the spiritual or philosophical aspects.
The traditional internal training techniques employed are very physically demanding
particularly in regard to leg strength. Brian, when he began at 28, found he was less
flexible than he thought but his body is changing through the training. His coordination
and awareness have vastly improved and he is able to transfer that knowledge and
improvement to his Tai Chi form.
He thinks though that as his body becomes stronger, his mind is not keeping pace with the
change. In other words, he must do a lot more practice to realise the power he is
developing. If the connection between legs, waist and arms is not precise, force is lost.
Slow practice is the key to developing this very accurate link - hours of practice over a
long span of time. He knows he doesn’t really do enough practice but there are other
things in his life, e.g. his job, a stress free new one he likes, and friends.
But Brian is enjoying the whole experience. At every class, Martial Arts or Tai Chi, he
learns something new and challenging. He has learnt a great deal about his body, how it
behaves under conditions of physical stress, how to maintain correct posture. Some of his
friends have come along to Tai Chi, having seen the results in Brian. If his father
hadn’t asked Brian to go with him to that first class, or if he’d said “No
thanks, I’m too depressed,” how much more different, less rich would his life be
today? Was it luck or is Brian the sort of person who makes his own opportunities in life?
I think the latter.
(This is an actual interview, but the name has been changed for reasons of privacy.)
●
What is Wu
Dao Gong, Natural Style Kung Fu? ●
Interview
with Fei Wang
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