| Interview
I Simply Enjoy It!
– interviewed by Instructor Lis
“I don’t know why I started Tai Chi lessons. I think I
woke up one morning and thought ‘I’ll go to Tai Chi.’ Then I couldn’t
wait for the term to start.”
Don brought his mother along last year — Term 3, 2003 — although it
wasn’t the first time for either of them. He remembers attending
classes with both parents when he was about eight. That didn’t last
much more than a term but the memory lingered. The fact that he’d
really enjoyed the experience must have remained somewhere buried in his
mind until, at the age of twenty-two, it suddenly resurfaced.
No physical injuries or problems triggered the urge to start classes.
Although his job in IT support at the Defence Department is reasonably
hectic, Don doesn’t cite stress as a reason either. He did mention,
however, that several clients have commented that he is much friendlier
and more helpful nowadays. This surprised him because he thought he was
friendly and helpful before! He speculated that this could be because
he is more relaxed but thinks it is difficult for him to say.
Other people often comment on someone’s changed attitude before the
student is aware of the shift in perception. I think there is always a
catalyst for such a personality adjustment and in Don’s case, nothing
else has altered in his life, except that he began his Tai Chi practice.
“I really look forward to learning the new movement each week. I can’t
wait. I’ve done other courses in things but about halfway through the
term, I’d have to start forcing myself to go. With Tai Chi, I look
forward to finishing work so I can go to class.
When I first started, I only went once a week, Saturday at Aranda.
Then, I went to two classes and now I go four times. Even though it’s
the same lesson, I always pick up something new about the movement. I
went to the Beginners’ Workshop in my first term and also the Fa Soong
Gong course for deep relaxation in the summer break with Brett.”
Don likes the mental relaxation and was surprised when I told him we
spend about fifteen minutes in class on the Fa Soong Gong. “I thought
it was much less than that. It goes so quickly.”
Don’s other passion is cricket — specifically indoor cricket, which
takes up o ne
of his few non Tai Chi week nights. Playing indoor cricket has
resulted in two broken fingers. Although they
have healed, Don
has noticed an improvement in the flexibility of the damaged index
finger. If he continues his practice, I suggested he may stave off
arthritis later on in life in these joints which is commonly associated
with breaks. The other benefit he has noticed specifically is that he
has much better reflexes now while playing cricket. If he practises Tai
Chi before a game, he sees the ball earlier and reacts faster, both
batting and fielding.
Recently, Don attended the workshop conducted by Bagua expert,
Grandmaster Ma. The very fit and active seventy-one year old
grandmaster impressed Don (and
everyone else at the workshop) with his vigour, flexibility and enthusiastic good humour.
“He was an inspiration. He showed you what the results of this sort of
training are. You’d never think he was in his seventies. He was so
fast and strong. Most people of that age are quite frail. I can’t
imagine my granddad doing what he did and he’s the same age.”
“Now I never have nothing to do,” Don told me. “I can always practise.
I never get bored. Recently my car broke down and I was stranded in
the middle of nowhere for an hour. It didn’t matter because I practised
the form and the Qigong. In class, I watch the instructors and I see
more of what I’m missing. This gives me more to work on when I practise.”
Don is interested in trying the internal martial arts class next term.
However, because it means a time clash with Tai Chi lessons he wanted to
learn the form first before adding something new. For younger and/or
fitter students, the internal martial arts class is a very good way of
adding an extra dimension to one’s knowledge and understanding of Tai
Chi. Although not particularly interested in the fighting aspect, Don
is keen to expand his overall experience of the internal arts.
(This is an actual
interview, but the name
has
been changed for reasons of
privacy.)
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