7 Myths About Tai Chi
It’s best to learn from a Master
People who call themselves Masters has to be viewed with skepticism. If you study and practice anything for several years, it is reasonable to assume that a level of mastery will follow, but the maximum level practitioner I met never called himself a Master. Neither was that he publicly humiliated by a challenger.
On the flip side, sometimes it’s hard for a high level practitioner to recall or comprehend the problems that beginners face. Experienced teachers frequently allocate intermediate students to teach beginners while they concentrate on the more advanced pupils. There is something to be said for this method.
There is just one real Taiji style
There is just one real Taiji style, the rest are imposters. This is how cultists disperse their own schools. Over a span of almost 30 years I’ve struck many styles of taiji and even though the emphasis varies from one style to another, many of them agree on the basic principles, and a lot of them produce actual health benefits if practiced regularly.
Taiji isn’t any good for self defense
While it is true that it requires more study, training and practice to develop taiji combat skills than many people are able or prepared to commit, it’s also true that likely 90percent of self defense skill has nothing directly to do with battle abilities; sharp awareness, good posture and body usage, a relaxed but resolute fashion and clear-headedness, together with the body-language these characteristics give rise to are known deterrents to prospective muggers and bullies.
It’s best to learn from a Chinese teacher
This is determined by the individual instructor. Some Chinese teachers are ill-equipped to take care of linguistic and cultural differences when teaching Westerners. Some Western teachers perform really a fantastic job of communicating concepts that come from a very different cultural context.
Your practice should be precisely accurate
To be good for your health, what you practice should be precisely accurate. There are two things wrong with this proposal:
Firstly, that somehow practicing incorrectly is inherently harmful. If you never allow yourself to”do it wrong”, you will certainly never”get it right”. The most dramatic health benefits I gained from taiji practice really came through the first 4 weeks, when my”form” was nevertheless a complete shambles. I overcame my chronic asthma; my posture, body mechanics and energy levels improved tremendously and I started to get control of my habitual stress. (Of course, I was trying to get it right!)
Secondly, that at any stage your clinic will be exactly accurate. Anyone who’s been practicing for several years will tell you that there are always new challenges, higher levels to strive for. Practice and research frequently and without lust for results, and progress will come naturally.
You will have the ability to beat the rest of the styles
Because Taijiquan means”supreme ultimate fist”, as soon as you learn it you will have the ability to beat the rest of the styles. If it is really fighting you would like to learn, you ought to research and expose yourself to many battle styles.
It’s naïve to believe that any one”style” of battle can prevail over all others. An untrained person with a firearm can “defeat” a highly skilled martial arts practitioner. The ultimate solution to violent confrontation isn’t to be there in the first location.
Your instructor has to have the ability to use it for fighting
Taiji is a Martial Art, so your instructor has to have the ability to use it for fighting, or else they are no good. While it is a fact that the roots of taiji quan lie in a complex system of armed and unarmed combat, the widespread use of guns permanently altered the meaning of “battle”, so the fabled super-human feats and abilities of the older Masters are likely lost for ever.
Taiji continues as a cultural practice in today’s world predominantly because of it is known benefits for the body and mind as a kind of moving meditation.
Conclusion
‘Tai chi’ and ‘tai chi chuan’ are Romanizations of Chinese terms with the older but still popular Wade-Giles system.’ Taiji’ and ‘taijiquan’ would be the identical terms from the now universally recognized Pinyin system.