There is No Such Thing as Easy Tai Chi

luChan who they taught the family art after he showed skill, and when he left the Chen Village he was told he could not teach Chen tai chi so he created Yang style.

Generations later, Chen Xiaowang tries to maintain the original quality of this powerful martial art. He has also told reporters that he feels the pressure of the generations to be a highly skilled master. It is his honor and burden to be the “standard-bearer” for the Chen family art in the 19th generation.

The pursuit of the title of master is a mental disease in America. Open the phone book of any American city, look at the ads in the martial arts section of the yellow pages, and there are more masters than you can shake a staff at.

I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble, but real mastery of the martial arts requires more than most of these people have had to endure. It also requires skill that most of these people don’t have. Almost any American who claims to be a master of tai chi would be laughed at by the people who are considered to be masters in China.

Several years ago I was in Chicago for two or three days and I stopped by a tai chi school in the city. A woman who may have been in her thirties or forties walked up to me, dressed in a tai chi uniform. She introduced herself as “Master” something-or-other and I immediately left the building. Anyone who introduces themselves as a master is definitely not a master.

In America, we expect to see results immediately. We want instant gratification. We’re a “take it now, pay for it later” culture, not willing to sacrifice and wait for the payoff.

In the martial arts, that has resulted in a lot of schools around the country that promote you to the next belt in three months whether you’re ready or not.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5