Some of you may have heard of the “fable” where Yang Lu Chan “stole” the Tai Ji secrets from the Chen family. I went to such a class which is supposedly “the class with the secrets”. 
Nah. I don’t think my teacher is one of those that keeps secrets, either that or I wouldn’t know any better even if he does! But I think he’s trying hard to teach us as much as he can, or as much as we can absorb, so that his teachings are not lost. Let’s face it. Age will catch up with us whether we like it or not. It’s just that none of us could “get” his teachings yet. We can only try.
Seeing what he’s teaching in this class, I feel like I had the most instructions. It’s not because I’m better, or that the teacher favours me. It’s the private lessons I am getting. I don’t think I’m getting the most from these private lessons because I’m not “getting it” fast enough.
However, I don’t think I want to stop the private lessons either. Previously, I didn’t have a reference point. I don’t know how I’m doing compared to the others. I don’t know to what extent have I understood things. So much so that at times, I wanted to quit private lessons and go for group classes again, as I think I’m not getting the full benefit of these lessons (fault on my part rather than the teacher’s). It’s only when “performing” with the other students, I’m learning to see what my teacher has been correcting me, which is a lot. He gets into the mistakes before it becomes a habit of mine. Whether I internalise the correction is another matter… I need to work harder…
The main point is this – if time and money permits, do go for private lessons. However, don’t forget to go for group lessons either, as you ultimately have to interact with the world. Group lessons are there to keep you in check.
A bit about the “secret class”, we focused only on the “rise” – the universal starting point of all Tai Ji forms where the 2 arms rise up to greet the shoulders and slide back home where it all began. I did this for almost an hour. Imagine that! The opening of the foot into shoulder width, the rising of the arms, the lengthening of the arms, the sliding back, the standing up, the closing of the left foot to meet the right foot… over and over again…
Then I practised Sun style with a fellow student. It was good to be practising with someone else again. The focus is not so much on my own self anymore. There’s diverted attention. Less pressure. Then 3 of us did the fast form. It was a fun night. I will go back again.
If you think this is worth sharing, do share it with your friends. Thank you for reading.
Related posts: