I’m currently reading a biography on Maria Montessori - an educator among other roles. When she teaches kids, one of the features of her method is to let them learn through their senses first, before labeling what their senses tell them. For instance, the children will learn to listen as they explore the different pitch [...]
Nowadays, when I thought I am doing the Tai Ji form properly, I had a rude awakening when one day my teacher shouted “stop shaking your butt!”. And from then on, I’m very conscious about it. Of course, I always smile too whenever I realise I’m doing it. It’s just a funny thought, to think [...]
The smaller the circle, the smaller the mind. 圈子小，人生圈子也小。
When doing Tai Ji, or when pushing hands, it reflects the way you see life itself. When we are afraid of making mistakes, when we are not confident in ourselves, these feelings will show in your Tai Chi, even to the untrained eye. For instance, the hands [...]
A common habit when practising, is to make the adjustments while carrying out an action. In the context of Tai Chi, you might have seen people bobbing up and down, or pushing forward with various hand gestures, looking very awkward as though their clothes just don’t fit them. Then one day, my teacher said,
“When you [...]
It’s that word again… relax!! When faced with a steep learning curve, it’s always made worse if you force yourself through the curve rather than ride on it. The materials would seem more difficult, the retention would seem more difficult, and you might end up hating the subject so much that you will never touch [...]
I was recently in a class full of students, as oppose to my individual training with my teacher. We were trying to correct the very first step of all Tai Ji forms - the “raise your hands and put it down”. I met a student who was really passionate about Tai Ji, and who started [...]
According to my current Tai Ji teacher, if you practise the form continuously one set after another, the effect is compounded. For example, if you practise the form twice in succession, you would have effectively practised 3 times. 3 in succession equals 6 times, 4 in succession equals 10 times, and so on.
To think that [...]
Everybody’s a beginner at some point in their life. And the goal of the beginner? To be the opposite of a beginner - to be an expert. While everyone is a beginner at some point, they do so with the aim of not being one in the future. Unfortunately, life’s lessons are not always delivered [...]
I stood up my teacher, with a last minute notice. No wonder he scolded me. It wasn’t intentional, but I was torn between family and learning Tai Ji. Sometimes Tai Ji wins, sometimes family wins.
My teacher encourages us to learn from all, teachers and students alike. Teachers are just formalised labels by institutions such as colleges, universities, and martial art schools. Students are those that these teachers serve because without the students, there is no one to teach.
It’s good to say all these. But sometimes, that’s all that happens [...]