Back in the 90s, it was common to hear people say, "be like Mike..." meaning the great Michael Jordon. Me? I want to be like Shifu! Every class, every practice session he puts forth 110% in trying to make us all better students and practitioners of Chen tai chi. He never slacks off, and every time he demonstrates I am awed by how exact are his movements and his detailed explanations.
As always Shifu always says we are never doing anything for the sake of looking fancy, pretty or beautiful. Every motion and fine detail has a rationale that applies to application and fighting technique.
In the picture above, we stopped at this particular motion and spent time and analysis of why we need to have this motion and these details in our practice. It is way easy to gloss over this detail in the pursuit of spiralling and seeing a larger, grosser action; however, Shifu always wants us to understand as much as possible about what we are doing.
The best way to learn all we can is by dedicated attendance and practice. I remember speaking to one of my seniors, and he kept saying how "i know this, and I know that, Shifu taught it to me before..." I kept my mouth shut, but inside I was thinking..."heck, IF you know the detail and why you should do this or that, why doesn't your practice and performance of the form show it then????"
Keeping a fresh perspective and having a keen desire to absorb and grow will enable you to learn the proper way to practice Chen Tai Chi. Of course, it really helps when your teacher cares and is willing to devote himself to your understanding, too. Thank you, Shifu!
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