slower, comfortable, clear
this morning I came across a video of jet li talking with his daughter about his taichi practice. everything from the history of taijiquan, to the connection between the philosophy and the martial art, to the taichi lineages (and their unimportance), to the recent (under the radar) rise of taijiquan. he said a lot of things that resonated with me...
thing no. 1: the three layers of learning taichi. first there's the physical form, then there's the energetic form, and finally (most challenging & most important) is the practice and form of the mind.
the mind training is full of contradictions and polarities – yin & yang, push & pull, opening & closing, the head held up by a string & the thousand pound weight, seeing without seeing, the punch without force... the philosophy of taichi is finding a balance, or a negotiation, within these polarities. allowing for different variations on what is "right" based on different perspectives and angles. (in other words, taichi is just another form of daoist relativism.)
thing no. 2: the popularity of taichi around the world, yet its lack of "fashion" or "trend" status.
yoga became popular in the west because it was associated with a lifestyle and then commercialized, with all of these brands staking their business models on yoga gear and apparel.
that hasn't happened with taichi (yet) – taichi is still perceived as an activity for old people in the park. but he thinks fashion and marketing is all it takes – of course, the tradeoff is that, much like yoga, with scale, taichi will become a series of movements and less about the mind. and the mind is the most important part.
thing no. 3: the increase in young people, especially young women, who practice taichi. perhaps it's a reaction to the untenable pace of life, or the debilitating performance culture we live in, but instead of striving for more more more, higher better stronger, there seems to be a desire to be more internal, more grounded, slower and more deliberate and more comfortable in the here and now. more slow, more clear.
it was timely – today was my interview for the taichi apprenticeship that steve encouraged me to apply for. I spoke to two women in their 60s and 70s for an hour, rambling about my taichi journey, my interests, why I was interested in teaching (am I interested in teaching?! I mean, obviously... but today was the first time I thought about my reasons why – clearly I did not spend much time preparing for this chat), the things I could bring to the program, the things I might struggle with. it was a much more intense and involved discussion than I expected it to be!
but I spoke about my interest in the taichi philosophy (thanks, jet li). my interest in studying it deeper and incorporating it into my practice, so that it could flow into the rest of my daily life. I said it was something that most people don't really bring into their taichi practice, let alone their actual lives, and that, to me, was a lens worth developing as a teacher.
I also spoke of my analytical mind and how I like to understand things (the intention behind postures, what we're supposed to be feeling, why certain nuances matter) – and how that curiosity leads to discoveries that are valuable to the rest of the class, too.
I won't say my answers were total bullshit but... I was definitely forming my thoughts and opinions on the fly. I don't really talk about my taichi practice much. this was one of my first times having to articulate how I think about it. maybe I should write about taichi here, more frequently.
interviews are so tricky. meeting people for the first time, really. whenever I enter into one-on-one conversations with unfamiliar people, I immediately go into performance mode – but then I'm either forgetting my lines, or I'm too rehearsed. I think part of it is getting older – I actually have less of a desire to impress other people or prove myself... but I still play the game (or at least try to). so I overcompensate in some ways and under prepare in others. what a paradox. this is why the taichi philosophy is important! because I see things in black and white, when in reality there's probably sixteen other ways to look at it.