Saturday, March 30, 2013

New and Old Training Methodologies



I am still looking to find Training Methodologies that go beyond Standing, Holding Postures, Doing the Form Repetitively, Push Hands Practice as I know it, etc. all of which do not seem to yield for me the Basic Skills that I would like to acquire.

All Martial Artists use the opponent’s power against them, use their reflexes and timing to dial down strength and speed requirements but Tai Chi is supposed to do something different which is to be able to merely use the surface energetics to trigger those myo-facial, sympathetic and parasympathetic responses or to cause the adrenaline dump shunting off any possible prefrontal cortex activity in the opponent. There is a clear neuro-physiological explanation for the majority of this which often ascribed to etheric effects or hidden behind a cultural barrier.

A runner does not achieve faster times only by visualization and running the course in slow motion, a basketball player or skater or swimmer or diver does not achieve Olympic levels by simply going through their event practice and likewise the Tai Chi player will never achieve mastery by just doing form. There are specific exercises, stretching, conditioning, training and optimization of action, muscle groups, theory and more that are either part of closed door teachings or have recently been scientifically developed.

The idea that Tai Chi players can achieve Forms, Push Hands and Awareness at the Mastery Level by the standard curricula we commonly see just seems wrong. To hide behind pedigree, lineage, secrecy, flowery New Age language, Cultural or Ancient double speak as an alternative to a clear transmission of the structural mechanics just seems wrong when dedicated, earnest students are practicing 3 to 4 hours a day for 10 to 15 years with very modest results and then to say will it take 3 lifetimes and the like is again just not adequate. I know it’s not the same but still in music, dance, visual arts, sports or even in MMA there are standards and accountability for achievement and efficacy of training methods. Bottom Line.

Well Bottom Line I want:

Ø Reflexive control of the partner without “doing techniques” on them

Ø Ability to stay in Taiji against very strong, uncooperative individuals who are not doing Taiji

Ø Ability to yield from any part of the body

Ø Ability to issue from any part of the body

Ø Extremely fast reflexive action (which BTW does not seem to be an emergent property of doing form slowly ;-)

Ø Ability to issue a Classic Taiji Push which from their perspective has no clear Point of Contact and the Partner flies a good distance without having been struck or jarred – Just Sucked in by the Undertow and Accelerated Away

Ø Ability to get a Radar Lock on the partner and see and understand everything in 3D

Ø Ability to Improvise freely with a Partner in Tui Shou / San Shou practice

Ø Ability to catch pushes and strikes like catching a child on a swing and returning the volley

Ø Ability to see inside your own body and Conscious of how it feels

Ø Ability to become Conscious of the process of becoming Conscious

Ø Natural Emergent high level Real Fighting Skills (It seems that in order to achieve these you Must not try to achieve these!)

Ø Beautiful and Graceful Forms practice

I am convinced that there are core curricula preserved from Traditional Methods that I am missing and I am more sure that there are emerging New Training Methodologies that are even better. We have to ask ourselves not what the Ancient Masters did but what would the Ancient Masters have done if they were living in this Age. I am pretty sure it would be a combination of New and Old Training Methodologies.

 

 

 

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