Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 301
True and False
If you are like most people I know, you are very tired of hearing about “Fake news”. How about this.
I have a large pasture in front of my house. There used to be Scottish Highland cattle grazing there. So relaxing and fun to get to know them. I would go into the field and chase them around, especially the young ones. When the owners of the field sold them all, they put up cardboard cutouts that were so realistic I sometimes forgot they weren’t real.
Note: There was one part of the statement that was not quite real, so I call it “Fake Moos”.
It is easy to make false claims that appeal to people who want them to be true, especially in something as mysterious as the Internal Arts. Students love to say “My teacher can do such and such”. Many popular videos show a person touch someone and send them flying away. I am skeptical about such things because 1) I have never had anyone do such a thing to me, even by well known masters, and 2) I can’t do it myself. In Tai Chi, we call this “Fake Moves”.
Yes, through push hands skills, it is not too difficult to get an opponent into a place where it takes almost no effort to make them lose balance. These are natural, body dynamic skills, attainable by people who train long and hard enough, and have the proper instruction. So get “real”. Practice, study, and keep an open mind – one not empty of reason.
Special Note: There was a movie made in Port Townsend in the early 1980’s. It was called ‘Officer and a Gentleman’. This is about making the film and a bit about Port Townsend. Ft. Worden, where most of this was shot, is a few blocks from my house. I think you will enjoy seeing where I live, work and play. Copy and paste.