Few things in this world are so misunderstood as tai chi chuan. Over the years I think I must have heard all of the guesses; it’s a dance, it’s a calisthenic exercise, it’s a martial art that doesn’t work for actual fighting, it’s a moving meditation, it’s a way to get magical powers, it’s simply a waste of time…. and so on.
I can’t blame folks for not understanding. It took me three years of studying tai chi before I even got pointed in the right direction. It took me another 15 years to be able to do anything with it. The fact is that tai chi is mysterious, even if you are good at it.
The fact is that tai chi is mysterious, even if you are good at it.
I found out that one of the old masters in the fake looking videos, Cheng Man-ching, had some students that were still alive. I wanted to investigate the truth about this martial art, so I signed up for a workshop with Benjamin Lo, the most senior student of Cheng Man-ching. When I got to the workshop on the first day, I heard that Ben would choose someone from the front of the class to demonstrate his tai chi on. I made sure to stand right at the front of the class, and sure enough, when the class started he picked me for his demonstration. Ben stood with his legs straight and his feet shoulder width apart, and he invited me to move his feet. Keep in mind that I was thirty years old and 190 lbs., Ben was eighty years old and maybe 130 lbs.
“Push me,” he said, and I tried. For the first push, I tentatively applied some solid pressure to his chest. Nothing happened. The force of my push dissipated into nothing, but the outside of his body had not changed at all. I could feel him, but I couldn’t bring any force to bear on him. It was weird. I tried a second push with a little more power and I got the same result. For the third push, I took a strong bow stance, planted my feet, and gave it everything I had. Still, nothing. He didn’t move at all. He was just smiling and laughing. “What’s the matter, you didn’t eat your breakfast?” he asked. Then he said, “Ok, now it’s my turn. You take a stance.”
I got back in my strongest stance and braced myself. Ben walked up to me, he put his index finger on my chest and then he made a small circle movement with his hand. I flew backward, taking four or five steps before I could get my legs underneath myself enough to stop. It didn’t feel like any push I was used to. It wasn’t a shove. It had felt as if something from his fingertip had spread out and made all my joints undo themselves, and then there was a big wave that hit, and it picked up my feet off the ground and it felt like half of me was being hurled backward while the other half of me was left behind, trying to catch up. I was really amazed. Ben continued to demonstrate with me for another couple of minutes, and each time he demonstrated, it made less sense to me.
Then he explained. “I don’t know,” he said, “I just relax. I don’t use force.”
I was able to train with Ben Lo again several times before he passed away. Each time I was blown away by his skill. He used to say that he didn’t know how his TV remote control worked inside, but he knew how to use it to change channels. He also said that he didn’t understand exactly why his gungfu worked, but he never did find anyone that was physically strong enough to best it. He didn’t learn tai chi by figuring out the math on how it worked and then proceeding from there, he learned by doing exactly what his teacher told him to do for countless hours, without any question or explanation. Most of what his teacher told him to do was to relax. To relax as deeply as he could, and then go even deeper, and deeper, and deeper.
Another thing Ben Lo used to say was that every time he issued a successful tai chi push, it contained an element of wonder for him. In my experience, if the tai chi is good in a push hands session, there will be a lot of laughter. Each successful push is fascinating and, well, mysterious.
Ready to start your journey into tai chi?
Upcoming Special Workshops
TAI CHI PUSH HANDS: AN INTRODUCTION
Saturday September 10, 2:00p – 4:30p // South Main // Register >>>
Saturday October 15, 1:00p – 3:00p // Ogden // Register >>>
Push hands is a sensitivity exercise that is practiced with a partner. It gives us a chance to discover and release tensions in our body that we might not be able to address on our own. This workshop will explore the basic philosophy and methods for beginning this fascinating practice!
At South Main
TAI CHI // Sundays 8:30a – 9:45a
INTRO TO TAI CHI // Sundays 1:00p – 2:00p
QIGONG FOR CLIMBERS // Sundays 2:15p – 3:15p
At Ogden
TAI CHI // Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 8:30p – 9:30p
INTRO TO TAI CHI // Saturdays 11:45a – 12:45p
