Published on April 2024
Dr Gordon Ross, Tai Qi Gong FUSION Associatio
First a slight detour into perception, thinking and language as this guides efforts towards a more inclusive manner of exercise. A fundamental human ability is cognitive categorisation – to group certain things as “similar” and distinguish this group from other things that are “different”. (In itself, this is an important issue for philosophical study!) This core ability is exhibited in perception, cognition, language, and even social interactions. We attach emotional values to certain of these groupings and “prefer” them to alternatives. Add to this the tendency to split groupings into ever smaller constituent parts, so-called “deconstruction”, and we impose an artificial reality onto what is there. Hence the Zen seeking of the different reality independent of thought and language. This fundamental human tendency towards deconstruction is relevant to Tai Chi and Qi Gong because it results in a host of schools and disciplines all of which believe theirs is the right and only way. From Jam Zong, through Dao Yin and Shibashi, to the various “families” of Tai Chi hand and weapons forms. The thing is they all work so we have to ask the deeper question of how they work to deliver the experienced benefits.
Another detour and an important one. A classic and definitive work on Scientific Method is “Conjectures and Refutations” by Karl Popper, where he argues scientific progress is achieved when someone has an idea (a “conjecture”), and then sets about trying to find ways to disprove that thought (Refutation). This is how scientific progress occurs. Allow me to conjecture when it comes to health and well-being.
We have but one mind and one body (true for the vast majority of the population at least) so anything that impacts the interactions of these two is going to have a consequence. Overeating and lack of exercise will lead to obesity, whereas moderation and physical activity will lead to enhanced well being. Likewise, stress and tension will, over time, have a negative impact on the mind-body balance, whereas peace and tranquillity will have a positive impact. So any form of activity, like Qi Gong and Tai Chi, insofar as it engenders peace, tranquillity, movement and lengthening will have a positive impact. (The matter of “lengthening” is the subject of a separate discussion another time.) Any artificial distinctions about the right or wrong activities is just going to get in the way. We need to work the mind and the body in harmony to achieve benefits so the more we can do this the better for everyone. We need to visualise health enhancements along a continuum of mind-body activities, from less movement to more movement, and from more to less conscious involvement.
Over the past 20 years I have benefited from contact with outstanding teachers in this Country and China, and in the last decade, I have had the privilege of teaching Qi Gong and Tai Chi to various groups of students. From the outset, I believed it was better to teach a few routines well, than lots of routines to a superficial level. Practice, over time, does lead to improvement in balance and flexibility. Being familiar with, or better knowing, routines leads to greater mental calmness. There is something about doing something well, new every time but also familiar, which benefits human psychology. The other lesson is no one method, by itself, is sufficient to achieve the full benefits. The impact of a warm-up, some Dao Yin and then some Tai Chi has a cumulative effect that is greater than the sum of their parts. I am sure this would be equally true for other things I have less experience of, like Jam Jong, Shibashi and then some Tai Chi. It is just a matter of finding the balance and harmony across a session, but it needs a mixture, presented as a Fusion. A few years ago I introduced early into my classes something that was in many of the books I studied, which is a short period of mind-body centring. This had a much greater impact on the overall classes than I ever expected, so it has remained. Back to Conjectures and Refutations and trying things out to eliminate the ones that do not work! So here is another Conjecture – all the things we do in our various classes lay on a continuum from less to more movement, and an effective class needs a combination of components from along that continuum to be effective. Any one by itself will not be as beneficial as combining, or fusing, them into a coherent whole. This insight has transformed the classes I lead. This means both teacher and students have to go on learning all the time, experimenting with what works better. So a class focused on Dao Yin breathing and extending will have to incorporate some moving mediation that is Tai Chi. A class focused on a family style of Tai Chi, would certainly benefit from some Dao Yin exercises. And any class would benefit early on in a session from some mind-body centring. Recently there has been another insight that seems important. As teacher and students, over a long period, get more familiar with routines it becomes less important to give detailed verbal instruction. Traditionally Chinese Masters would give no instruction but expect their students to just follow, and learn over time the inner intricacies of what they are performing. Fortunately a few enlightened Masters and Grand Masters modified their approach for us in the West and verbally (often via translators) transmitted their knowledge and insights. “Tell and Show” and then practice does speed up the learning process but there comes a time when it is best to stay quiet. We know from human physiology and psychology that language and visual perception utilise different parts of the brain so even our mind-body experience evolves! Exercise without the intrusion of language is going to be qualitatively different from exercise with a commentary. Something anyone can try for themselves, but I would stress this is only after the students have been taught the routines in some detail. A teacher calming their own mind, without the students knowing what is going on in a period of silence is unlikely to have many benefits for the students
An implication is teacher and students learn together as they progress on their separate and joint journeys. For me this is an inspiring message as it demands evolution and continuous improvement. A teacher cannot just turn up and deliver a pre-prepared session, as it depends on what stage the students are at. Not having a leader who is qualified and experienced is just reckless, so paying for a skilled individual is common sense. It is difficult to combine beginners, intermediates and advanced students in the same class – they are at different levels and need different things. They are at different stages of their journey. One-to-one tuition may be difficult and costly so it means tuning into where the class is and working forward from that point. For students it means perseverance and practice if you want to realise the full benefits from your exercise time. For everyone it means sharing best practice, across traditional boundaries that have been established, so all move forward together.
A typical class might have:-