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1. Practice everyday. & 9. Foolishness. If I practice everyday, I turn nothing (Wuji) into something (Taiji). That is my first great step. It is instantly understood and achievable. A few months after I wrote this I developed a detached retina and was required to lie in a hospital bed for eight days without moving with my right cheek to a pillow. To practice everyday day is a good aspiration. It's an aim and the best way to learn. But shit happens. One or two people told me I could do the form mentally in the bed which I can promise you is not all it's cracked up to be. They also told me they tried lying in the same position on a bed but quickly gave up. I did lie on the bed for eight days. I peed in cardboard tubes and stopped eating so I could avoid having to use a rubber sheet which I felt would cause strain. I weighed 11.5 and came out at 10.3. It wasn't because of T'ai Chi I endured. It was the support of my wife and terror at losing my sight that made me lie still. It's the most difficult physical thing I have ever done in my life. I don't think I could do it again. But then again. I'm not terrified now. Fear makes you do many things you don't know you have the strength to do. On the other hand I was glad I'd taken up T'ai Chi. If I'd stayed with Karate it would have been finished with from that point on. 9. Foolishness It also made me realise I am a fool to tell people how they should feel who are not as physically able. Because I know nothing of what they may be enduring which I have taken for granted. |
Tai Chi Also known as T'ai Chi Ch'üan & Taijiquan. UK based Neil Bradley. Tai Chi Chuan. Long Form Sifu Yang Zhengduo Style Taiji Quan. Sifu Cheng Man Ching Health Form. |