T'ai Chi in Easlan-Weslan park - Day 37

Three came out to play this damp and misty morn. We completed the form in about 32 minutes and were observed as noted before.

Charlie and I had some good conversation afterward regarding how one studies and initially learns T'ai Chi. He was recounting an article talking about how learning T'ai Chi takes a long time and I briefly related my philosophy that if I attempted to teach in the traditional fashion (i.e. one position per month or so, starting the class with 30 minutes of standing meditation, etc.) I would have no students. Very few American college students would be willing to stick around, especially if 30 minutes of the 50 minute class were consumed by Universal Post. We definitely progress at a much brisker pace often learning one or two positions per class, and even though the students aren't perfect in their postures, there is still benefit in the movement and in the opportunity to listen to their bodies. The article is still completely correct in that learning T'ai Chi takes a long time because even once we have learned the entirety of the 108 position form, that doesn't mean we "know" T'ai Chi. It simply means we start at the beginning and refine the form, essentially learning it all over again.