Traditionally, there is no grading or belt system in Tai Chi Chuan. Students reach levels of seniority based solely on the Master’s recognition and acknowledgement of the student's level of understanding and ability.
Where grading systems and competitions are in place, people inevitably train for the purpose of passing the examination in order to attain the grade or to win the competition. This most often induces the student to neglect their all-round development and the purity of the art, in preference to training for these ultimately, more desirable and more favourable, results.
Furthemore this introduces a very important principle, viz. that there is an attainable goal and completion. Concepts and states that are alien to both Taoist thinking and the essence of Tai Chi Chuan - the adage that 'as soon as you think you know, you do not know' is a good example that can be applied across the board at every level - as soon as you think you have reached any goal, you have not reached anywhere. What is aimed for in Tai Chi Chuan is similar to the horizon, you never reach it but you keep going anyway, and along the way you live life and may well improve in how you deal with the challenges you encounter. It is the journey and not the destination that is fundamental to any learning experience and there is no better teacher of this principle than Tai Chi Chuan..
Although grading systems and competitions may be appropriate to other martial arts, this mindset and method is counterproductive to the basis upon which Tai Chi Chuan is practised and taught. It would evoke in the student the very attitudes, aspirations and responses that prevent the learning of the important lessons that Tai Chi Chuan offers and would render inaccessible the higher aspects of the art that require a subjective frame of reference which can neither be quantified or examined. Similarly it would simply tunnel the 'inner vision' and prevent the simultaneous multilevel 'discoveries' that are there to enrich the learning experience of the practitioner of Tai Chi Chuan and which can only occur when the mind is not goal oriented.
Having external goals will inevitably only lead to the student being External in their approach to Tai Chi Chuan and using the External energy system instead of the Internal system. Furthermore, the practitioner will never comprehend the Internal system or be able to practice his art Internally, by practicing his art Externally
The correct approach to Tai Chi Chuan is to aspire towards excellence and refinement in all of the disciplines, whether this be in the solo forms or in two person disciplines like pushing hands, applications etc. These very qualities are what define Tai Chi Chuan and what sets it apart from the External system of training.
Grading systems also, inevitably, lead to filtering out and rewarding the physically strong, the faster and the more ambitious, more aggressive exponents. These are not the prerequisites for understanding and reaching mastery in Tai Chi Chuan. There are other strengths, other speeds and other mindsets that are viable methods, often proving to be superior. The Internal system of training recognises and encourages these ‘other’ attributes and fosters their growth and development and opens the door to a wider cross-section of the community. People who may well be discouraged by grading, examination and competion and put off from learning a martial art, believing that the doors were open only to the fast and strong, the tall and the heavy, will find encouragement from this system that allows all to excel without the imposition of external grading and competition. Many people taking up Tai Chi Chuan may well have the very qualities, hitherto unrecognised and not allowed to develop, that would enable them to excel in this art.
The attainment of excellence in all aspects of Tai Chi Chuan can be striven for and achieved without participation in competition or grading systems. These two objectives are not dependent upon each other.
This method may not appeal to practitioners of all martial arts and may not be appropriate to some of those systems. This view however, is held by many people on the quest for deeper knowledge and understanding of martial arts. Tai Chi Chuan, in these cases, can unlock this way for them.
Copyright © Richard Hamlin 2007
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