Many lessons can be learned from the traditional methods and philosophy behind the teaching of Tai Chi Chuan, since in order to reach any of the desired change of states and 'by-products' of practising Tai Chi Chuan, the student inevitably comes face to face with the natural mechanisms that are persistently triggered within the person. It is at this interface where Tai Chi Chuan instruction works, with the many elements that are common within each individual, which will, if not addressed and cultivated correctly, create unhealthy imbalances and simply inhibit what is otherwise natural process of the normal healthy growth and development of the individual.
Neglected functional parts within the individual, as do the overused faculties and dynamic parts of the individual, cry out to experience balance, presenting with symptoms that first manifest as reduced interest and motivation, a reduction in performance that very easily slips into behavioural problems. Behaviour which, due to the extremes of imbalance placed upon it, becomes unbalanced, extreme and erratic, with finally, the health of the individual becoming diminished in quality.
A simple test to this would be the effects upon the eyes and the behaviour of the person who is deprived of sleep or who reads constantly for hours or even days on end without any break. Eye strain and irritability are the first symptoms to manifest which degenerate over a very short period to far worse psychological, emotional and physical problems in addition to the intellectual capabilities being severely affected and even fragmented.
The issue, therefore is not if this process occurs, but when, and the degree of neglect or overuse of each part that causes and signals the breakdown of the integrity of the individual's faculty or the whole person. This also requires an understanding of the individual capacities and breaking points of each independently functioning part within the individual, if these problems are to be avoided. A far better scenario than recourse to the administration of drugs to mask the problem and which do little to heal the individual or to restore them to balance so they can heal themselves naturally.
The student of Tai Chi Chuan, over a period of time, will experience many healing effects from the practice of this art, all of which originate from the attainment or the recovery of balance within the whole being. Balance, however, is an easy word to use casually, without really understanding that it has a much wider context than is appreciated.
The term 'balance' has quickly become neatly packaged and marketed like a slogan or advertising mantra and then sorted away with rarely a further look or doubt placed in the attached meaning. Instead, there exists, in the user of such slogans, an unassailable, inner certainty of what balance means and what is needed to achieve it. Unfortunately, this blocks any further consideration of this most important concept - a state of mind that would be naive, if it were not so tragically destructive to the welfare of the individual.
Before education can be discussed, therefore, the idea of 'balance' must be examined more closely and no better tool exists to do this, than the ancient art of Tai Chi Chuan, which embodies the metaphysical system of Taoism within the traditional methods of teaching. Tai Chi Chuan, at the first level, concerns itself with the cultivation of balance and harmony within the student.
It is assumed, at this point, that no educationalist would subscribe to the deliberate creation of imbalances within the student that would ultimately have destructive effects on the individual. What therefore, is important, is the correct identification of imbalances and when and where they occur. If, however, one is oblivious to these imbalances - if the teacher does not understand what balance is in the first place and where it needs to occur, then problem areas cannot be identified and the tools to correct their methods will not exist. The teacher will simply continue, unaware that problems have arisen and what the solutions were that should have been implemented.
From a philosophical and psychological viewpoint it could be argued that any type of education is in itself an extreme since the student will feel 'stretched' as they scratch their heads for solutions, or try to absorb volumes of material, or try to express themselves as they write their essays etc. They may feel themselves under a high degree of 'stress'. The common use of these engineering terms are not by accident and although one could rightly argue these terms should not be applied for good reasons, nevertheless, if we stay with these metaphors for a while, they can be seen to provide some insight into the processes that are both positive and negative to the human being.
Understanding of the natural and healthy 'pressure' people are placed under, which stimulates healthy learning and progress is vital, if the extremes of pressure that are responsible for the symptoms that occur when this pressure exceeds the point where imbalance is created. The state of balance necessary to maintain the correct functioning of the immune system, the enjoyment of good health and the maximisation of the individual's potential, not only as a student but as a human being and as a source of positive spiritual energy.
Within this metaphor, therefore, lies the solution - A student needs to be 'stretched' to change states of inertia, but not to the point where they cannot recover a healthy balance and continue their lives as balanced individuals.
The word balance implies the existence of more than one part or element. It also suggests that no one part should 'outweigh' the other. Balance also implies stability. It also implies the harmonious - mutually sustaining, mutually benefiting and mutually promoting - relationship between the parts. Balance is a positive state from which one would expect positive things to arise and be constructed upon. Similarly, balance is a word to which the phrases and words: Dynamic equilibrium, rhythm, continuity, equality, proportion, seem to naturally belong and, without doubt, the most important of all, Balance implies parts in such a state that they constitute and complete the whole, so that this whole functions in a positive and creative way, as a completely integrated, single entity.
The next task therefore is to identify all of the parts of the individual that need to be in balance before any comment on education can be meaningful.
One of the first lessons the student will learn in Tai Chi Chuan training, is that the theory side, or the information 'about' the movements being learned, should go hand in hand with the ability of the student to be able to make good use of the knowledge. In the case of the beginner, the student should be able to arrive at the postures and maintain them whilst demonstrating the ability to retain the physical memory of the previous movements learned. Top-heavy development, where the head is full of masses of unused information, is discouraged, as it will only lead to imbalances.
Often, the student merely wishes to acquire more and more information 'about' the subject as a way of avoiding the physical experience of the education process. After all, it is far easier to talk about a subject and manipulate the collected data than to become adept at the subject at all of its levels. Part of the teacher's role is to show the folly of such thinking and practice.
The student can be forgiven for believing that the head should lead the way and that curiosity is a good thing. However, in Tai Chi Chuan and I will go as far to say, all true knowledge (and by this I mean knowledge that ultimately secures the survival of the species, physically, mentally emotionally and spiritually), can never be entered head first but rather though the emotional centres, with feel and intuition.
For education to be of any value to the human being it must be transformative - transformation at a mental, emotional, spiritual and physical level and not simply filling the head with information it has no opportunity or practical experience in applying to make it more concrete and 'real'.
Furthermore, education must begin with learning about oneself from the subjective level - in other words, learning to know themselves and 'operate' themselves from within. In this way people find their own balance and balancing mechanisms at a subjective level. Only when a person knows oneself and how to 'operate' this most sophisticated of machines called the human being, is that person, even remotely, likely to make sense of the outer world and one another.
Loss of balance or never having ever attained balance ultimately leads to loss of identity, the inability of the person to know their own worth and the interference of the connection of that individual to the natural rhythms of nature - the birthright of all human beings.
Education therefore must place as a first priority, the journey of the student to self-knowledge and understanding of themselves at at physical, emotional, spiritual and mental should occur. The second priority must then be the education of these individual centres within their own context, by assisting in the growth and development of these centres so they can 'do' more.
It should not be necessary to say that great risks are attached to the psyche of the individual that has only learned at the 'information' level - it simply races off, disconnected from the real life experiences it often finds itself trying to control and becoming dispassionate to the responsibility of its actions.
This top-heavy development is an abnormal state and can only ever create further imbalances. The acquisition of intellectual knowledge must therefore be accompanied by development in all other aspects of the individual, so that stable and responsible behaviour as as well as compassionate and experience-based decisions are made.
In context with martial arts this is easy to see. The student's development and control of skills must be accompanied with the development of self-control. Similarly in order to understand the devastating effects of a self-defence system, the student must also understand the process of healing and the value of life and health. In order for the student to develop the capability of disabling an attacker so too must he develop, through self-knowledge, the many ways that he can avoid ever needing to and an absence of any desire to cause harm.
Certainly, applying common sense, everyone understands that the body feeds the brain and without a healthy body, brain activity becomes dulled, with the inability to focus or concentrate. Other side effects may also prevail, especially in the case of the student eating wrongly. Symptoms like hyperactivity, loud and aggressive behaviour, antisocial patterns can all be attributed to the intake of toxins and the insufficient intake of micro-nutrients in the diet.
The body also has a need to experience exercise regularly, it is nourished by it and if exercise is withheld then imbalances in the energy of the student will also occur with similar symptoms of restlessness dissatisfaction and low levels of performance. However, more importantly, the spirit of the person becomes subdued along with ever increasing poor health - the human being was never 'designed' just to use its brain only to the neglect of its body.
Similar arguments can be put in place for the emotional centres of the individual which equally need exercise.
As well as it being natural for the student to exercise the body as well as the brain in order to remain healthy, the student whether young or old, needs the opportunity to explore freely their environment, to be creative and to be expressive. They not only require discipline and structure, but also the opportunity to improvise and experiment and to 'go with the flow'. They need to develop a sense of self, but also begin to develop empathy. They need to develop emotional strength to pass through, undamaged, any emotional traumas that inevitably will come their way, yet become increasingly more sensitive to ever more subtle experiences. They need also to play for the joy of playing.
Coming back to the central argument - how can these different elements of the human being be addressed within their own context and be brought into balance with each other, so that the education experience is also a positive, creative and healthy one?
The student must be taught at their own level, using the unique pathways into that particular person's centres - the artistic type must be taught differently to the logic type, the contemplative type must be taught differently to the outwardly expressive type, the creative psyche must be taught differently to type of person who can copy meticulously and faithfully. The emotionally centred person has to be taught differently to the person more physically centred or more mentally centred and with such variety and combinations of these varieties, each student is then seen as a unique teaching challenge and must be treated accordingly to their own special needs, their own rhythm, their own 'frequency'.
It must also be remembered that the learning experience must be an enjoyable and spiritually fulfilling one.
Copyright © Richard Hamlin 2007
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