Internal Martial Arts Society | Tai Chi Chuan | Baguazhang | Xing-yi Chuan

There have been many people that have entered my life, and many that that have just passed through, when it comes to the Martial Arts. The reason for this is mostly because of The Way. The Way or "Tao" has pretty much been the judge for me when it came to Students. I never really taught because I wanted to, it's just because my last teacher used to tell me that I had to in order to continue my learning. The truth is that I never really had to advertise or look for students, they just came along either through friends or just practicing in a park or something like that. I'm not (and never really been) a person who has to let everybody know that I am a Martial Artist. I just want to practice for the rest of my life, and everything else is just extra. I never had a booming school or franchise to speak of. I never had a student that is a fighter, or never really cared about putting my face out there. I REALLY DON'T CARE. I'm a healer, not a fighter.

Over the years I have met lots of young people that seemed really interested about learning, but there has pretty much always been an alterior motive for them being around. Most of the time they just needed to talk about themselves, or had the need to make physical contact with others. Most of the reasons for coming is because they wanted to fight. Like I said earlier, I'm a healer, not a fighter. Yes, the arts that I learned are for fighting, but just not in the way these students intended! These arts were used by my Predecessors for self defense and for the defense of the helpless, not for glory and grandiour. So when I realized what kind of person I was teaching was, I would try to encourage them to learn about the other aspects of the arts, not just the fighting. Ultimately, if the student was ignorant, I would just not be available to them and they would have to find someone who is a master of fighting to learn from. I will not teach them.

I have even have had people who would come and follow along and memorize the sets and then all-of-a-sudden be teaching on the side! They even told others that I certified them! What is certified? First of all, I may have let them teach themselves the rest of the sets, (knowing that they would eventually forget what it looked like to see me doing the movements) and that they would have to come and ask questions on the postures that I last taught them, but I never thought that anyone would think that they would be brave or crazy enough to be out there teaching! But I know now. Needless to say, there are some crazy people out there.

The Ideal Student

Although there can be some reasons not to teach someone, there can be students out there that want to learn for the right reasons. There have been students in my life that were learning for the right reasons-Health and Self Defense. Some students that have come my way have had experience in other styles and were just looking for a style that they can learn and practice for the rest of their lives. Maybe even to soften themselves up a little. A lot of them had already known that they can improve the quality of life and even reverse conditions like Arthuritis, and Blood Pressure problems. The Internal Martial Arts go hand in hand with the Ancient Philosophy, Culture, and Medical Theories of the Far East. For Instance, a student that is versed in Taoism, Buddhism, or some kind of Eastern (Asian) way of life, they would be naturally drawn to Tai Chi, Bagua, or Xingyi. They would already know that this (The Internal) is what they want to do for the rest of their life, along with their studies and meditation. They don't have to get into some state of mind, or become someone that they are not for a few hours. They know that they can relax in a quiet environment, quiet their mind and practice. After that they can have a cup of tea, meditate, play the flute, or study Tao.

To be continued...

Articles

When to Teach & When Not

The Ideal Student