Natural To Unnatural And Back

Thoughts from Bluegrass Country
by
Brad Bennett [written circa 6/6/04]

As you all know one of the beautiful aspects of Tai Chi is that it can be practiced just about anywhere. I just finished the PHD form in my hotel room of the Hyatt Regency in Lexington, Ky. (I’m attending the annual meeting of the Gait and Clinical Motion Analysis Society). Patrick Johnson would have enjoyed watching me move first down one side of the bed and then along the foot of the bed only to have to adapt my steps to avoid a table and chair. It comes natural to me. Natural in the sense of, “natural to unnatural back to natural,” as Mr. Lui used to say. When I first started Tai Chi I did it moving the way I naturally moved. Then I learned how Tai Chi was supposed to be done and when I did it that way it felt unnatural. But after years of practice the Tai Chi way began to feel natural.

When it comes to adjusting my steps to the environment it’s the same way. First it feels unnatural to not step in just the direction you want. But after years of practice it comes natural. I don’t even think about it most of the time. The beginning of learning this was naturally Mr. Lui.

I learned to adjust my steps because I always tried what Mr. Lui suggested. I tried what he suggested because I never took him at his word. He didn’t want his students to. He would deride any student that merely did something because his teacher said it was so. There was always a rational reason for everything Mr. Lui taught me. So when Mr. Lui said do the horsestance everyday. I did it. Then from personal experience I can talk about the benefits.

When Mr. Lui introduced the Two-Corner form he said that it could be done in one square yard. So I tried it. It can and when I’m in such a space as a hotel room I feel quite comfortable practicing. When I am in Fort Mason next to a pillar I am quite comfortable. When I am at the front of the group at the Reunion at Fort Mason on the platform I am comfortable. Mr Lui’s teachings were always useful.

Tai Chi is for the real world. It is not to be kept in a classroom of certain dimensions. I practice every time I sit down, when I open a door, or push the button for the elevator. Expressing the joy of Tai Chi is not only for the classroom or your private practice. It is for your public practice, your life.

So when you come to the reunion bring along an open mind. Mr. Lui left us a wonderful framework to deepen our Tai Chi. Take any new ideas, moves, or techniques and use them during the week. Take them home and see if they fulfill their promises. Only then can you know if they have something to teach you. Only then will you come back for the 26th Reunion, not “the same old guy,” but the new, every changing, ever growing, and ever improving you.

With Vitamin L.

See you at the 25th Reunion.