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Don Ethan Miller and Tai Chi
"Of course it's fun to work with perfect specimens, who catch on quickly and perform at a high level," says Don, "but it's infinitely more rewarding to work with people who are not in perfect condition, people with pain or fatigue or lesser coordination, and see the beautiful effects that Tai Chi can bring to them. When people become really grounded, or rooted as we call it in Tai Chi, for the first time, and their bodies let go of fear and tension, they become like kids again, that's the greatest. And there are often profound changes in people's outlook, their sense of who they really are, their quality of awareness . . . it's quite amazing. I feel, honestly, that there's never a point at which you can say, I've mastered Tai Chi. It's a life-long process. There are no masters, only students."
PHILOSOPHY:
"Tai Chi is a unique art,
yet in my experience it is also best understood in relation to other arts, sciences, and
methods of personal growth. For me personally, Tai Chi relates to six other important
worlds of engagement and expression:
1. Poetry: Tai Chi is to "normal" movement as poetry is to normal language. That is, it is more intense, more perfect, more sacred, less awkward, less clumsy, more profound, more imbued with meaning and value. It has beauty and power; it is natural but not ordinary; it has the dual function of transmitting the wisdom and experience of those who have come before, and of being a deep method of expressing oneself in the present.
2. Shamanism: in shamanism, one journeys to other realms in order to return with knowledge and power that will improve life, heal and restore balance. Tai Chi has the same purpose. Also, in shamanism one "shapeshifts" to experience and embody different animal powers as well as natural elements and forces. In Tai Chi, we also strive to embody animal qualities and elemental natural forces -- rooting like a tree, floating like clouds, striking like a snake, flowing like water. The relationship between these two arts is very strong.
3. Martial Arts: Tai Chi's roots are in the martial arts of preindustrial China, and its connection with other systems of combative training is evident. Striking, kicking, throwing, grappling, use of weapons, evasion, tactics, and timing are universal martial elements, which Tai Chi contains as well. Tai Chi can be combined with other martial arts to the benefit of both. Top-level boxers, jujitsuists, karateka and judoka, kuntaoers and expert martial artists of all types utilize Tai Chi principles of sensitivity, flow, rooting, changeability, integrated power, heightened awareness, etc., whether or not they have explicitly studied Tai Chi.
4. Therapy/Healing: Tai Chi not only heals the body but also the mind, emotions, and spirit. We practice letting go of physical tension, in order to move more easily and powerfully, and we similarly practice letting go of fear, anxiety, and psychic tension in order to realize our energetic potential and act without obstruction. Ultimately, Tai Chi's aim is to allow the free flow of energy within the body-mind system, and to balance yin and yang qualities, producing a state of superior health: not only the absence of disease, but abundant vitality, awareness, and well being. Individuals who are ill, depressed, depleted, "stressed-out", or otherwise debilitated can find in Tai Chi a form of what the Chinese call tzu li kung sheng -- "regeneration through one's own effort."
5. Spirituality: The spiritual aspect of Tai Chi is not confined to any specific religion, although it can interweave with any. It is rather concerned with eliminating the "impurities" of fear, rage, hate, tension, and stress from the human system, and connecting the individual with the harmony of nature and the larger order of the Universe, which the Chinese call Tao. Each person is free to make these connections at their own pace, and utilize them as they wish. Taoism, which is the philosophical system which underlies Tai Chi, does not impose rules and rituals which must be blindly followed, but rather seeks to liberate each person to their own natural spirituality and connection with the whole. In my experience, the effect of Tai Chi in guiding people towards a more benevolent, peaceful, compassionate and useful life exceeds the effect of many more authoritarian, prescriptive, organized religious systems. To practice "Tai Chi in daily life" is to be a more spiritual person.
Finally, as Sifu William Chen says, "Tai Chi is doing anything well." The meaning of the art is not found in its forms, exercises, or overt practices, but in the way one lives: catching a falling object without tension, healing a troubled friend, enduring setbacks and losses with continued kindness, love, and spirit. The "Three Treasures" of jing (sexual energy), chi (life force) and shen (spirit) connect to each other, as the Three Levels of Engagement -- Earth, Man and Heaven -- also combine, to produce a life of harmony, dynamism, and balance. Tai Chi has provided these benefits to me, and its gifts are available to all who practice it."