NO MAGIC!

 By Phillip Starr

How often have I had beginning taijiquan students come to me and want to alleviate various ailments through the practice of that art! And how many people, having read or heard stories about the arts of xingyiquan, baguazhang, and/or taijiquan have come to me, knowing in their hearts that if they learned said art, they could defeat an army of aggressors? The same is true for teachers of shaolinquan, and karate as well...

There is NO MAGIC in the various postures of any given martial art (especially the neijia of taijiquan, xingyiquan, and baguazhang). Learning them will not automatically bestow you with supreme fighting skill at all. Developing genuine combative skill requires a great deal more than memorizing a bunch of nice looking postures. Even learning their many applications is of minimal use. And developing the required coordination to perform certain movements will probably not impact you health at all...

UNLESS YOU PRACTICE! Not just once a week or twice a month...that isn't nearly enough. These arts demand daily practice. Daily. Practice. Doing taiji once a week for a couple of months results in nothing. If you are determined to improve your health, you've got to learn not just the postures, but many other facets of the art as well (such as correct breathing, which is much more involved that you'd think). Practice religiously every day. Don't expect results overnight, because it just doesn't happen that way. It takes time. One of the most valuable lessons you'll learn is...patience.

If you wish the develop great fighting skills, you have to go much further in your studies than just learning the movements and proper breathing (both of which will require considerable time). The same principles of combat apply to all martial disciplines, regardless of art or style. These are thoroughly covered in my book, MARTIAL MANEUVERS. The “Three Jewels” of combat are Distance, Timing, and Rhythm. And there are numerous other concepts and principles that must also be studied thoroughly and mastered (some of which are mental/psychological).

Practice routines such as push-hands are fine sensitivity exercises but they do not foster the development of combative skill, nor should they be used to appraise one's actual fighting skill. At all.

Imagine a boxer who learns how to execute the various punches but doesn't put in any time learning about or practicing footwork, breathing, or the Three Jewels. He wouldn't make it past the first round! He'd spend most of his time meditating on the insides of his eyelids. And so it is with many neijia practitioners; they learn the postures and that's it...and believe that they are now invincible fighters...! Not hardly.

Or an individual who is suffering from some kind of malady but takes the medicine for it only once a week... the medicine isn't magic, either.

The benefits of practicing martial arts aren't so shallow that they can be realize very quickly. It takes time, like brewing a fine cup of tea. The ingredients must be of the best quality but that isn't enough. The water, when added, must be at just the right temperature. Then...how long after the water is poured onto the tea leaves should one wait before serving it? If you want a superior result, you must spend the time and effort to acquire it.