Are you serious?

After I just learned the long form, I got transferred to second shift at work. I could not continue the evening tai chi classes. I met Greg in the Sunday taiji meetup at UTA. He had studied with Deng Shihe when he worked in Taiwan for a year or two and would drop into these Sunday meetups. During the week, he lead morning classes in the same studio where several other martial arts were taught (not at the same time.) A bit early for my schedule, but I liked it. Typically just a handful of students, it was easy to ask questions and really work on my forms. Sometimes it was even a private lesson.

Whilst I can appreciate that businesses are in business to stay in business, tai chi seems to attract airheads like bugs to light. I tried to bring up this topic once. Greg was nice about it, I get the little chuckle he had at my snobbery. He was a dreamer. I think his dream was to be a full time martial artist, but at the time, his then-wife's businesses paid their bills while the multi-style school subsisted.

Other than that, I kept to myself about my issue with airheads in tai chi. They've got a flakey personality, seemingly unreliable or fickle. They're a bit spacey to me, kind of floating around in thought and in body. When it extends to their voice, I lose it. I cannot take them seriously. It's a waste of time. I mean, it's one thing to practice tai chi for the exercise versus practice for the martial aspect. I get that. I'm sure they don't know what they're getting into when they decide to take up tai chi. It may seem like a dance in space because a good taiji player is so smooth and flowing at their forms, it looks like they float. It's the strong legs from lots of practice, hehe. Fortunately for me, airheads don't last long in martial arts (or anything else, I reckon.) I think back now, Greg knew that. My karate instructor for sure knew that and he'd "strike while the iron's hot" until they floated off. Sooner rather than later, like smoke, they'd just fade into the ether.

I surprise myself that my attitude on tai chi airheads is still there.  Here's a couple of websites along the same way I'm thinking.

http://www.realtaichiuk.com

http://www.martialtaichi.co.uk/