Keeping People Interested

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Keeping People Interested

Postby seeker279 » Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:26 pm

I haven't written in this forum for a few years. I've been training with a kung fu teacher I found in my area for about a year now. I feel it paying off now, I'm more fluid, im stronger, and I have a clear idea of how to use my whole body to do the moves correctly. The problem is I am currently the only student my teacher has, I have invited friends to come and practice, they get really excited that they are going to learn kung fu, but after a week or two, they don't come back. This has been a recurring problem for my teacher in his 20+ years of teaching. I think the reason they dont come back is that they dont realize that even though its a martial art, kung fu still requires lots of work, more i think than say taekwondo (I really don't know anything about taekwondo, I hope i haven't offended anyone). Does anyone have suggestions of how to start new students off so that they feel they are progressing and dont lose interest right away?
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby Josh Young » Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:53 pm

What you are addressing is a very serious and common issue.

High turnover is so common that many teachers anticipate this and have contracts like cell phone service!

Some famous children of masters who became masters themselves ran away from home to avoid the hard work and in some cases were even beaten to get them to do it.

I might be wrong about the following but here is my opinion:

It comes down to the character of the student and worthy students are extremely rare.
I think that good martial arts are taught and learned one on one, even with a group setting it takes individual work and effort to get anywhere meaningful with practice.

Test students before hand to see if they have dedication, students with skill in terms of musicianship and art are good choices, because they will already have skill gained through practice over time, which is what gong-fu truly is.

It also helps to have some students who can demonstrate skills that new students can see and desire for themselves.


Dr. Yang has repeatedly stressed in his books that good Gong-fu takes years of effort and hard work, and the results are well worth it. I like the stories that illustrate this, like the story of the Archer and the Oil Seller.


There is not a lot that can be done about the problems of open admission schools, any school that takes on students without screening them for dedication is going to have a very high turnover.

Sometimes a little reverse psychology can help, letting people know they may not have what it takes may cause them to push themselves.

We have a lazy culture in the USA, what we think is hard work usually isn't.
I guess that comes with not plowing your own fields.
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:35 pm

FWIW I think most people who attend a few Tai Chi "classes" are either overwhelmed by the complexity of the form and say to themselves that they will never be able to do "that" or are bored to tears by an instructor who spends way too much time and goes into way too much detail about how to do something, like the 8 Brocades. You've got to have a high tolerance for boredom
and frustration in the early stages of learning Tai Chi. This is especially true for children and teens. For them Tai Chi holds their interest for about 10 minutes, then it's just plain "lame". They want action, breaking boards, sparring, kicking, etc. So do a lot of adults. A lot of other adults want to try Tai Chi because it's "easy" and claims health benifits, more or less without effort, and when they find out that a bit of effort IS involved, well, then it's back to the couch for them. :? :?
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby wpgtaiji » Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:11 pm

The problem with tai chi is that the curriculum of 99% of the teachers is lame. I have seen programs with about 20 tai chi "forms" for beginners! What a crazy joke! A curriculum of tai chi should have the flexibility to work with what the class' energy is doing on that day, not what the instructor forces them to learn (which is the biggest problem). In my area, tai chi is taught as a 10 week course, or something to that effect (not sure what the one that has a large number of beginner forms does, because i was too busy...). How can you learn anything if the course if forced? What if the class isnt ready for the next set? Tai chi is about flow and not forcing, yet the curriculum itself is all about force! Big surprise there are conflicts and attrition.

The reason I chose WTBA over all others was for many reasons, but most important, they get to the goods right away. All those number forms just teach body movement, but not internal energy movement. Teaching a few postures at each lesson, but supplementing with other methods keeps things interesting and on what is important: the martial arts are FUN! BTW, you can learn body movement more efficiently and properly when you arent forced into a set pattern for everything. People seem to get the equation backwards. Like Erle wrote, "Never live to martial art. Martial art to LIVE!"
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:58 pm

If you could only get into peoples minds to find out why they came to a Tai Chi class in the first place. What were they thinking? Then you need to find out why, after one class and proclaiming that they simply loved it, they never came back again? It's a tough nut to crack. You can offer FREE classes, you can charge money, you can have a Chinese instructor, you can have any instructor for that matter, you can start off with fairly simple standing Qigong and take it very slow, you can jump right into the long form and flood them with info and moves. Doesn't seem to matter how you do it, the result is the same. They tell you they loved it and you never see them again. I can't say this is always true, as there are always one or two who take up the challenge and get into it, but the vast majority are simply there for reasons basically unknown. :? :?
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby Dvivid » Mon Dec 10, 2012 12:52 pm

This new blog post by YMAA Retreat Center disciple Javier Rodriguez discusses this topic clearly.

http://kungfudiary.livejournal.com/19905.html

"I find comfort in small improvements because they equate to progress. Each improvement whether big or small is an additional piece of wood thrown into the fire. This keeps me focused on myself and engaged in my training, in hopes of snowballing into a cycle that will keep that flame lit."
"Avoid Prejudice, Be Objective in Your Judgement, Be Scientific, Be Logical and Make Sense, Do Not Ignore Prior Experience." - Dr. Yang

http://www.ymaa.com/publishing
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby Monsoon » Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:36 pm

I would like to follow such a 'diary', but not, as seems to be the case, where the 'diarist' cherry picks comments from readers. Change that and you will have a fan!

repsect,

Monsoon
peace and harmony

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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby Dvivid » Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:46 am

I think the comments require approval by a human to avoid spam, but they are not edited. That's why they don't auto-post immediately.
"Avoid Prejudice, Be Objective in Your Judgement, Be Scientific, Be Logical and Make Sense, Do Not Ignore Prior Experience." - Dr. Yang

http://www.ymaa.com/publishing
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Sat Dec 15, 2012 10:10 am

Perhaps Tai Chi is it's own worst enemy with respect to keeping people interested. It seems to want to promote itself as a "kinder, gentler" exercise. While this is all warm and fuzzy sounding,
it most likely really only appeals to the couch potato crowd who are looking for something easy that wil help them lose weight without effort. Tai Chi also gets its share of people seeking some sort of "cosmic experience"(for lack of better words). To be honest, neither of these types of people are going to ever come close to getting what they want. The couch potatos have no drive and Tai Chi doesn't push people to excel(not generally at least). On top of that no one ever lost an ounce doing Tai Chi, at least not the couch potato crowd. As for the so called "cosmic" crowd, they are looking to this "Chi" thing as some sort of salvation, something that will set them apart from the masses and when that doesn't happen(and it won't) that's it for them.

It would seem that maybe the problem is in the type of people Tai Chi attracts. People with little or no drive / motivation and another group looking for some sort of mystical power (if you will).
Neither of these types are going to stick around for long.

Maybe, just maybe Tai Chi has promoted itself very badly over the years. What with presenting itself as "easy exercise". There's no challenge in that. Things without challenge grow very boring, very quickly. Then there is always the "Chi problem" as I call it. It's put out there constantly as a cure all, be all, do all and in the end no one can even explain it, let alone give anyone a demonstration of it.

Without students pushing and striving to get better, at the art, Tai Chi will fall by the wayside.
I believe Tai Chi needs to be re-thought about how it's presented to the public. What's happening now isn't working. Present it as a viable martial art and useful form of exercise, instead of some easy and cosmic thing. To h*ll with the couch potatos and mind expanding crowd. They aren't worth the effort.
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby sub_human » Sun Dec 16, 2012 3:02 pm

Kung Fu literally means "Hard work"..

U can apply kung fu to anything you do within your daily life.. as long as your conscience about what your being is doing.

I believe many become disinterested in "Tai Chi" because their idea of what they are about to learn, going into it, is tainted. Their preconceived notions are shattered, thus their interest..
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Sun Dec 16, 2012 3:46 pm

sub_human wrote:I believe many become disinterested in "Tai Chi" because their idea of what they are about to learn, going into it, is tainted. Their preconceived notions are shattered, thus their interest..


+1

Looking at Tai Chi from the newbies viewpoint, at least as I recall, it seems to be promoted as a secretive, mystical Chinese art and with Qi and the word internal thrown in on top of that it's not hard to see why people might think just about anything. Then reality sets in and they find that they are no different than they were before. Reminds me of looking at a vacation pamphlet, for a beach resort in Mexico. It looks and sounds fabulous and you set your expectations way high. Then the reality strikes, and while the place is most likely very nice and you have a very good time it just wasn't quite how you had it pictured in your mind.

At least Karate, Judo, Akido, Boxing, etc. portray themselves for what they are. A fighting martial art that you can learn with some work, time, and effort.
I think that appeals to people more than things that are portrayed in a more mystical aspect.
Speaking for myself, some of the things that are written and said about Tai Chi sometimes seem to require almost a mindset that believes in things like levitation , witchcraft, etc. This does not help attract serious students as only "wackos"(for lack of a better word) believe in those things.
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby Dvivid » Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:22 am

Pete, you have been warned before about your negative and confusing posts. We have previously established the fact that you are not interested in qigong, or any internal work. Yet you continue to post on the subject as if you have any experiential knowledge. Please don't. it is ridiculous to blither about a topic you don't understand, and you may just dissuade a new practitioner from progressing further with your negativity.

Im genuinely sorry you didn't have a better experience with your studies, and get more benefit out of them.

a secretive, mystical Chinese art and with Qi and the word internal thrown in on top of that it's not hard to see why people might think just about anything. Then reality sets in and they find that they are no different than they were before.


The above is incorrect.

1. Taijiquan in 2012 is not secretive or mystical.

2. Qi is the Chinese word for 'energy', of all kinds. The nature of energy is transformation; it can be heat, light, and/or electromagnetic fields. Energy is real, inside the body and out. We inhale energized air, and we metabolize energy, all day, every day. That is Qi.

3. The word "Internal" is not "thrown in". It is one of the most fundamental aspects of Chinese martial arts, all of which are classified as either Internal or External. Internal arts like taijiquan and baguazhang were created based on the concept of developing your body's energy to a higher capacity than normal, and using knowledge of acupuncture points and vital cavities to strike an opponent. As you progress in TRAINING, you develop a strong, but soft and flexible body with whipping power, or "soft jing". External arts like Shaolin kung fu use brute force punches and kicks ("hard jing"), and work on developing the physical body first. Over time, the training also becomes "internal".

Clear and correct information is widely available, now more than ever, on the above topics for those who are interested in LEARNING about them, and then spend the necessary time TRAINING in order to experience them for themselves, as many, many others have done.
"Avoid Prejudice, Be Objective in Your Judgement, Be Scientific, Be Logical and Make Sense, Do Not Ignore Prior Experience." - Dr. Yang

http://www.ymaa.com/publishing
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Wed Dec 19, 2012 12:57 pm

Dvivid wrote:Im genuinely sorry you didn't have a better experience with your studies, and get more benefit out of them.

a secretive, mystical Chinese art and with Qi and the word internal thrown in on top of that it's not hard to see why people might think just about anything. Then reality sets in and they find that they are no different than they were before.


The above is incorrect.

1. Taijiquan in 2012 is not secretive or mystical.

2. Qi is the Chinese word for 'energy', of all kinds. The nature of energy is transformation; it can be heat, light, and/or electromagnetic fields. Energy is real, inside the body and out. We inhale energized air, and we metabolize energy, all day, every day. That is Qi.

3. The word "Internal" is not "thrown in". It is one of the most fundamental aspects of Chinese martial arts, all of which are classified as either Internal or External. Internal arts like taijiquan and baguazhang were created based on the concept of developing your body's energy to a higher capacity than normal, and using knowledge of acupuncture points and vital cavities to strike an opponent. As you progress in TRAINING, you develop a strong, but soft and flexible body with whipping power, or "soft jing". External arts like Shaolin kung fu use brute force punches and kicks ("hard jing"), and work on developing the physical body first. Over time, the training also becomes "internal".

Clear and correct information is widely available, now more than ever, on the above topics for those who are interested in LEARNING about them, and then spend the necessary time TRAINING in order to experience them for themselves, as many, many others have done.


I would ask how you determined that I(....didn't have a better experience with.....). This is not true at all.

1.) Couldn't agree more. It isn't, secretive or mystical, to you and I and many others on this forum. All of whom have a fair share of experience with it. Take a look at how it's portrayed in all the health magazines, pamphlets, videos and I think you'll see something of a trend to try and sell Tai Chi, to newbies, in a more mystical sense than as a physical thing to do.

2.) As for the Qi thing. YOU call it energy and I believe you're right on target. However, if you ask any new student about it you'll find that THEY tend to think of it in a way more complex way than simple energy. I doubt you can honestly tell me that you feel that Qi gong is presented to the uninformed(if you will) as simply energy. No, most of the newbies are looking for help because they believe, and will tell you, that "my chi is all messed up" or something to that effect. I've had people tell me that they wanted to learn Qi gong so they could be a healer. How far away from "the real deal" is that? Where did they get this idea?

3.) Sorry, but I believe the word internal is used mainly to give Tai Chi a sort of seperation and eliteness over other martial arts. A sort of selling point, if you will. As if martial arts that are more physical are thereby not as good or as good for you. TaI Chi seems to present itself as a form of exercise that requires no effort and this appeals to the couch potato brigade. For a while anyway, then they simply go away. Which is exactly what they would do with any type of exercise program. It's almost as if Tai Chi was against physical exercise. And that's just wrong.

Sure, clear and correct info is available but, once again, put yourself in the newbies place. How would they know the difference between clear and correct(like we would) or the sort of health food store type of hype that appears almost everywhere? Hype is what sells Tai Chi to the couch potato and leftover 70's hippie cosmic crowds.

Last but not least, Tai Chi is being sold as easy, no effort exercise that brings fabulous results.
Think of all the items sold on TV that make claims like this. None of them work. I would hate to guess how many of these, so called, exercise devices are laying unused in couch potatos basements and garages. Seems as if the Tai Chi world is not set up to attract people that are really interested in serious exercising(i.e. athletes, if you will) and it shows in the people who come to classes(for a while).
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby Dvivid » Wed Dec 19, 2012 1:27 pm

Pete, Taijiquan is a type of "kung fu", which translates to effort/time. Some students will be overwhelmed, some are just looking for a surface-level, and a few will go deeper into it.

The best way we can help newbies (and help to keep people interested, the topic of this thread) is to tell them correct information, and focus on the positive.

Yes, people misunderstand Qi, and the concept of "internal arts". Therefore, we need to be clear on the topic every time it comes up. And that is not what you're doing. The topic of "internal arts" pre-dates your existence by a few hundred years, so your opinion is just that.

And, its not that "I call Qi energy"...we don't each get to decide what Qi is. The Chinese word Qi translates in English as "energy". Some people don't spend the time pondering what energy actually is inside and outside of the body enough to come to an understanding of it...but that doesn't mean we get to change the translation of the word!

The fact that Tai Chi is sometimes considered mystical is offensive to you. That's your opinion. We get it. We don't need to hear it every chance you get to repeat it on every thread in this forum. Some of us have different experience with our training and practice than you. You have already stated that you found the subject boring, and you did not put in the effort and time to reach some level of experience with it, so please refrain from pretending to be an expert on the topic.

It is well-documented that people who LEARN CORRECTLY and SPEND THE TIME PRACTICING qigong, tai chi, yoga, or other internal arts have tend to be unusually healthy, live longer, etc. I speak from my own experience and that of my longterm students.

The fact that people present Tai Chi as a cure-all for health is offensive to you. OK, we get it. Again, you have no experience with the internal health side of practice and are unhealthy yourself, so we should avoid this topic in the future. If people have a good teacher, AND they spend time learning and then practicing, they MAY experience amazing health benefits for a wide range of illnesses.

People who study qigong CAN be healers. Your attitude is maddening. Qigong teaches you about your own body's energy and you learn to heal yourself. Of course, you can then help others to do the same.

When someone says "their Qi is messed up", they don't understand the topic well-enough to express themselves, and that irks you. We get it. But, they are not entirely incorrect. The Chinese view of the body is that the mind and energy are at the root of health. An acupuncturist treats someone to improve their qi circulation because it is not ideal, a.k.a. messed up. Qigong is meant to develop your energy to higher capacity than normal, and improve your circulation, because it is not ideal, a.k.a. messed up. From a western medical perspective of course it is more complex, and your circulation is not only of energy (ATP), but also neurotransmitters and other blood chemistry. But at the base of all of those molecules in the body...is energy. "Messed up" energy.

Recent studies of Tai Chi, qigong, and similar internal meditation-based exercise have shown great health benefits. The new fields of psychoneuroimmunology and epigenetics are starting show that this type of exercise can benefit your health immensely. Which means, qigong, tai chi, and meditation are the future of exercise. And we should encourage this, not disparage it every chance we get.

FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE.
"Avoid Prejudice, Be Objective in Your Judgement, Be Scientific, Be Logical and Make Sense, Do Not Ignore Prior Experience." - Dr. Yang

http://www.ymaa.com/publishing
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Wed Dec 19, 2012 2:27 pm

wpgtaiji wrote:The problem with tai chi is that the curriculum of 99% of the teachers is lame.


Couldn't agree more. Only problem is that people have to start somewhere and even a "lame" start is a start none the less. Hopefully as you progress things and ideas start to make more sense and you can separate the wheat from the chaff.

One thing I have noticed, in Tai Chi, is that instructors seem very rigid in their beliefs and un-accepting of ideas that they are not versed in. Almost to the point of scoffing at others as unknowing and "not teaching real Tai Chi". I can see this as a problem with newbies. Instructors being somewhat arrogant in that respect. To be honest it would appear to be pretty much a mish mash of "instructors" out there. That doesn't help at all.
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Wed Dec 19, 2012 2:46 pm

Dvivid wrote:Pete, Taijiquan is a type of "kung fu", which translates to effort/time. Some students will be overwhelmed, some are just looking for a surface-level, and a few will go deeper into it.

The best way we can help newbies (and help to keep people interested, the topic of this thread) is to tell them correct information, and focus on the positive.

Yes, people misunderstand Qi, and the concept of "internal arts". Therefore, we need to be clear on the topic every time it comes up. And that is not what you're doing. The topic of "internal arts" pre-dates your existence by a few hundred years, so your opinion is just that.

And, its not that "I call Qi energy"...we don't each get to decide what Qi is. The Chinese word Qi translates in English as "energy". Some people don't spend the time pondering what energy actually is inside and outside of the body enough to come to an understanding of it...but that doesn't mean we get to change the translation of the word!

The fact that Tai Chi is sometimes considered mystical is offensive to you. That's your opinion. We get it. We don't need to hear it every chance you get to repeat it on every thread in this forum. Some of us have different experience with our training and practice than you. You have already stated that you found the subject boring, and you did not put in the effort and time to reach some level of experience with it, so please refrain from pretending to be an expert on the topic.

It is well-documented that people who LEARN CORRECTLY and SPEND THE TIME PRACTICING qigong, tai chi, yoga, or other internal arts have tend to be unusually healthy, live longer, etc. I speak from my own experience and that of my longterm students.

The fact that people present Tai Chi as a cure-all for health is offensive to you. OK, we get it. Again, you have no experience with the internal health side of practice and are unhealthy yourself, so we should avoid this topic in the future. If people have a good teacher, AND they spend time learning and then practicing, they MAY experience amazing health benefits for a wide range of illnesses.

People who study qigong CAN be healers. Your attitude is maddening. Qigong teaches you about your own body's energy and you learn to heal yourself. Of course, you can then help others to do the same.

When someone says "their Qi is messed up", they don't understand the topic well-enough to express themselves, and that irks you. We get it. But, they are not entirely incorrect. The Chinese view of the body is that the mind and energy are at the root of health. An acupuncturist treats someone to improve their qi circulation because it is not ideal, a.k.a. messed up. Qigong is meant to develop your energy to higher capacity than normal, and improve your circulation, because it is not ideal, a.k.a. messed up. From a western medical perspective of course it is more complex, and your circulation is not only of energy (ATP), but also neurotransmitters and other blood chemistry. But at the base of all of those molecules in the body...is energy. "Messed up" energy.

Recent studies of Tai Chi, qigong, and similar internal meditation-based exercise have shown great health benefits. The new fields of psychoneuroimmunology and epigenetics are starting show that this type of exercise can benefit your health immensely. Which means, qigong, tai chi, and meditation are the future of exercise. And we should encourage this, not disparage it every chance we get.

FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE.


Sorry, but all you've done is create a massive post, that misses the point completely(IMHO).
You seem to want to harp on my belief / dis-belief in qigong and that's not where I'm coming from. What's wrong with someone saying that they don't believe in something?

Anyway, the main thrust of my post's is that the Tai Chi world seems intent, and content, to be satisfied with attracting the proverbial couch potato. And we all know how that goes.

Make Tai Chi appeal more to athletically inclined people as opposed to people that we know won't stay "with it". Tai Chi itself will get better and will attract more people willing to "work at it". That's all I've been trying to say all along. Leave trying to convince me of the validity of qigong out of it and focus more on how Tai Chi is presented to the world.
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby Dvivid » Wed Dec 19, 2012 3:17 pm

OK, this is how we present Taijiquan to the world, couch-potatoes and all.

http://ymaa.com/publishing/tai-chi-dvd-book

Enough to "keep people interested" for a while.
"Avoid Prejudice, Be Objective in Your Judgement, Be Scientific, Be Logical and Make Sense, Do Not Ignore Prior Experience." - Dr. Yang

http://www.ymaa.com/publishing
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Wed Dec 19, 2012 4:31 pm

Dvivid wrote:OK, this is how we present Taijiquan to the world, couch-potatoes and all.

http://ymaa.com/publishing/tai-chi-dvd-book

Enough to "keep people interested" for a while.


Looks great. I have a couple of Dr. Yang's books. Very well done. You must realize though that you're in a minority as far as info to the public goes. It just seems to me that the "buzz on the street"(if you will) about Tai Chi is EASY and something of a cure all, instead of being promoted
as a viable exercise(workout) to help you become stronger and healthier.

Tai Chi classes that I have attended recently seem filled with unfit people. Some of whom can't and or won't even walk around the block to try and help themselves. EASY really appeals to them. Others are there to find out how they can start moving Chi to help heal an arthritic joint that they have ignored for years and is most likely beyond much help anyway, short of replacement. Others seem to have it in the backs of their heads that they will learn some strange power / energy, cosmic force if you will.

I'm serious, most of these people are simply not the people who will ever put any effort forth toward the goal of good health and an active life. They seem to want it dumped in their laps and they want it ASAP. Hard work, effort, study, practice, commitment, etc. are not part of their MO.
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Wed Dec 19, 2012 4:33 pm

pete5770 wrote:
Dvivid wrote:OK, this is how we present Taijiquan to the world, couch-potatoes and all.

http://ymaa.com/publishing/tai-chi-dvd-book

Enough to "keep people interested" for a while.


Looks great. I have a couple of Dr. Yang's books. Very well done. You must realize though that you're in a minority as far as info to the public goes. It just seems to me that the "buzz on the street"(if you will) about Tai Chi is EASY and something of a cure all, instead of being promoted
as a viable exercise(workout) to help you become stronger and healthier.

Tai Chi classes that I have attended recently seem filled with unfit people. Some of whom can't and or won't even walk around the block to try and help themselves. EASY really appeals to them. Others are there to find out how they can start moving Chi to help heal an arthritic joint that they have ignored for years and is most likely beyond much help anyway, short of replacement. Still others seem to have it in the backs of their heads that they will learn some strange power / energy, cosmic force if you will.

I'm serious, most of these people are simply not the people who will ever put any effort forth toward the goal of good health and an active life. They seem to want it dumped in their laps and they want it ASAP. Hard work, effort, study, practice, commitment, etc. are not part of their MO.
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Re: Keeping People Interested

Postby pete5770 » Fri Dec 21, 2012 2:08 pm

Josh Young wrote:There is not a lot that can be done about the problems of open admission schools, any school that takes on students without screening them for dedication is going to have a very high turnover.


FWIW I don't think that there are very many schools that aren't open admission. I can't see many instructors turning away potential paying students. It's usually more a case of the student leaving on his / her own accord. I will grant you that there are some of what you might call advanced schools that may require abit of testing(if you will) to get in. i.e. a school like Juilliard School of Music will definately require that you show some very good credentials to become a student. However the local violin instructor doesn't have the luxury of picking and chosing. They take what students come to them, try and teach them the value of work and practice, then hope that their students will stick with it and move on to higher levels of instruction. When I first started taking violin lessons I recall the teachers that I had worked me hard and constanly challenged me to play more difficult pieces, etc. I saw improvement. Excuses were not allowed. Maybe this is a sort of fault in Tai Chi instructors at the entry level. Most seem content to sort of baby their students and say "gee, that's too bad, go over and sit and watch" when the student complains of whatever aches and pains they have. Of course no one improves this way but it seems to be how things are run, at times. At times it seems like there is someone new opening a Tai Chi studio on a weekly basis, with no teaching experience and often not a lot of Tai Chi experience. Needless to say things usually don't go all that well.
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