Battle-Tested, Ancient and Wise

It could fairly be said, and often has been, that any hobby, sport or passion gives a person a context within which to test him or herself, and to grow. People often speak about the golf course or tennis court as a place where they learn as much about the workings of their own mind—and the workings of an opponent—as they do about the details or mechanics of the game. People with an eye toward pushing back their own boundaries and enhancing the experience of living often gravitate toward individual games and sports in order to explore and better the way they handle stress, competition, frustration and even defeat.

If we assume a certain attitude and perspective about life, pretty much anything we do and anything that happens to us helps us grow. Many religious and spiritual traditions embrace this idea, sometimes expressed as karma, sometimes as service, sometimes as testing, and sometimes simply as “what does not kill us makes us stronger”.
Tai chi practice is a particularly effective system of strengthening not only the muscles of the body, but the muscles of self-cultivation. The term “system” is what counts here, because rather than the myriad other games in which a person can explore weaknesses and strengths, tai chi is literally designed as a laboratory for testing and improving the body/mind. Think of it as a laboratory where the experiments (the questions) are outlined ahead of time and the correct solutions offered. The hard work of inquiry and evaluation must be done, but the results are guaranteed, if not always completely predictable.

Yes, its methods themselves are exceptionally brilliant, battle-tested, ancient and wise, but tai chi’s real uniqueness is the simple fact that its sole purpose is not to make you a better play on court, green or field, but to equip you for the game of life by teaching the true way nature works, the true rules that obtain in life, and the best way to take advantage of this knowledge with the least effort and the most result. Tai chi teachings can and should be applied to any human endeavor.

Tai chi was originally a battlefield martial art, so if your focus is on self-defense you will find much here. If your goal is to be healthy and fit and to forestall the degenerative diseases of aging you will be hard pressed to find more sophisticated body mechanics and such better information about the intricacies and cycles of the human body. Tai chi’s truths are ineluctable. If you seek a deep spiritual system that will pervasively flavor the way you look at people, places, things and events while teaching you to see patterns, links and trends, tai chi is for you, too. Sooner or later the principles will find your weak spots, and the practice will relentlessly reveal, but gently, precisely those areas of your mind, body and life that need work.
Believe it.