“There are 3 friends who were students of martial arts. They were bragging to ech other the feats of their masters. The first one said that his master could break hollow blocks, slabs of stone or wooden planks with his bare hand. The 2nd student would not be outdone by the first one said that his teacher/master could leap over high fences and could leap upward to some tall buildings. The third one just said softly that his teacher eats when he is hungry, drinks when he is thirsty and lie down when he is sleepy. Upon hearing this the two friends exclaimed in unison, “What! your teacher is just a normal human being.” The 3rd student just said, “Yes my teacher is normal but yours are abnormal!”
With this story, Sifu Peter Yap of TCCB group, concluded his talk/lecture on Tai Chi. He was invited /requested to give a lecture on Tai Chi by Mrs. Terry Gochangco, the president of the Yuan Thong Temple at Burgos St., Bacolod City, to the 4th batch of live-in students from Russia, Germany, Manila, Samar and Bacolod, studying at the temple on different arts.The instructions/sessions is free of charge.
The story, I think, summarizes the whole lecture of Sifu Peter Yap wherein he encourages/advocates the normal/natural way of practicing Tai Chi. One does not have to have extra efforts in practicing the form. Why do you have to exert tremendous effort just to get to the tall building when one can use the stairs or ladder. Or why do you have to punish oneself by using your barehand in breaking the ice when one has to use an ice pick to crack it. We do not exert extra effort during our practice at TCCB. As Sifu Petr Yap mentions in his talk, putting extra effort beyond the natural way is sometimes detrimental for the cultivation of chi or life force. This is one of the principles that we practice at TCCB with the guidance of Sifu Peter Yap.
Sifu Peter Yap demonstrated by example when he mentions about the basic principles which should be present during the practice of Tai chi. Aside from the example by doing, Sifu Peter even used Chinese characters mentiond in the Tai Chi forms and gave different meanings of a single Chinese character according to context using the white board.
At the open forum, he answered questions with ease, aplomb and spontaneity with matching demonstration, the health benefits of tai Chi, the different harmonies (esternal and internal). He even fielded questions about food and matching diet.
Sifu Peter Yap said that unless your Tai Chi has all the requirements, your tai chi is just an ordinary calisthenics or Tai Chi look-alike. Tai Chi is bio-energetics not a mechanical/muscular mimicry.
His lecture/talk was a summary of his casual conversation after TCCB’s formal practice every MWF evening at Oceanlite, Singcang, Bacolod, as well as every Saturday and Sunday morning at the Capitol Lagoon. Sifu Peter Yap would make it a point to attend every practice session if the weather permits.
So join us in practicing tai chi, the TCCB way, which is the natural/normal way
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