It was recently brought to my attention by a Tai Chi brother that a certain group of Tai Chi practitioners were questioning the authenticity of the art that I practise as actual Tai Chi Chuan. Their claim being that I did not follow the principles of Tai Chi Chuan as stated in the Tai Chi Chuan Classics. They made this claim after viewing a few video clips of some of my students practising a few techniques. They attempted to compare what I had shown with their limited experience of the art, thus were not even aware that they were comparing fixed format cooperative exercises with teaching demonstrations and competitive training drills.
It was obvious from some of their statements that they neither understood what they were watching nor had bothered to find out more (a ssimple case of reading a few pages of the site) before they started their heated discussion on the merits of what I had put on show. The most amazing thing was the hypocrisy of it all , they claimed they were criticising in the spirit of fellow travellers on the path to enlightenment yet not one of them had the curtesy to contact me to ask my opinion or comment on what, after all, I knew most about.
It suits a lot of Tai Chi "Masters" to shroud what they teach in mystery and esoteric practises which are never revealed. My most vocal critic talked at length about perfect technique but never demonstrated anything at all - empty vessels speak empty words and issue empty force. They demonstrate their powers on their compliant students but will never expose themselves to the trials of open competition. Their argument seems to be that if it works but does not look like what they consider the form should look like then it cannot be Tai Chi Chuan. I only saw one decent clip the so called "Best Tai Chi Clip in the World" - it was a reasonable display of an application but as with any clip it would be easy to pick holes in it.
It is not surprising that the only people who claimed that I was doing it wrong were the people who had never actually seen me in action or experienced my ability first hand. In Tai Chi Chuan the proof is in the touch , not the vision. One person even claimed that he would be able to exploit what he saw to be flaws in my technique - many have tried and failed - perhaps he has never heard of the strategy of inviting the attack.
Suffice it to say I am ready to learn from any Tai Chi Master who has demonstrated superior technique to my own in the use of the art and not just in the aesthetics of forms. If any of my critics would like to show me the error of my ways then they can always pay me a visit or invite me to one of their seminars, I'll even bring my own jug of water.