I finally got back home last week, after traveling through the States between the camps in La Honda and Sandy Island. Also, immediately after I flew back to Finland, my teacher had a workshop in Helsinki. Now, after having some time to reflect on all the teachings, it's time to start sharing what I've learned.
At La Honda we had a very special camp this year. The grandmaster started teaching already on Sunday evening, and classes were long, sometimes over three hours. He had many stories to share, and the practice was intense. And for the first time at any camp, this time I practiced every morning before breakfast.
The first thing the grandmaster taught was how to sit down and stand up. Slowly bend your knees to lower your posture and sit down on a chair, or slowly straighten your knees while standing up on your legs - repeating this over and over again. That's actually what we do all the time in everyday life. We sit down to eat, to read or just to relax, and we stand up to walk or move from place to place at home and at work - or everywhere. Either you are on your feet or you let them rest. I found exactly the moment when you shift your balance off or onto your legs very interesting. I also think squatting can be thought of a variant of this exercise, and we practiced that a little as well.
Hold your posture straight, whether sitting or standing. Don't lean. Usually you can see the grandmaster holding his posture like this in group pictures - sitting or standing. He even mentioned how students have started copying and imitating his way of sitting, his posture - even ladies, although traditionally they used to sit very differently in many cultures.
Speaking of imitating, he said: learn by watching. That's actually the very first thing a new student should learn. You cannot practice unless you've seen how to practice. Trying to learn just from a verbal explanation would be impossible. Though, I wouldn't be writing this blog if I believed it wouldn't be beneficial as an addition, a reminder or extra food for thought.
The most famous story of learning by watching must be about the legendary first generation Yang family master Lu Chan, who learned Tai Chi by watching Chen family practicing. All the great teachers have learned by watching. Like I've mention before, masters used to show movements only once or a few times, which emphasizes how important watching is.
We also practiced sitting and watching by having a movie night with videos from camps over 30 years ago. We picked up all the different exercises from the videos and practiced them later. For example, we were pushing in a horse stance, 马步 mǎ bù, holding the posture for a long time. The push starts from your upper back. Open or stretch your shoulder blades. Relax your shoulders, 松肩 sōng jiān. Keep your elbows down. Bend your wrists. Let your fingers relax too - they are not straight, like in 開合 kāi hé, but a little bit rounded.
The grandmaster also corrected how wrists and fingers closes a little or bend inward and down in cross hands, 十字手 shí zì shǒu, and kicks, 脚 jiǎo. Since then, I've been carefully watching how they move in other movements as well. Even though it's already been a long time since the camp, I still find myself turning and relaxing my wrists more each time I practice.
Watch not only with your eyes but with your mind. Watching means concentration. Watch masters, other students and your own students practicing. Of course, we also practiced watching when other people were demonstrating. Get better at watching. Always count how many times an exercise is repeated to keep yourself focused. See more. See all the details. See the difference. See what not to do. Seemingly effortless action actually requires a tremendous amount of effort, and that's what I'm impressed to see.
Watch your own doing. How does your body align? Is your step correct? Where are your arms? Watch your hands. Raise your awareness. Be conscious of what you see. As an exception, I've heard the grandmaster also saying: don't do what I do, do what I say - so always listen to your teacher.
Talking about watching and counting, after the camp we drove through the States with a friend, and there was so much to watch and count. The roads were long and the views were wide - just canyons, mountains, prairies and fields as far as your eyes could see. The ride was over 3500 miles through 13 states. It took five days or actually 99 hours. We filled the tank 15 times and got about 18 miles per gallon. We were moving approximately 55 miles per hour while driving and over 35 including the time we rested.
Let's get to the next camp in the next post.