Yes... I know I've been travelling a lot. And completely contrary to what I thought was going to happen at the end of 2008, it looks like 2009 will (for the most part) continue to be a year full of travel.
As I continue to grow in the world of kettlebell training, it looks like I'll be travelling more & more. If you haven't done so already, please make a habit of checking my other blog - Kettlebells Los Angeles - every once in a while. My travel schedule is usually updated with regularity and posted on the right hand side.
Just to put it down in writing and remind everyone, there are 3 main senior students that are in charge of my Tai-Chi classes while I'm gone: Anton Summers, Kate Summers, and Chris Shea. They've learned enough from me to be able to teach on their own. And they each have PLENTY of information to share with their junior classmates.
Here are a few of the questions I want to answer here & answer definitively...
Will you teach on Saturdays when you're in town? Absolutely. I have no intention of abandoning my Saturday morning Clover Park class. I do, however, have other obligations and opportunities as far as work goes. So by the law of simple economics, I'm going to have to go where the greatest opportunities lie when they call.
What if I don't get along with the senior students and I just want to learn from you, Sifu? Then don't come. Ever. If you just want to learn from me and only me, then do it via private training sessions. Don't expect to come to a group class and have me there at your beck & call all the time. Also, I've said this more than a few times, but there are plenty of so-called Tai-Chi authorities who know less about real Tai-Chi than my senior students. So they've got PLENTY to teach you. If you want to disrespect them by doing even as much as ignoring them when they teach you, then just go elsewhere.
Well how come they said one thing and then one week you said something different about the exact same subject? There are 3 possible answers to that question:
1. People make mistakes. It's entirely possible that the senior recalled my position on the matter incorrectly, interpreted your question incorrectly, or just didn't know the right answer.
2. The knowledge that was being quoted to you was from a snapshot of a different time. Chris Shea has trained with me probably the longest out of anyone in the group, so he's seen my teaching method evolve over the years. He can tell you how many movements have different teaching cues than they did say 10 years ago. So don't be bullheadedly stuck in one and only one way of doing something. Be open to receiving the little bits of evolution as I or the seniors dole them out.
3. The answer you were given is correct, and the answer I gave you is correct. In other words, depending on the context, a movement can be peformed differently. You just have to know what to do and when to do it. For example, if you're in the middle of leading a class of beginners, you're not going to go at ultra-slow speed, since most of them don't have the strength or patience to handle moving at that speed. Instead, you move at a moderate speed, do a shorter segment, and do it multiple repetitions.
Regardless of who's at the helm any given week, get in there and give your all! Don't let your eyes wander, your mind turn off, or your form lack effort and concentration.
