CROSSROADS!!!

[white dragon]

i seem to have come to a crossroads in my study!!

as you will see from my recent post i train in traditional taiji.

my school frowns upon training elsewhere and other trainers must be associated directly with CHINA/TAIWAN/JAPAN or i will be dissmissed!!

i beleive that my teacher is genuine, and training in this traditional way means that i must be aware of every move i make. not drinking and being loud!! or any thing that would have a slight effect on the school.

i could spend the next 5 years training, with a possibility of not being accepted in the final stages, and if you know taiji, its these stages that count!!

i have thought about moving to aikido, as the principle is the same, but more immediate for self defence.

i find stlyes like wing chun, and shaolin to aggressive for my personality.

xingyiquan looks pretty interesting.

i have always beleived that it is up to yourself how good you can become, and a good teacher will embrace this. i suppose what i am asking is at what price do we pay for the correct training!

all i want is to be mindful ,calm, be able to protect those close to me, and maybe pass something down to my own children.

any thought on this dilema are appriciated.

[drunken.master]

I am not overly familiar with the rules/codes of Tai Chi Chuan, but as an instructor of Kenpo, I encourage my students to train in other styles to improve their martial arts. I firmly believe that gaining one style is just the beginning. It is gathering the knowledge of many styles that can improve you as an all around student of the arts. To be able to change fighting styles mid-fight can really throw an opponent.

[white dragon]

this has been the same reply i had from a good friend.

some say to become proficiant you must only train in one style! and master that!

since begining serious training (15 months ago) i have developed a great love for martial arts and i am here for the duration, i want to try various styles, and then maybe one style will "find me" and i will excell in this.

the school i train in seems to have a "you are in, or out !" attitude which is putting a strain on my decision's.

[drunken.master]

It will be tough for you to know what is out there unless you get to experience it. If I were unable to try other styles, I'd never know what I liked best.

Would your school allow you to attend seminars of other styles? An Aikido clinic on throws, a Kenpo Seminar on self defense, a TKD clinic on sparring? It would at least allow you to try (for an afternoon) other styles without really joining the school.

[white dragon]

i will be attending some other classes to see for myself, but i wont tell my school!

i would probably get a disappointing look, frown and then......well i dont know that.

i suppose i just feel uncomfortable with this kind of treatment, but not having been serious about MA before, i dont no what is expected!!

[drunken.master]

That's a small line to tiptoe. You don't want breath of you training at other schools to come back to your dojo as you would then loose respect in your master's eyes (along with being dismissed).

I (personally) would try and talk more with the master about the situation. Tell them you do not want to go behind their backs, but you also want to know what else is out there and that you will be dedicating your serious training to your master and only exploring the other systems for knowledge.

After all, you do want to see what else is out there, but may find what you are in is what you really seek?

[white dragon]

yes, i will probably take that approach. at worst he can only say no!

its just i am unsure of the envoironment i am training in.

i used to train fro 3 hours a week at classes, and 4 hours on my own, i am very dedicated (sometimes to much) but there has been occasions when i have been refused to be shown the next moves, being told " i gave you some last week"! also i feel that i am teaching other students more than i am being taught.

maybe i need to make it less of a priority.

i am down to 1 hour a week training, through lack of motivation.

any wise words?

[drunken.master]

With your motivation down I can see how it would be tough to be dedicated. But as far as getting material, it sounds like you practice hard (and not to be negative) you expect fast returns. I am of the mind set to never expect, and you will never be disappointed.

You need to be motivated to attain your own goals. If they are not giving you new material, work on perfecting what you have. Set a personal goal to speed up your hands and have your technique down to a science. That is one of the things I do when I am in a lull for material. I go back to old material and fine tune it, make everything better, more accurate, faster.

As far as teaching other students (I don't believe) that is why you are at the school. What puts you in the situation to teach others? Are the instructors neglecting them? Or are you an instructor at that school?

[white dragon]

i teach the chi-kung at the start, but doing this has affected my own training because i have to be concious of everyone elses needs, rather than concentrating my breath.

we have 3 styles of tai chi being trained in the same room, i am asked to run through with new students when asked!

dont get me wrong, i like to teach them because i spend alot of time training and reserching previous teachers techniques, but sometimes it feels like i should be attending my own self.

i agree with your thought's, i always say to myself ...expect nothing..except everything... but there is a fine line with this thought!

when the school was really quite the teacher wouldn't teach us anything! he would just sit there miserable, i understand the financial strains, but some students left because of this.

it seems to be expected of me now, to styart the class and help.

sometimes ther is just an air, that you are previlaged to be taught something.

[drunken.master]

I would suggest stepping down from the teaching for a couple months, or ask to only do this no more than once a week as you feel your attention to your own works are decreasing. And if that is happening, you become less of an effective teacher. Your master must understand this and (hopefully) respect that.