Finding your style and identity
Tai Chi journey takes you through many paths and shapes who you are as well as the style, substance and the identity of your art. No two students of the same school will do things exactly the same way.
Is style and substance important?
These factors tend to be ignored as some people may prefer to look the the superficial aspects. For example, you take one piece of music and yet different people will play this piece differently. Technique must be there, but can you tell if there is a difference in the interpretation? So long as the Tai Chi theories are adhered to, there is no right or wrong here. So it's down to personal preference. Then we could look at depth and maturity. The two are not necessarily correlated. Tai Chi is an art and in art, your objective is to express something. So what is it that you are to express?
On the other hand, some people just wants to do Tai Chi as an exercise and they just want to improve their health. That is also fine and nor should you be excluded. Please continue to enjoy what you do.
Does your art have an identity?
This is another facet that may be overlooked and it is definitely worth exploring. One might have training under a teacher for many years. Your art might take after a certain teacher's style, but you are not your teacher. Some people follow the path or style of a role model. But you are not your role model, so who are you? In the creative communities, people do get inspired by others and it is perfectly fine to learn something from others. But only up to a point. Because one doesn't want to be seen as somebody to is trying to be somebody else. A lot of people like to imitate Bruce Lee. They learn from his books, films and imitate his style. Yes, there are some who are really good, but did you get this far to be a tribute act?
How do you improve on what is established by the founders of your lineage?
Now this seems like an impossible task, but it isn't. You develop and evolve. New styles come about because the time and the environment requires your art to evolve. In the history of Chinese martial arts, this has happened often. So it is not unusual to find unique quirks from one lineage from another.
Are you being genuine?
Developing your style and identity is not something that will happen in a short space of time. But, actually takes years to hone the skills that make you what you are. Some like to think you can imitate certain qualities or styles, but will this actually help you? Your style says a lot about you, but not everybody will appreciate it. That's fine, because you don't have to please everybody. It is common for people to judge you on first impressions and perceptions can be dependent on prejudices. Opinions are subjective, but do all opinions matter? Feedback isn't always a gift. Difference divides and often on social media, there are pointless arguments over style vs substance. Are you happy with what you are doing? At the end of the day, you can't win them all. Be honest, humble and realistic with your training. Finally, be genuine, because your training never lies.
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