我的教拳师父
My Tai Chi
MasterI have learned Tai Chi martial art from my present master for nearly two months. I benefited a lot from his coaching.
曾经请教老师的贵姓。他说皇帝很讨厌他的老祖宗因为一般人只敢在太岁头上动土，他的老祖宗却总是坐在皇帝的头上，把皇帝的头当作椅子，令皇帝吃不消。你说老师的姓氏是什么呢？
Once I had asked my master what's his maiden name. His reply was indirect and rather thought-provoking. He said one of his ancestors was notorious. Others dared not fool with the emperor like what this ancestor did. He would persistently sit on the head of the emperor. The emperor was very annoyed at him but the emperor had no way of dethroning the man from his head. So, what do you think the maiden name of my master is? (You need to understand the Chinese character of Emperor(皇) in order to understand the joke. One will observe that '皇' can be broken down into two Chinese characters, namely,
白(white) and 王(king). So, we can see that 'white' is forever sitting on top of 'King'.)
Once I had asked my master what's his maiden name. His reply was indirect and rather thought-provoking. He said one of his ancestors was notorious. Others dared not fool with the emperor like what this ancestor did. He would persistently sit on the head of the emperor. The emperor was very annoyed at him but the emperor had no way of dethroning the man from his head. So, what do you think the maiden name of my master is? (You need to understand the Chinese character of Emperor(皇) in order to understand the joke. One will observe that '皇' can be broken down into two Chinese characters, namely,
白(white) and 王(king). So, we can see that 'white' is forever sitting on top of 'King'.)
老师学习太极拳的信念很强。虽然他受英文教育，中文一窍不通，他却能数十年如一日地钻研太极拳的哲理和功法，并以物理学的理论来解释太极拳的拳术。老师教拳着重在理论与实践。老师自己说他教拳时间的分配是动口多过动手。所以跟老师学习，眼睛和耳朵要一起并用，才能真正受益。
My master is
very committed in the learning of the martial art of Tai Chi. Although he is English educated knowing not a
single word of the Chinese language, nevertheless he has a great interest
and has spent a lot of time in the study and
practice of this Taoist martial art. He would emphasise both the theory and its practical
applications in his teaching of Tai Chi. He would engage the knowledge of
Physics and Geometry to explain a movement or
stance of the Tai Chi martial art. My master admitted that he used to spend a
great deal of his lesson in the talking than practicing the
art. Anyone wanting to learn Tai Chi from this master has to be very attentive in order to benefit from his lesson.
老师很强调学员们做足基本功。他认为基本功做得扎实，学起拳来会水到渠成，事半功倍。
The master wants his pupils to spend more time on the warming-up exercises and to master the basic skills. Once the foundation is strong, a learner would progress in the martial art by leaps and bounds with relative ease.
老师的口头禅是：重复练习你所记得动作。不要勉强记拳套。拳套能记得多少就多少，不记得也无妨。只要有恒心、有耐心，久而久之你所累积起来的动作就会慢慢地拼出一个完整拳术套路。The master wants his pupils to spend more time on the warming-up exercises and to master the basic skills. Once the foundation is strong, a learner would progress in the martial art by leaps and bounds with relative ease.
The master has always reminded his students that: “One just have to practise repeatedly in order to remember his teaching. Do not strain or compel oneself trying to remember whatever the master has taught as over a period of time, one would slowly and steadily assimilate all the movements to form a complete set of the Tai Chi martial art."
老师苦口婆心所讲的东西纵然讲到“臭酸”，我们还是不能理解和体会。要等到有一天我们自己去领悟到他所讲的东西，那时我们才会相信老师所讲的东西原来是真的有那回事。
The master has repeatedly told us that certain things that he has mentioned to us time and again, but we could not fully comprehend them at the earlier stages. We would only come to realise the truth of these things at later time after we have practised the art laboriously and consistently for sometime.
The master has repeatedly told us that certain things that he has mentioned to us time and again, but we could not fully comprehend them at the earlier stages. We would only come to realise the truth of these things at later time after we have practised the art laboriously and consistently for sometime.
以老师四十多年的练拳经验，我相信老师是一座有待挖掘的宝山。即然我们已经进入了宝山，难道我们还会空手而归吗？你认同吗？
As the master has practised Tai Chi martial art for more than forty years, I am convinced he has a vast and valuable experience to impart to his students. He is like a gold mine located deep in the mountain, and we, the students, are like a group of fortunate explorers, are discovering this invaluable gold mine. Unless each of us is a fool, we would not return home empty-handed.
As the master has practised Tai Chi martial art for more than forty years, I am convinced he has a vast and valuable experience to impart to his students. He is like a gold mine located deep in the mountain, and we, the students, are like a group of fortunate explorers, are discovering this invaluable gold mine. Unless each of us is a fool, we would not return home empty-handed.
