另类的太极拳师父

An  Unorthodox Master of Tai Chi

日前我听我师父谈起他当太极拳师父所面对的问题。他很坦诚的告诉我他是属于另一类的太极拳师父 :一个非传统的太极拳师父。

Recently I had a chat with my Tai Chi Master regarding the teaching of the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan. However, he warned me that he is an unorthodox master of Tai Chi Chuan.

我问师父何出此言。

I asked my master what were the reasons for him to say that.

他说一般上学太极拳需要懂得中文的，因为太极拳的文献及书籍的第一手资料都是用中文书写的。

He told me that to learn Tai Chi Chuan, one needs to be well versed in the Chinese language to better understand the martial art, as all the first hand knowledge of the martial art was written in the language.

师父本身是清一色的二毛子，完全不懂得中文。对于太极拳的名词和术语师父很难搞清楚，所以他学起太极拳来实在吃力不讨好。师父唯有从英文的第二手资料去着手探讨郑子太极拳。事实上，我们很少看到一位受完全英文教育的人会如此热衷学习太极拳的。

Master Peh studied in an  English medium school so he does not understand written Chinese. Needless to say, he does not understand the terms and terminologies of Tai Chi Chuan written in the Chinese language. He had to rely on English books or literature when he first learnt the martial art. This made his learning a herculean task. Many people with similar background like Master Peh would have already given up  learning Tai Chi Chuan long ago. But Master Peh persisted and has been practicing it for over forty years until the present day.

一位红毛屎的太极拳师父一般上很难被学生们所接受，因为他们不会完全信任一位对华语一慨不通的太极拳师父。
It is rather hard for any beginner of Tai Chi Chuan to learn from an English educated Tai Chi master. A learner may have no confidence in the master who is totally alien to the Chinese language and its culture.

然而，我对我这另类的太极拳师父有不同的看法。
师父给我第一良好的印象是我在巴杀里看到的。他以七十八岁高龄的老人家还能够有这么好的食欲足以证明他的消化功能十分良好,身体肯定很健康。
Nevertheless, I looked at my Tai Chi master from a different perspective. My first impression of my master happened at the marketplace. When my friend introduced me to him, I was astounded to see an old man of seventy eight years old eating a big plate of food. This could only prove that my master must be very healthy in order to have such a good appetite.

跟师父学了太极拳后，多多少少知道师父学拳的经历和过程。
After learning Tai Chi Chuan from Master Peh for quite sometime, I came to know how my master had been learning the martial art over the past forty over years.

师父练拳的信念和毅力坚持四十年如一日。他不惜一切代价到处参访拳师学习太极拳。期间也走了不少的冤枉路。
My master has the conviction and perseverance in learning the martial art. His interest has never faded over the years. From the day when he began to get in touch with Tai Chi Chuan, he was convinced that Tai Chi Chuan would benefit him physically and spiritually. He had invested a lot of his money and time to learn the art from many Tai Chi masters. In the process of learning it, he too had wasted a lot of unnecessary time and energy, and not to mention he had had to part with lots of his hard-earned money in doing so.

师父除了拜师和从书本中学习太极拳，他也自己在学习中体验和摸索到太极拳的真髓。
Apart from learning the art from his masters and from books written in English, Master Peh did try to perfect his skills through daily practice and his enquiry method of research.

从日常静坐中他也会悟出一些跟太极拳有关的拳理。
From his diary sessions of meditation, he would at times realize the gist of Tai Chi Chuan not mentioned in the literature of the martial arts.

老师教拳的方式有如学校教师教学生般， 每一招式的细腻动作他都会苦口婆心地解释。他会用英文字母(A,B, C,D,O,I,Y,V) 、数学的几何( 三角形，圆形)， 和物理学( centre of gravity, centrifugal force, tangential force, etc )来解释太极拳的原理。老师很风趣的说：“以前在学校读书时对于几何和物理一概不通，反而在学拳后迎刃而解。”
The way Master Peh taught us Tai Chi Chuan was like teaching pupils in a primary school. Every move or step would be explained carefully and thoroughly. He would use the English alphabet ( A, B,C,D,O,I,Y,V), Geometry ( Triangle, Circle), and Physics (centre of gravity, centrifugal force, tangential force, etc ) to explain the principles or concepts of the martial art. The master told us rather humorously when he was in school he did not quite grasp Geometry and Physics. It was only after many years practicing Tai Chi Chuan that he had begun to understand those subjects.

老师说他现在已年事已高，希望能够在他有生之年把他所学的拳术传给后人。问题是肯向他学的人有多少人呢？

Master Peh confided in me that at his age of nearly eighty, he hopes he could make full use of his remaining years to impart all his ‘hard-learned’ knowledge of Tai Chi Chuan to his pupils. But sadly the pertinent question is: “How many people, especially the young, would be interested to learn from him?”