http://www.adamhsu.com/articles/taiwanb ... fuLiu.htmlIN MEMORY OF SIFU LIU YUN-CHIAO
(雲樵先師與我入門受教的回憶)
How I Became Accepted as His StudentBy Adam Hsu
(Translated by Joan-Huey Dow)
He ( Liu Yunnqiao) said: "I know you want to learn baji quan, but it is not suitable for you to start learning baji quan right now. You have many old movements, old habits, that you need to shed completely.
I’ve decided that you should learn pigua zhang first. Do you agree?"
I was very disappointed and hesitated to accept. I did not know what to do!? But I had no other choice and answered: "Yes, sir."
Under Sifu Liu's one-on-one training, I felt tremendous pain and developed self-doubt both physically and mentally.
I did learn many basic movements of pigua zhang. However the corrections I received from Sifu Liu during my practice seemed to be always like:
"Relax, relax more, relax even more... "Relax more? I would no longer be able to practice if I relaxed more! I could only scream silently in my heart and feel like I was being treated unfairly.
Would I stop practicing? Giving up was never an option for me. Sifu Liu was very critical in correcting my unacceptable movements - too loose, too soft, or incorrect. Sifu Liu never let any of my mistakes slip by unnoticed.
Quite often I repeated the same movements ten times, twenty times, even thirty times... Sifu Liu still shook his head and said:
"No. It's wrong. Do it again!"
Furthermore, what made me most unhappy were the comments like: "Too loose!" "Too tight!" "This is too loose again!" "That is too tight again!" "Why is it so loose here?" "Why is it so tight there?"
It seemed I never did it right!
That was a hot summer in Taipei. Just standing still, I was soaking wet with my own sweat. . . .
Gradually, I realized: Relaxation is the beginning of wushu practice. If we don't relax completely, the practice will be all in vain. Relaxation enables flow while tension forms blockages. Incomplete relaxation will end up incomplete practice.
Gradually, I realized more: There is a balance between relaxation and tension: It is the ultimate goal pursued by all arts. In other words: Well circulated qi is obtained through a focused mind and relaxed body. (意緊形鬆氣乃周) It is not appropriate to over-relax, that is not the right way to practice.
Gradually, I realized even more: There is no fixed ratio between relaxation and tension that can be used anywhere and anytime. Relaxed but not completely relaxed; tense but not completely tense. The state of relaxation and tension depends on the situation and changes constantly. The quantity and quality are changing at all times.