A paradox of Tai Chi is that in describing the feeling we use certain words. Then we hear those same words from others and do not realise that their usage and meaning is very different to ours. Of course this is especially problematic when we do not share a common language – which is often the case in learning Tai Chi. When we use language the meaning is tied to our body, as it is for others. The problem is that a Tai Chi master has different feelings to us because their bodies are different. It is a common feature of human embodiedness that the words sound familiar and reassuring to us and we think we understand when we do not.
It is like travelling to a city you have only heard of from others only to find that it is different to what you imagined from what you had heard, and to realise that your experience is different to theirs. You cannot understand what they are describing until you get there.
On our journey we pick up new skills – sometimes we have a block which needs to be cleared so that we can bring all those skills together – that is when we make changes – often we know all we need to and just have to let ourselves put it all together so we can better understand what our predecessors described.
Issues arise, they are addressed, the body accepts the new situation, adapts and moves on.
