The Learning Process, Perseverance

Confucius once said that if one man could learn something by one try then you knew it could be done. It might take more time and effort on your part, say ten tries, but you could do it if you persevered in the activity.

Throughout school and in our jobs we hear things like learning curve and progress reports and other such silly, fictitious things. These things are rules in the game of school and work. They should not apply to daily life at all. And yet... we tend to feel bad when we don't get something as quickly as someone else does. We feel stupid, slow, behind. All of this is because we are basing our idea of progress on either the accomplishments of our peers or on some imaginary charting system.

In my martial arts practice and teaching, there are no belts of certificates. This is probably not the soundest marketing strategy because people love marks of accomplishment, but I prefer the more traditional approach where ranking is based on amount of time practiced and your level of demonstrable skill. To give you some perspective, I've known a large number of Black Belts in various martial arts who cannot even defend themselves against simple attacks.

This being said when you start Tai Chi in one of my classes you don't follow me in class doing the form. You learn one movement per week. Maybe two if they are repeated movements or closely linked and that is it. Then it is up to you to practice. If you practice and I am satisfied with the technical aspects of the move, then the next week, you learn the next move. If I'm not happy with it we stay on that one move until you have reached an acceptable standard of skill. It's not a value judgment. It's not a critique of your character or who you are as a person it is simply my concern for doing what you are paying me to do which is to teach you a martial art for health and self-defense.

In the scheme of things let's say Sally in your class learns the movements about one per week, she is fairly skilled at memorizing choreography, where you spend six months learning two moves. Does it really matter? No, not at all. You have to put in more effort but in the end you and Sally have learned the same moves.

In fact, I'd have to say that Sally is less likely to ever become truly adept at Tai Chi. It was easy for her, like walking or breathing. She thinks nothing of it... and fails to practice regularly. You on the other hand have to work extremely hard to make progress. It's an investment of time and energy. You have struggled to get where you are, so the form is meaningful to you. So you practice everyday and surpass Sally's skill by progressing an inch at a time.

So when you join a Tai Chi class be willing to work for what you want, make your goals realistic in line with your current ability and most of all practice a little bit each day.