A T’ien Ti Tao Ch'uan-shu Academy of Chinese & Taoist Arts Information Leaflet

IN THE BEGINNING

The Chinese as a race are generally very different to Westerners in attitude. Self-respect , or “face” is as important as respect for one’s elders or superiors. Family comes first and in the case of your colleagues down at the Kung-fu club, they are second family. The teacher is your father, hence the title, Shih-fu, meaning “Teacher/Father”, the teacher's teacher is the Master, or Shih-Kung. He is the Grandfather and because of his age and accrued wisdom should be given even higher respect. The founder or Master's Master is Shih-Jo. He is the Great Grandfather and knows many things which youngsters can not even imagine yet. Other students are your sisters and brothers, older or younger according to whether they began training before or after you. If before then they should be paid respect as “Older brother”, or "Older sister". It is recognised that with age comes experience, skill and wisdom. This should always be respected, no matter what.

STUDENTS
As a beginner you will be taken under your teacher’s guidance and his/her experienced eye will be watching you to help you through those awkward first steps. As you grasp the basics your teacher will stop you from running too fast, out of control and heading for a tumble. This will be done in many ways, often by introducing more complex techniques that need extra concentration. This stops you from just going crazy with what little you have learned and risking injury, to yourself or others. A good teacher will know just when to introduce something new or even when to give you many more repetitions of the same moves.

You will also be assigned to more senior students. Having, in recent years, gone through the stages of training where you are the associated problems are still fresh in their minds, therefor they can both help you and relate more easily. This is also a good exercise for the senior student as s/he may need to refresh. New perspectives will be learned from helping others, even though previously we may have thought that we already understood that technique.

As an intermediate student you have responsibilities, to yourself, to beginners and to your “Shirfu” who has spent so much time and effort guiding you personally through your many difficulties. At times, and in this apathetic and selfish western hemisphere's society, it would be easy to forget your training and how important it is in your life. It is far more important than material things or meaningless entertainment. Its importance also extends to those beginners you help too, for they come to rely on you and look to you for help, support and encouragement. Proper training is like ripples in a pond, those ripples extend outwards and touch other people's lives. Someone training to be an instructor plays a very important club and social role. Self-discipline and commitment are essential qualities for the making of a good Kung-fu practitioner and leader of people. Your equals will depend on your presence, as will the beginners. Your instructor will be watching your strengths and weaknesses at this point. You are the middle-link in a load bearing chain.

"A good leader sets his people free, therefor they follow him."

Lao Tzu - The Tao Te Ching.

INSTRUCTORS
It takes many years to become an instructor, many more to become a good instructor. An instructor leads an entire class and has to be able to asses each individual, guide him/her and transmit whatever information is necessary in a personal way that s/he understands. The instructor points the way so that you can walk the path. Often s/he will show you something or say something that will make you think more about what you are doing and so open new channels in your mind, new avenues in your explorations of technique and of thinking. This is by way of a reward for diligent practice, an acknowledgement of your hard work (kung-fu).

There is much involved in instruction, from psychology to philosophy, but overall the qualities that will reassure that student most are dedication, respect, sincerity, understanding (of them and the Arts), ability, dedication, reliability, taking interest in them, dedication and... oh yes, dedication; would you wish to learn from a person who only trains part of the time and hardly ever bothers turning up for class?

The whole system not only has a syllabus but is a syllabus; a “ladder” of techniques and “chain” of learning and support. It will transform your life for the better. There are no short cuts, no quicker routes to good Kung-fu. Do not underestimate the TTT syllabus or the teachers. Never, ever underestimate your role or importance in that chain. Any chain is only as strong as the weakest link.