The idea that I am going to develop here should be true for all the aspects of Taoist arts that we practice.
-Chinese medicine
- Combat arts
- Meditation
- Chi kung
Lots of styles that say that they are Taoist do not have this concept or it was forgotten a long time ago. It is simple enough to express nevertheless this could change everything in daily practice, it is the difference between a living and dead practice.
-Do not confuse the practice and the exercises, which develop the practice.
It is very difficult to understand this idea without examples, so I am going to give examples on the following named subjects. For Chinese medicine, the student is going to learn the theories, the examples and some clinical cases. He
Will surely also has the chance to work with a confirmed acupuncturist where he will see the theories in application. He will be a good practitioner if by understanding what he has learned, he applies the theories in a unique
Way with every case, otherwise he will stay at a beginners level perhaps all his life. That seems obvious but still today acupuncturists apply recipes without particular specifications following the patient. The student learns the alphabet with the theories, words with the recipes and some simple sentences with the clinical cases studied but he must still learn to make whole texts, even poetry. The practice of Chinese medicine leans on the exercises learnt but it is not only that. There is therefore
A difference between the two. The art of healing must not be an application without analysis of healing methods but an entirely separate art which adapts to the unique person that you have in front of you: The patient. By experience
I saw that a recipe never works 100%. Therefore the healing techniques were only a necessary step in learning not a rigid mould. When we treat
a patient we use our knowledge to find out how to heal while trying to not be closed in by case studies which are not adapted: It is a creative search within the limits of science. We must not invent but we must not copy. The practice is therefore quite far from what we learned and changes with the place we are at: We will not heal in China like in the occident.
For the combat arts it is even more obvious: the training methods develop the attributes necessary for combat, the forms give an idea about the way of moving, the two man techniques apply the concepts of combat with a partner but none of this is combat.
For combat we will use all that but in a free way and changing following the case. If in combat we chose and "try" to follow a particular form or a particular technique, it is an assured defeat. We can only intellectualise during training,during combat we will be limited to reactions. The reaction will be the fruit of all the training without being similar to it, like a fruit on the
outside does not resemble at all the tree from which it came from.
In every punch exchanged during a physical confrontation all the exercises will permit more precision during the chaos of battle. All the forms and the rooting exercises will help us
to be stronger, but real combat stays something separate which seems foreign to daily practice.
We can see the link between training and the reality of combat, but to learn combat...fight!
On the other hand, we can develop techniques linked with our weaknesses in combat.
For meditation and chi gong it is obviously the same thing. the visualisations and the images used in the beginning of training are made to create an energy that we want to work with. But after a certain time we must directly look for the energy without passing through visualisation. Meditation becomes a simple practice and without technique, like combat. It is also true for chi gong, when we look to produce energy it is not to waste it on mental creations. Chi gong must also become a practice without form otherwise it will stay at a weak level.
We can thus understand that techniques must be well chosen so as not to loose time, and ones practice must be personal to be effective.

To conclude I would say that it is necessary to think about ones practice so as not to train
dozens of useless things but clear training methods, adapted to your case.

And of course do not confuse the methods and the practice itself.
what do you think ?

I think it's better to train dozens of useless things to confuse your enemy incase you are under surveillance. You never know. You just never know.

That is the Chinese way.

Serge:

In case you haven't noticed, we have a number of zhang zhuang comedians in here. Stand-up comedians. Ummm . . . lame. Sorry. Sigh.