Ms. Jan T.

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Dear Master Gohring:

I would love to take a moment and comment on the Taiji Classic Tournament in Austin, Texas.

Comments and Sentiments

[This is a bit wordy, and that is a problem I have, so please bear with me here. -ted]

I must begin by saying that it was not my original idea to participate in the tournament, and almost reflexively when my wife suggested it I was against participating. However, upon further reflection I could see that while I was uncomfortable with it (I have always been uncomfortable being "put up" in front of a group for any type of performance) I could see that it would probably be a very good experience no matter what the outcome, and I was in fact curious to see the competition. Between Maria's support, Mr. Prince's and Ms. Grabhorn's continued support that it would be fun and a great experience, I did end up signing up for the Form competition.

Maria and I began preparing for the competition, which for us meant two things - 1) we wanted to practice our form quite a bit and work on timing; and 2) most importantly we needed to learn a complete section which we had miss the classroom work on - from the first two-handed push to White Crane Spreads Wings.  Mr. Andy Prince was instrumental and gave us a solid introduction to this section of the form, and with the help of some of the other more advanced students (who will hopefully forgive me for not remembering their names) we were able to learn this section.

The day of the competition was a very nervous morning for me personally, I had good case of performance anxiety brewing, even though I knew that I could execute the form - and doing so without falling on my face was really my only goal! I became even more nervous when I found out that I was to be among the first three competitors to perform! Thankfully I was given the grace of not being first to go, so I was able to take some time and calm myself, practicing some quiet Nei Kung off to the side to help calm my nerves and warm up.

Once it came time for me to perform, I strangely was both nervous and calm at the same time. I can't really describe my feelings better than that. Once I took the mat and bowed to the judges and waited for the nod to begin, I took a moment and visualized one of my favorite practice locations - it's a spot deep in the Barton Creek Greenbelt near the bottom of a section call the Hill Of Life.

I closed my eyes and focused on getting my breathing calm and regular, and paced to about what I felt was good. Once I had done so I opened my eyes and began executing my form, concentrating on keeping my breathing regular (as I use it to pace my movements), trying to maintain a smooth flow, to relax and remember the sequence of my form, and to keep an ear out for the time keeper to call "30 seconds."

I quickly fell into my form, and found myself very surprised to actually becoming very relaxed as I proceeded forward through the sequence. I did fell that there were places where I had little "burbles" of balance or foot placement, but I never felt like I was off balance enough to really bother me - I wasn't trying to win anything here I was just trying to do well, and hopefully do well enough to prove to myself and my peers that I had actually learned something.

Turns out I was going more than a bit slower through my form than I estimated - I was not even through the execution of "Deflect Downward ..." when I heard the timekeeper call "30 seconds" ... it made me a bit nervous because I felt I must have done something wrong, but then I recalled what we had been told about completing in time limits being important, and that it was similarly important to end properly with "Cross Hands, Feet Together." Amazingly I was able to continue moving through the form while I had all these thoughts going on, and a quick estimation of whether or not I should "go for finishing" or find some way to wrap it up cleanly. In the end, I decided that if I just tried for a transition from the forward stance after "Deflect Downward" into "Cross Hands" I would have the best chance of ending movement before time ran out, so that is what I did.

Strangely, I did not feel frustrated about not completing the form. I had tried my best, and really that is all I could do.

I did manage to finish closing in time, and awaited my score, and was very surprised to see that I was awarded some very good scores indeed! It made me very happy to see that, and I must admit not a little proud. Maria was very excited about it, and started changing "you're gonna wiii-in, you're gonna wii-in" - what faith she has, there were more competitors to go in the Beginner classification and not all of them were white-sash level.

After all Beginners had completed, and we were all called back up to the mat, it was my great joy and a little surprise that I in fact did end up winning first place! I can truly say that this is the first time I have ever participated in single competition of any nature in 40 years of life, and have done so well! It was an amazingly good feeling.

One, I admit, that I would like to repeat, in the future.

Now, I got to relax and settle into observing the more advanced students progress through the competition, and it was very interesting to see the different nuances expressed at different levels (footwork, rooting, body positioning, poise, arm and hand movement, and so on). It was very educational in a way, not that I think I could remember enough to apply it directly, but very engaging to observe none-the-less. Particularly the Black Sash execution, very VERY engaging to watch (and aspire to).

Push Hands

Once the Form competition was done, and the changeover to the Push-Hands competition, it was like the Tournament changed character quite a bit. Never having seen a Push Hands competition before, and only experiencing the practice of it a bit in class, this version of Push Hands was a whole new animal.

This competitive version of Push Hands that I saw in the tournament was a sometimes very fast moving, and very physical, activity. The intensity was incredible in some matches, and it struck me that in some ways IN GENERAL the women's matches were more aggressive than the men's matches. Nuts!

The standout things for me about Push Hands were...

- observing that the higher the ranking of the competitors, the more quiet their bodies and yet, the more intense the match. The Black Sash match was crazy intense - I could almost swear that I could feel the energies emanating off them as they slowly looked for their opening in their opponent's defense, and then suddenly it would seem that with a slow controlled motion on one competitor's part the other would simply fall away to some degree, off balance, and a point scored.

- while physically intense, it looked like a WHOLE LOT OF FUN

- personal body damage was VERY POSSIBLE

- while being bigger and taller was a help, it was not a guarantee, as Mr. Jackson found when Mr. Mick managed to score two points on him (for those of you who don't know, Mr. Jackson is probably 6 or 8 inches taller than Mr. Mick, and probably weighs more than 50 lbs more )!

Closing Comments about the Tournament

I thought that the tournament was very well organized. I've seen smaller less-peopled activities be considerably higher in the chaos level, and I think that Mr. Prince and Ms. Grabhorn did a wonderful job of promoting it, encouraging people (especially reluctant ones like me) to compete, and executing on the day. I did not fell that there were any delays that were needless or from lack of planning on their part.

I would like to very deeply and strongly thank the both of them for doing the work necessary to make this happen, it was an incredibly good experience for me and I look forward to seeing and participating in similar events in the future. I really wish that Maria and I had the lattitude to go to Taiji Legacy in July, but alas we do not.

I would also like to thank Sifu for teaching me so well, that I could learn so much, that I could represent myself and him as my teacher well enough to do so well in my first competition!

Simply remarkable.

I can only barely imagine what a larger tournament, multi-school or international such as Taiji Legacy, would be like, and hope to find out.

Advice For Future Participants

In retrospect, this is easy ...

1. Practice
2. Find some thing that can calm you internally, that you can take with you in your head as a visualization, it helped me!
3. Participate - if at all you can - in events like this, it is a great learning experience, and a lot of fun.
4. And DO NOT WORRY - you and other White Sash students out there, you really can't go wrong or do wrong, people are only expecting you to be a White Sash after all!

About My Barton Creek Greenbelt Practice Spot

Attached is a picture of the spot, where I usually stop and practice is on the rock ledge next to the top of the waterfall, on the right side of the picture.

I often ride my mountain-bike before work and when I come to this area I stop and practice my Taiji for a while, not any fixed amount, just however much feels right. Practicing the form here is sometimes a challenge as the footing is neither flat nor completely even, however it is reasonable, and the spot feels very serene and calm in the early morning hours.

The location is very pleasant in the morning, and by the time I get here I've usually been cycling for over an hour and I always find the serenity of Taiji in this location a very pleasant thing.

When I started doing this I would become very self-conscious if I noticed other people walking or cycling by, and it was hard to keep my focus. In the last month or so I have, er, noticed that it has become much more easy to relax into the Form and simply enjoy practicing it here ... even with the uneven footing.

While I am not sure I would advise everyone to try to practice in a spot with uneven footing, I think that by doing so it has strengthened my ability to maintain my balance and even better train myself to feel how my body is held and rooted. I surely have a long way to go, but one must admit this is a nice place to start!

Sincerely,

Ted Jump

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Master Gohring:

I want to thank the organizers, the judges,  the time and score keepers, and lastly Master Gohring for making it possible for us to have this tournament in Austin, Texas. I had a great time and that's not an easy thing to do! So, there are a few ideas I had to share for some of the students going to Taiji Legacy. The most important was that if you have not heard the timekeeper call out “30 seconds”, then keep going even if you finished your planned form. Add a few moves that can impress the judges until they call time. You get docked points if you stop too soon. The other thing is something I am still working on, and that Master Gohring has told us over and over, if you don't match your opponent with force during push hands, you stand a better chance of using their strength against them. I hope these hints will help some of you newbys. Thanks again to all for all the effort that went into this.
Anna

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Hello Master Gohring:

I have some clips I'm still getting off my husband's camera and messing with, I will bring those soon.
I did have one comment, if you had any of that jigsaw safety flooring left over from doing our classroom earlier, then it would be handy for the push hands/Kung Fu next year in Austin, Texas. And relatively easy to move and remove unlike a giant rolled up mat.

Saturday was a lot of fun and Hope and I are thinking about even trying to work out how to get to Dallas next year!

Sara Sutcliffe

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Master Gohring:

My compliments and appreciation to everyone who were involved in making the Tajii Classic Tournament in Austin, Texas a success. You guys did a great job!

The tournament helped me realize how far I am from being proficient at push hands.  My arms are a sight for sore eyes, and even though I won the match, I feel like I lossed due using too much strength instead of using all of the techniques I learned in class.

I think is is a good idea to having the Taijii Classic Tournament every year.  However, in order to keep the tournament to 4 hours, I would
recommend having a separate tournament for push hands and another tournament for the form.  Or just have two 30 seconds rounds instead of two 60 seconds.  After watching everyone do the form and waiting for my turn to do push
hands, I found it difficult to keep my energy up.

My experience at the tournament was very enjoyable and I look forward to participating in future tournaments.

Alicia Ziegner

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I participated in Master Gohring's 2006 Taiji Classic. I had a wonderful time.

I have something that I wish to share with those of you who will be going to the 2006 Taiji Legacy in Plano, Texas. Not knowing this small bit of information cost me a chance at first place in the Tai Chi form competition. No matter what your skill level is, the Tai Chi form that you are given to perform is not written is Stone! You can change it! You can modify it!

I forgot a move near the end of my Tai Chi form performance. I know the ‘24 postures simplified form, the short form, the first and second sections of the Long form and the combined 42 Tai Chi form'! I could have performed any number of moves and I still would have been able to complete my Tai Chi form without starting all over. Not knowing this was the difference between First & Last place!

So, if this happens to you, keep this small bit of advice up your Tai Chi uniform sleeve. You never know when you'll need it!

Sincerely,

Clifton Jackson