基本功: Fresh magic

With the production over and some more time on my hands, I have taken up one more class at Capstone. Tuesday afternoons, just before my tai chi.

I really enjoy teaching this class. There is a freshness in our encounter; I lay down the ground-rules: I am strict with them, pushing them in ways that my other students, being overfamilar with me, won't let me. And in turn, I give more of myself. I find myself really taking time with their marking, murmuring to myself the uniqueness of each person. Sarah, your writing is clear, but can you see how Janice or Aaron have all this detail that you can learn from? I am rigorous with them, and I think we all come out better for it.

And I think: what if I put the same dedication, love and attention I am doing with this class as in my others… perhaps it would be infectious. The thing is, over time, we have begun to take each other for granted. We have begun to take the work for granted. Homework gets handed in last minute. Marking happens last minute. We "get by", we have begun to expect less of each other, and more importantly, less of ourselves.

With this new class I am going back to the fundamentals. What makes good writing. In the end, it call comes down to 基本功. 只有不同層次的基本功. Whether in writing, or in tai chi, it all comes down to the basics. There is only the basic practices.

The truth is, my happiest times in tai chi these days is when 師傅takes time, really takes time to show me the 套路. Never mind that I've done this a squillion times before. When done with attentiveness and dedication, tai chi takes on a different quality. Very often, when we 縶拳, there is a lot of assumption. That's why it's really helpful for me to hear things explained to a beginner again.

Teaching, like learning; like directing, is a practice. The practice of staying alive and attentive. There is no magic.