ausdao88 Posted April 3, 2019 (edited) G'Day All, I am never very good at these introductory post, so bear with me. Ever since i was 15 years old (now 31) i have been lucky enough to know an outstanding teacher of Northern Wu Style Tai Chi 83 long form, which was one of many arts taught by this teacher here in Australia. Being young and naive at the time, little did i realize the power and benefits of the arts when practiced and refined over the long term. I was consistent and devoted for a long time, until it no longer became a lifestyle and other things took its place. Now fast forward 16 years, after letting bad habits and bad choices cloud my judgement during my mid twenties, finally my body and mind has had enough, it started yearning for me to get back to the lifestyle i used to live. So reaching out to my teacher again who has now retired from his daily job, he has now informed me ,he will be retiring from teaching all arts as of June this year. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach, what a fool i was wasting time doing stuff which was not beneficial to my mental and physical health, only when it was too late did the dots connect. Better late than never i thought, so i have joined Dao Bums to talk to like minded individuals and see if i can connect with people from Australia. The lineage taught by this teacher, i have searched low and high in Australia and he is the only one i can find so far. Edited April 4, 2019 by ausdao88 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fa Xin Posted April 3, 2019 Hello, ausdao88, and welcome. Your membership is approved and we're happy you found your way to us. We look forward to accompanying you on some of the way that you still have to go. Please take the time to read the post pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum Terms and Rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, Fa Xin and the TDB team Hi Ausdao88, Welcome. Maybe you can practice with him for the few months he has left? Unless he's not accepting students anymore. The good thing is, what he taught you will always be yours... and you can always continue to practice what he taught you. My story is similar to yours, and I've revisited forms I haven't done for years, only to rediscover and use them to get back to optimal health. I hope the forum helps you in your journey. Enjoy You are welcome to jump right in to the ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, start a new thread of your own, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forum to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started. May you enjoy your time here. Fa Xin 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ausdao88 Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) 19 hours ago, Fa Xin said: The good thing is, what he taught you will always be yours... and you can always continue to practice what he taught you. My story is similar to yours, and I've revisited forms I haven't done for years, only to rediscover and use them to get back to optimal health. Hi Fa Xin, Thank you for your reply, i am lucky, i have 3 months with my teacher before he stops all forms of teaching. So hopefully during that time i can learn the short 1st and 2nd Duan grading forms and be pointed in the right direction. You made a very valid point regarding what he has taught me will always be with me. I totally agree but the hard part is once i wish to further my knowledge and training without leaving the lineage most of the lineage disciples are still in mainland China. It almost seems like i am gearing up for a treasure hunt back to China. Edited April 4, 2019 by ausdao88 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fa Xin Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) I see Ausdao. My teacher moved some years ago, and I’ve always kicked myself for not training more with him the last few years. I can also share with you a story from my own journey ... I was in search of a Taiji teacher to further my study of that art and came across said teacher. He told me he preferred to teach Baguazhang over Taiji. I was a little disappointed, as Taiji was my main practice. I decided to try the bagu anyway, even though it felt a little like starting over. Boy was I glad I did. I learned more in the first class then I had with other teachers in the entire time I was with them. Not so much material wise, but simply because he shared with me without holding back. I got lessons on life and other wisdom I could apply. He also opened my eyes to the potential that’s possible with such practices. The reason I share this story is that sometimes it’s the teacher - not the art - that transforms oneself. Maybe there is a great teacher near you who teaches something else. It’s good to be open to other disciplines, as you can broaden your knowledge in many ways. It could even be a yoga class or something like that. i usually don’t recommend learning from videos, unless someone has had prior in person training to apply the principles. You have, so that’s also a route you can go. At one one point I was training with Jiujitsu friends in my basement. It was a far cry from Taijiquan, but again, I learned a lot. Finally, many times before teachers retire, they set up one of their senior students to succeed them. Maybe your Sifu will plan for his departure. Cheers Edited April 4, 2019 by Fa Xin 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
