People Need People

I had reached the end of my lessons and upon reflecting I can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed this whole experience.  I am 100% sure that if I had wanted to gain a better understanding about Tai Chi or even its cultural implications I could have conducted some research, done some reading and most likely come to similar conclusions.  Though I would have missed the hands-on experience, essentially the human experience of gaining knowledge.  I would have missed the sights, the sounds, the smells and emotions of immersing myself in this group to ultimately get a clearer understanding of what makes it so special.  Of why it is a thing.

The 5 elements of Qi Gong relating to the Diurnal Qi
Flow, or Chinese Clock

Looking back at my fieldwork and participation, I view it as an integral step in deciphering why, exactly, it was a thing.  I never would have realized the irresistible and consuming features of the culture.  It gathers a group of older participants at 7 am in the morning, come rain or shine or Canadian blizzard because it turns out, that people need people.  The feeling I had described earlier about how at times it felt as if everyone’s energy was being summated, was not only therapeutic but actually created a sense of belonging to a group.  Being integrated into a specific niche.  The culture of Tai Chi allows for the formation of a community.  You see repeat offenders and get to know people, and get to move with people without the need for verbal communication.  I think this is an increasingly important factor because in this day and age, we are being bombarded with communication, advertisements and social media.  Noise pollution, and it seeps into our minds!  The younger generations that are born into this environment are adept and are therefore thriving, basking in its glory.  However, the older generation which is now increasingly being forced to adapt or die, is dying – a social death; moreover it is being marginalized from the rest of society.  Through the amount of communication, emotionally, and physically segregated.  The “past date of expiration” sticker unfortunately has been metaphorically applied.  Older individuals are thus disconnected from the rest of society, and people in general.  They are being warded off into palliative care facilities in the masses.  No wonder Tai Chi gained popularity with this specific group of people; it was a way they could reintegrate themselves with people!  Regain some form of social status, a sense of identity and feel as if they still have got more to give and are not coasting their way out.  

This was the “strong sense of empowerment” vibe that I got in the actual participation in Tai Chi culture.  There is no way I could have gotten the same vibes being crumpled up, laptop in hand, hidden away in my room, conducting a peer-reviewed journal search.  No way!  I am pleased with my findings and the ethnographic methods taken to reach conclusions, as they have showed me that becoming a member of a community can give you great insight that quantitative research simply can’t give you.  Talk is cheap but experiences are rich.  To whomever has stumbled upon this blog, I hope you can gain from my experiences, and if anything, that I have imparted onto you that experiential participation can be very rewarding to your curiosity as well as to your academic endeavors.                  

Tai Chi: Enter Stage Left...

Okay, I’m not even going to pretend I didn’t enjoy the fieldwork of this project.  I was drawing near to my month’s worth of classes and it was quite an enlightening experience.  One of the coolest experiences however had to be when we brought out the fans.  In many martial arts disciplines weapons are used; they are an extension of the body.  Tai Chi is no exception as fans can be used for a more advanced level of practice.  Just when I thought I was getting the hang of it, they introduced me to the expert level stuff...the real stuff!  I had realized throughout my classes that my instructor and the Tai Chi vets were incredibly stronger, and more flexible and nimble than they appeared but they blew my mind on the fan days.  The sequencing becomes much more aggressive and quite acrobatic at times.  Sometimes it even felt cathartic.  I was definitely sweating from the exercise this time!  At any given moment, I was expecting them to break out into a full Xaolin showdown.  It was incredibly exhilarating and empowering.  Most of the passers-by around us paused or fully stopped to watch us.  It was at that moment that I realized that while Tai Chi is purposeful, and controlled, it was also premeditated and a routine. 

It was a spectacle! 

Its raison d’être extended beyond longevity and health, wealth and happiness.  It extended beyond nursing the stomach with one hand raised, or touching your toes to strengthen your kidneys.  It was meant to be seen.  This can be traced right down to its creation and history – how it was created in opposition of the State.  But it wasn’t practiced behind closed doors like boxing or karate.  This form of martial arts was practiced, out in the open as a show.  Thus it was meant to gain traction and supporters, increase its grasp on the people and have a more profound impact on the norms of bodily practices in society.  Let me explain... 

First of all it had not dawned on me until recently that it's probably called “martial arts” for this very reason.  Duh!  Which is also probably why many forms of martial arts are performed in shows, with some being practiced solely for this reason and are then displayed and judged in competitions.  Ranking systems have even been developed for certain schools of Tai Chi where the participants can earn belts in the discipline.  Tai Chi through its increasing popularity in its prime had gained power and identity by creating its own map of meaning.  It was practiced by warriors to keep fit and hone in on their skills.  Who wouldn’t be attracted to something like that?  However one of the fundamental qualities of the spectacle is that it eventually becomes consumed with its development – or, how it can keep getting people to buy in and consume the spectacle itself, so to speak.  This can be explained through the widespread passing down, the commodification of Tai Chi and the evolution of its practices into 5 different schools.  Each distinct school placed their own unique twist on the actual practice and in doing so, morphed into very different practices compared to their root culture.  And as the culture crossed borders it inevitably created new maps of meaning associated with the practice of Tai Chi. 

Due to its slow and methodical nature it eventually became entangled with the notion of longevity and perseverance.  It soon befitted a type of movement practiced predominantly by older adults.  It also had an effect on other martial arts forms like Wushu; they evolved into more actively aggressive and acrobatic forms, creating a polarity and making the distinguishing features between the two martial arts forms palpable.  All of this despite the fact that they essentially stemmed from the same roots.  In keeping the spectacle, it is now practiced from 7-11 am, by older individuals.  “Watch our performance.”  “Listen to our music.”  But it is also now communicating through the means of a model; it’s setting an example of what is to be expected of older individuals.  That when people reach a certain age; this is their next progression.  Maybe this is also what is expected of females, to adopt this into their way of life due to its seemingly lower intensity (but that is a whole other issue for a another blog).  It has essentially won cultural space and regained its power in deciding who is to participate in its practices, values and ideologies.  Whatever, doesn't mean I'm going to stop practising it.                 

Hiding in Plain Sight and Building Energy

In hindsight my Tai Chi instructor played a very integral part in my understanding of the culture of Tai Chi.  After a couple more classes, he would allow me to ask him some questions and provided me with lessons.  The fog is finally starting to clear up with respect to my understanding of this culture.  It all makes sense now!  Time for a little bit of an anecdotal history lesson...

The story goes that the Emperor at the time had placed a ban on the common people and soldiers of China learning martial arts.  As a means of revolting and continuing to teach and learn the discipline, Tai Chi was born!  It was a clever mask as the imperialists regarded it as a new form of dance.  After all, it is practiced to music.  Little did they know that this practice was created in direct opposition of the governing bodies at the time; allowing the people and soldiers to train and develop their martial arts skills.  They grew incredibly strong and nimble through Tai Chi’s main mechanism of allowing for constant muscle activation, that the more advanced Tai Chi vets would implement.  From a cultural studies perspective, this is incredibly interesting.  Many subcultures develop in opposition and rebellion to their parent cultures.  However, this culture developed more synergistically to its parent’s culture, in opposition of the State.  They were hiding in plain sight; it was the perfect ruse!  What was essentially a big, “Screw you” scheme to the State had soon developed into its own subculture and garnished a reputation amongst the nation.  Although originating from one distinct family, it had soon began to spread and pass down through generations, leading to the creation of different schools of Tai Chi.  It had even branched out to form new martial arts disciplines such as Wushu.
   

The yin and yang twisting represent the flow of energy
as the core remains steady.

So, Tai Chi is a form of martial arts!  I had no idea at the time I started that it was even related to the discipline at all.  And while it is a slowed down version, if anything it is more intense.  It requires you to maintain a constant tension and hold balance-perturbing positions for longer periods of time.  However, if you were to speed up the movements, and as you progress throughout the sets to the more advanced movement patterns, reflecting back on my previous classes I can now see stronger ties to martial arts.  This is because every movement is based on a defend – attack sequence.  Moreover, Tai Chi is a martial arts form that relies on breathing and the circulation of blood, which in turn allows for the flowing of energy (qi).  This energy is what one uses in Tai Chi and martial arts.  The culminating of good energy towards you and the channeling of negative energies away from you towards your opponent; are essentially what one is practicing in Tai Chi.  The practice is also based on the Chinese Clock which measures the fluctuations of blood and qi throughout the day.  This is why Tai Chi is practiced between the hours of 7-11 am; it's seen advantageous and optimal to perform exercise with their respective levels in the body.  Tai Chi was also developed with an extensive amount of symbolism.  It incorporates the 5 elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water to the seasons which correlates to the blood flow of different organs.  The movement sequences themselves even involve symbolic animals and elements to be performed with them that are said to guard health.  

With more classes under my belt I was really starting to enjoy it; a stark contrast from my first couple of classes!  Finally understanding and being able to take my body through the full movements, remembering the sequences.  Everything is so fluid yet purposeful.  And at times aggressive, yet calculated and controlled.  I couldn’t really explain it before but now I see that there is something quite comforting in the fact that it is performed in a group.  It honestly felt as if all of our energy was being summed together, as if we were working together to defeat our enemies, to achieve a common goal.  I had never really experienced anything like it before, nor had I ever expected to in a group which I seemingly had no right to belong to or share any commonalities with.  The feeling was so freeing, despite its heavy repetitive, disciplinary nature.  Once you actually buy into it, performing the sequences with confidence, thrusting the negative energies away from you, and sharing this experience with others, was quite mystifying and incredible.  This must be the source of its allure.     

Health, Wealth and Happiness

After a couple more classes I found myself noticing patterns in the movement and actually improving.  This is because Tai Chi is very uniformed, synchronized, disciplined, and methodical.  It starts out slow and increases in speed, intensity and the manner in which it perturbs the body.  In many ways, I found that it is very similar to yoga, in that it emphasizes balance, alignment and places a fundamental emphasis on breathing.  I was also able to talk to more of the participants in the class and found that they contrasted my first impressions.  More often than not with cultures, the way they gain power is by being able to dictate who can belong and participate in the culture and who cannot.  However, the power and popularity with the Tai Chi culture seems to be its very inviting and undiscriminating nature.  Upon learning that I was conducting an ethnography on Tai Chi, the instructor and the participants were eager and excited to share their knowledge, anecdotes and experiences.  With each passing class, the instructor would give me more and more information about the history of Tai Chi which I found very useful in my fieldwork in being able to unravel why this form of exercise is so popular, and why it is such among a specific group of people.  Further, the Tai Chi vets were among some of the most down to Earth and Zen people I had ever met.

The first set performed in a Tai Chi Chuan class to start
the flow of energy.

When asking more of the participants why they participate in this culture, I generally received the same answer from most people – Health, Wealth and Happiness.  Longevity was also a big one.  Though something I had noticed after taking a couple of classes was that not everyone came to every class.  Moreover, the people that did not come to every class tended to be the ones who were newer to practicing Tai Chi and were there to complete their physical activity requirements.  There also was a group of people who was there everyday, and they tended to be the Tai Chi vets who seemed more immersed in the culture and therefore must practice it for more than “Health, wealth and happiness.”  Because if not, they would not show up at 7 am every morning, come rain, come shine, come winter blizzard (as was the case in mid-December) to a mall of all places, in Canada to practice Tai Chi.  

That doesn’t happen.

A couple of classes in, I still found the movements difficult to follow.  I have gained so much more respect for the people that practiced this on a regular basis!  While it caters to individuals of all skill levels and movement capability levels, it does require one to actively control their movements while remaining limber and flexible.  There were also some sets that seemed to involve shadow boxing which I found very interesting but out of place in the Tai Chi setting.  I was looking forward to learning more about this in the classes to come.