You decided to start training internal martial arts. You found an instructor and began the training. You heard a lot of promises.

This art will teach you to stay calm whilst in the storm.

Awesome.

You will grow in your understanding of your true self.

Fantastic.

You will open your perception and attain great spiritual heights.

Glad to hear it.

Just one question… Can we start fighting now?

In the modern era, people are drawn to methods for building peace and mindfulness. Internal arts practitioners realize this and are adept at marketing for this.

While peace, mindfulness, and personal development are absolutely part and parcel of internal martial arts, so is fighting.

My guess is that if you weren’t interested in the fighting aspect, you would have been drawn to something else.

As it is, you’re reading an internal martial arts blog, which makes me think you might be interested in self-defense and combat. Just guessing.

Unfortunately, the fighting side of the internal arts is often under prioritized when it’s not missing entirely.

…and sadly, few realize that this lack actually undermines the health benefits you can get from the art.

This is why right from the beginning we teach self defense applications with every set and form a student learns.

Not only does this give those who are interested an understanding of the martial side, it also gives them a much better understanding of Tai Chi moves themselves so they can get much more out of the health side as well.

Right now in the Tai Chi Member’s area we have several hours of instruction just on the fighting application of all the moves in our 8, 13 & 48 move Tai Chi sets.

You can access it all right now for only $5 with a 14 day trial of Clear Tai Chi Online.

https://www.clearmartialarts.com/learn-tai-chi-2/#join

There was an interesting saying going around the counseling faculty when I was getting my master’s. “Self-esteem is bullsh*t.”

This from the people who can’t stop asking “how does that make you feel?”

So what do they mean?

There’s an idiocy going around right now that we should tell our students that they are doing a great job… even if they aren’t. That they’re contributing to the group… even if they aren’t. That they’re incredible martial artists that can take out any group of attackers no matter how many knives and baseball bats… even if they can’t.

The idea is that self-esteem builds confidence and this makes people healthy and strong.

Our kids are getting a nice dose of this. If you haven’t met any kids recently, go meet some and see how this is working out for them. My guess is you already have and you know what I’m talking about.

So what do we replace self-esteem with?

It’s called self-efficacy. This is a psych term that basically means “I know I can produce a result.”

Instead of telling a kid they’re great (for no reason), do this instead: teach them a skill. Work them until they’re actually good at it. Guess what happens after that? They feel good about themselves. They feel capable and strong. They feel confident (and the confidence is based on something real).

Want real confidence? Develop a skill.

Looking for a skill to develop?

How about he first 4 primary skills of Tai Chi Chuan?

1. Peng (Ward off)
2. Lu (Rollback)
3. Ji (Press)
4. An (Push)

These 4 skills are emphasized quite heavily in the Tai Chi classics and are often considered the foundation of Tai Chi, along with Sung and Structure.

In Albany NY this summer Sigung Clear held a small group training session on Sung, Peng, Lu, Ji & An.

The entire session has just been added to the Tai Chi Online members area. You can begin training these skills right now, right here:

https://www.clearmartialarts.com/clears-tai-chi/tai-chi-bonus-training/sung-peng-lu-ji-albany-ny-2015/

If you’re not a member, you can join for only $5 and start training right away.

https://www.clearmartialarts.com/learn-tai-chi-2/#join

We have a saying at Clear Tai Chi: Build skill, not score.

We play a lot of different games with the intention of building practical fighting ability. Sticky hands, push hands, and sparring are just a few.

The problem with playing a game is that often the players can get fixated on scoring points in the game, like moving your opponent in push hands. This is missing the whole point of why you play the game. So why do you play?

To build skill.

What kind of skill depends on the game, but this is why you play. You don’t play push hands to move your opponent. You play push hands to develop internal skill. Sound contradictory? Welcome to internal martial arts.

If you focus on building your score in the moment, you will typically do “whatever it takes” to win. Try it if you like, but it is doubtful you will develop serious skill anytime soon with that approach.

So how do you build skill? Take your time. Lose. Evaluate your loss. What happened? What can you learn right now as you are losing? When you take your time, you open your eyes. You see things you wouldn’t normally see. Then, the most amazing thing happens…

You grow.

Build skill, not score.

The key is to understand exactly what the purpose of each game is. Which specific skills are you building?

What are the benchmarks you’re using to measure progress?

How are you spotting errors and correcting them?

In Clear Tai Chi Level 1 you don’t just learn games, you’ll learn exactly how they are used to train all the level 1 skills.

Join now for only $5.