I hear this question a lot:
“Am I too old to start training Tai Chi? I’m well aware that there are many masters in their 60s, 70s 80s & older that are capable of tremendous feats…but I’m fairly certain that most, if not all, started their training at an age earlier than mine.”
There is a myth that Tai Chi & the Internal Arts take a lifetime to master.
This is a MYTH.
Teachers who don’t teach spread this myth so that in 5, 10 or 20 years you won’t question the fact that you are still at a beginner level in these arts.
There is a grain of truth hidden in the myth (that makes it believable.)
These arts ARE deep enough that you can continue to gain skill and knowledge throughout your entire life.
Don’t confuse “can be studied for a lifetime” with “takes a lifetime to learn.”
Mastery = Comprehensive knowledge and skill in a subject.
20 years is plenty of time to become highly skilled. (for Tai Chi. Simpler arts will take a lot less time.)
Learning to fight effectively doesn’t take nearly as long.
When you look at masters that started young they were often considered masters in their late 20’s / early 30’s.
Yang Chen Fu for example began teaching publicly at 31 (so probably about 20 – 25 years of experience.)
He was one of the first Tai Chi folks to teach publicly so there’s no way he started doing that without already being a master of the art at the top of his game.
An example of someone who started a little later in life is master Li Nang-jan.
He started learning Xing Yi Quan when he was 37 and was considered a master by the time he was 47.
…and when you are older Tai Chi is much better suited to training than Xing Yi is.
No matter where you’re starting from our how old you are, you will gain a whole lot of benefit from the study of Tai Chi.
So, what’s the best place to get started?
Start trial membership of Clear’s Tai Chi Online.
This will give you everything you need to quickly build a strong internal foundation and then move on to intermediate and advanced internal skills.
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