I have always been interested in martial arts and health and fitness. However in all my time studying martial arts it always led to or directed me to Tai Chi. When I was younger I always used to watch Jean Claude Van Damme films and was amazed how graceful and precise he was, I later learned he studied both ballet and Tai Chi.

我一直以來(lái)都對武術(shù)，健康和健身感興趣。然而在我所有學(xué)習武術(shù)的過(guò)程中，最后都將我引導或者是指向太極。在我更年輕一點(diǎn)的時(shí)候，我一直觀(guān)看尚格·云頓（Jean-Claude Van Damme）的電影，總是為他的優(yōu)雅和精準所折服，后來(lái)我才知道，他同時(shí)學(xué)習了芭蕾和太極。

Having already realised the potential of Tai Chi within martial arts I also noticed Tai Chi’s application to health, fitness and longevity. I have meet all kinds of martial artists, some gave it up in their 30s or 40s, they were too old. I met others with all kinds of injuries. I then came across people in the 50s and 60s doing Tai Chi and old men in their 90s doing Chinese Kung Fu and performing headstands and balancing on one leg.

在了解武術(shù)中太極的潛能之后，我同時(shí)注意到太極在健康，健身和長(cháng)壽的應用。我遇見(jiàn)過(guò)各種各樣的武術(shù)人，其中很多人在30-40歲的時(shí)候就放棄了，因為太老了。我也碰到過(guò)各種受傷的武術(shù)人。我后來(lái)遇見(jiàn)過(guò)50-60歲練太極的人，甚至90多歲練功夫的老人還能倒立和一只腳保持平衡。

I had already made up my mind I wanted to eventually study Tai Chi by my teenage years’ due to its broad scope and historical significant, and identified the Chen style as the one that interested me due to its long history, focus and combat application. It was in 2016 I was sitting at my computer in Ireland when I simply decided to wait no longer and  to just go to China and study Tai Chi.,

考慮到太極的應用廣泛以及歷史源遠流長(cháng)，我在10幾歲的時(shí)候就下決心要學(xué)習太極，并且認定陳氏太極歷史悠久，專(zhuān)注和實(shí)戰應用最讓我感興趣。2016年當我坐在愛(ài)爾蘭的電腦前收集信息時(shí)，我就決定不再等待，來(lái)到中國，學(xué)習太極。

In coming to China my aim was to learn a style of Tai Chi and then go and train in Chen Tai Chi at Chen Village. I initially picked Suzhou as it is close to Shanghai. So when I arrived in Suzhou started working and then tried to find a Tai Chi gym. One day I went walking around the area by my apartment and found Chen Tai Chi School much to my delight. I spoke with the instructor who said the master would be back at a later time. I then arranged to go and observe a class another day. Although I was familiar with martial arts and familiar with Tai Chi I really didn’t understand the training methods and how these methods set Tai Chi apart from the vast majority of other martial arts and fitness training.

來(lái)到中國我的目標最初是學(xué)習一種太極，然后去陳家溝學(xué)習陳氏太極。我最初選擇了蘇州是因為靠近上海。當我來(lái)到蘇州開(kāi)始工作后就開(kāi)始找太極館，一天當我在公寓周?chē)鋾r(shí)發(fā)現了讓我喜歡的太極館。我跟教練交流，他們說(shuō)老師要一會(huì )才能回來(lái)，我就安排了一節試聽(tīng)課。雖然我已經(jīng)了解武術(shù)和太極，但是我并不懂其中的訓練方法以及為什么這些訓練方法能夠讓太極從眾多武術(shù)和健身訓練中脫穎而出。

What I was missing was real knowledge and information, that which cannot be learned from books or videos and instead must be transmitted by a master. I simply could have gone to Dublin, London or somewhere else in Europe but I really wanted to learn firsthand from a Chinese Tai Chi master, whilst also living in and learning about China. If I started in China with the right master I knew it would be far and away much better.

我所缺少的是真正的知識與信息，這些都不是通過(guò)書(shū)本或者視頻能夠學(xué)習到的，都是需要通過(guò)老師才能傳授的。我可以簡(jiǎn)單的去都柏林，倫敦或者歐洲的其他地方，但是我希望能夠從一個(gè)中國的太極老師那里學(xué)到第一手的太極，并且在中國生活和學(xué)習。如果我能夠在中國開(kāi)始跟隨真正的太極老師，我知道這會(huì )好很多。

So I observed a lesson, took part and later returned for a trial class if I remember correctly. In any I later joined the club. It was very easy to join. I really enjoyed the first few classes and found it was the very thing I always wanted to learn and I started to understand how Tai Chi changes the body structure overtime and how the body learns to put the energy into the ground. I then started to learn why Tai Chi makes the body much more efficient and why Tai Chi masters are renowned for all kinds of different abilities.

所以我觀(guān)察了一節課，如果我沒(méi)有記錯的話(huà)，我隨后又參加了一節體驗課。后來(lái)我就加入了這個(gè)太極館，非常的容易。我真的非常享受開(kāi)始的幾節課，發(fā)現這就是我一直以來(lái)想要學(xué)習的東西，并且開(kāi)始理解太極如何改變身體結構以及身體如何將能量傳遞到地面。我隨后開(kāi)始學(xué)習到太極如何讓身體更加的高效，同時(shí)開(kāi)始明白為什么太極大師會(huì )擁有各種不同的技能。

Everybody at the club was always extremely helpful and friendly despite my lack of Chinese speaking skills and the locals were more than happy to help me to translate to English if there was a need for it. I found it extremely helpful watching the locals as many of them were at different levels, some beginners and some advanced.

盡管我中文口語(yǔ)很差，太極館的每個(gè)人都非常友善和協(xié)助，只要有需要，他們中國人都會(huì )很開(kāi)心的幫我翻譯。我發(fā)現觀(guān)察中國人練習也極其有幫助，他們中很多人處在不同的級別的，一些是初學(xué)者，也有一些是比較高級的。

Some of the highlights of joining the club was going to some dinners and functions and going to the Tai Chi seminars. I also found it extremely interesting to work with the club president Shifu Ma Li. I am particularly grateful for being invited to the dinner that was held during one of the annual Tai Chi seminars, this was one of the most interesting experiences I have had during my time in China.

加入太極館的一些亮點(diǎn)是一起晚餐和參加太極拳的研習班。我發(fā)現跟太極館館長(cháng)馬力老師一起也非常有意思。我特別感謝有一次受邀參加太極拳年會(huì )的晚宴，這是我在中國期間最有意思的經(jīng)歷之一。

I feel very lucky to have met My Tai Chi teacher Ma Dizhi Shifu, so I initially found the club in 2017 and he wasn’t there, I said I’d call back. I called back only to realise he was from Chen Village and he had the very lineage I wanted to learn, this was the very opportunity I was looking for. It didn’t take long for me to realise I really wanted to work and learn from him.

我覺(jué)得非常幸運能夠遇到我的太極老師馬弟致師父，我在2017年發(fā)現這個(gè)太極館的時(shí)候，馬師父不在館里，我就說(shuō)我會(huì )再打電話(huà)。我再打電話(huà)回來(lái)的時(shí)候才意識到他就是從陳家溝來(lái)的，并且是我希望學(xué)習的陳氏太極拳一脈，這正是我想尋找的機會(huì )。沒(méi)過(guò)多久我就意識到這就是我真正想要學(xué)習和努力的地方。

I was able to develop a rapport Shifu Ma and he quickly learned I could follow his instruction if he demonstrated something, gave me a few simple prompts and gave me sequences of numbers, 1-2-3. I was extremely grateful for this, his patience, perseverance and attention to detail. I was familiar with some principles of Tai Chi and martial arts and followed them, listen to your master, practice and repeat, “try harder”. My understanding of body mechanics has been extremely useful.

我與馬師父之間發(fā)展了一種默契，他知道只要他演示一些招式，或者一些簡(jiǎn)單的提示，或者給出1-2-3的順序，我就能很快的跟上他的指導。我非常感激他這樣的指導，耐心，毅力和專(zhuān)注細節。我已經(jīng)熟悉并且遵循太極和武術(shù)的一些基本原則，聽(tīng)從老師，勤加練習，不斷重復， “更努力”。我了解的身體結構知識非常有用。

If I had a question I would ask, if I didn’t understand something Ma Shifu would show me, not with words but with actions, if I still didn’t understand he would simply help me to mimic the actions until it was correct. This was by far and the most impressive aspects of his training and skills as an instructor, that he could break down the most complex patterns and movements into simple steps that garnered results, because it didn’t take me long to understand. He would then keep it simple and tell me to practice.

如果我有問(wèn)題，我就會(huì )問(wèn)。如果我沒(méi)有理解，馬師父就會(huì )演示，不是通過(guò)語(yǔ)言而是實(shí)際動(dòng)作，如果我還是不理解，他就會(huì )幫助我來(lái)模仿動(dòng)作，直到動(dòng)作正確。馬老師作為教練最令人印象深刻的地方，就是他能夠將最復雜的招式和運動(dòng)分解為有效的步驟，因為這樣會(huì )讓我很快理解。他能夠讓事情簡(jiǎn)單，然后敦促我勤加練習。

This approach was again extremely helpful to me in learning some of the more detailed aspects of Chen Tai Chi, like fajing and explosive movements, or movements that combined together as Ma Shifu could first demonstrate it, then explain it and demonstrate it again so I could see how it all combined together to an end result. By watching him I could see how his body was precisely trained and where he was placing his weight.

這種方法對我學(xué)習陳氏太極中一些復雜的招式非常有用，比如“發(fā)勁”和爆發(fā)運動(dòng)，或者是一些綜合招式，馬師父會(huì )先演示再解釋?zhuān)缓笤傺菔?。這樣我能夠仔細觀(guān)察這些招式是如何關(guān)聯(lián)起來(lái)達到最終的效果。通過(guò)觀(guān)察馬師父，我可以看到他的身體是如何精確訓練，以及他怎樣調節自己的重心。

I saw myself as a blank canvas and as Ma Shifu’s student and just to follow his direction and to keep things simple, he said it, I’d do it. One thing that has always stood out in my mind is how he identified all my injuries immediately, was able to work around them, and was able to place me in proper alignment and posture form the very moment I met him. I never experience that before. Besides that he always had kind and wise words and has given me a real appreciate for Tai Chi and Chinese culture.

作為馬老師的學(xué)生，我將我自己看作一張白紙，只需要簡(jiǎn)單的遵循他的指導，他說(shuō)什么，我就做什么。另外一個(gè)我印象非常深刻的是馬老師能夠立即發(fā)現我受傷的地方，并且能夠幫助我恢復，幫助我調整位置，糾正姿勢，這是我之前從來(lái)沒(méi)有經(jīng)歷過(guò)的。并且他總是能夠用友善和智慧的詞匯，這也讓我對太極和中國文化非常的欽佩。

From the beginning Ma Shifu said I would learn the traditional way, I was happy to do as such and it has been a very interesting and invigorating experience working with him as he definitely represents the values of the Tai Chi and Kung Fu masters I have read about.

從一開(kāi)始馬老師說(shuō)我能夠從傳統的方式學(xué)習，我就非常樂(lè )意這樣做。跟馬老師學(xué)習是一段非常有意義并且令人精神振奮的經(jīng)歷，這在我的理解中無(wú)疑就代表著(zhù)太極和功夫大師的價(jià)值。

In finishing I have dramatic improvements in all aspects of my life from relaxation, breathing, fitness, posture, senses, observation skills, mental processes and patterns. To simply be able to come out of the intellect and into the body and forget all issues is a welcome relief. I have also seen a significant difference in how people relate to me and feel the Tai Chi gives me a significant advantage over others in all kinds of ways from martial arts to simply day to day life.

總而言之，從放松，呼吸，健身，姿勢，感官，觀(guān)察能力，精神過(guò)程和模式的各個(gè)方面，我已經(jīng)獲得了巨大的進(jìn)步。能夠簡(jiǎn)單的從智力與體力方面都忘記所有的東西絕對是一種非常受歡迎的解脫。我同時(shí)也注意到我對周?chē)说母兄灿辛司薮蟮牟煌?，感覺(jué)到這些也是太極，相較于其他武術(shù)，給我的日常生活帶來(lái)的巨大優(yōu)勢。

I feel now I just let go of tension by default, if there is still tension I can do some Tai Chi to get rid of it, just focus and release the tension naturally.

I was back in Europe in 2019, people are very interested in Tai Chi, and anytime I did some Tai Chi again people were very interested. Tai Chi is very misunderstood but I for one am delighted I set about to study it, now to build further upon it.  

現在我能夠感覺(jué)到我能夠無(wú)意識的放松，如果還有一些緊張我能夠通過(guò)練習太極來(lái)消除，只需要專(zhuān)注，這些緊張就能自然的消除。

我在2019年時(shí)回過(guò)歐洲，人們都對太極非常感興趣，任何時(shí)候我一練習太極就會(huì )有很多人感興趣。太極很大程度被誤解了，但是我很開(kāi)心當初立志學(xué)習，現在我將在太極之上規劃我的未來(lái)。

作者：愛(ài)爾蘭學(xué)員Fergus

翻譯：秦川江(學(xué)員)