When Master Zhang and I started working out again after all these years, he kept telling me I wasn’t relaxed enough. My Tai Chi circles weren’t round enough. My QiGong wasn’t soft enough. Haha. It sucked.
I saw his Tai Chi 8 form, at least the first half and thought, ‘Oh no! He is getting old and therefore he wants to slow everything down’ – I was wrong.
When it came to the harder Kung Fu training, especially the Tai Chi Long Sword, I was barely able to keep up with him. Fucking hell I thought. I wasn’t as soft and relaxed as he was, nor was I as strong.
Humbled and out of breath, I once again had to swallow my pride and do what he asked. A simple lesson indeed, but one that is still fucking with me.
It’s been a few months now and I still have my work cut out for me. Soft + hard. It has to be both.