Practicing Boxing and Remembering the Master | Grateful to the Master for teaching Boxing

It was eight years ago, in the autumn of 2016, that I first met my master. Through the introduction of my senior, Wang Wenqing, the company’s trade union invited our master to teach Tai Chi in our company. It took me one and a half years to learn a set of basic strokes of the old frame from my master. In the summer of 2019, I went to Beihai Park to continue learning Tai Chi from my master, and my spouse also learned Tai Chi from my master.

The master is usually serious and seldom smiles. The master never showed us his martial arts skills. He often emphasized that Tai Chi could make us healthier. Only once did he ask two or three of us to use both hands to break one of his fingers at the same time. The master was completely fine, but as long as he pulled our fingers with a little force, we would bend down in pain. It was then that I realized Tai Chi is truly a kind of martial art, and my master is a person with martial arts skills.

The master teaches boxing very seriously and is also very strict with us. When we make progress in learning boxing, especially when we have new insights, and report them to our master, he is particularly happy. We know that spreading Taiji culture is the great mission of the master. My lover and I often say that when we watch our master practice boxing, his energy doesn’t seem like that of a 70-year-old at all; it’s just like that of a young man in his early thirties.

It has been nearly a year since I bid farewell to my master. Thank you, master, for teaching boxing. When I completed the first intermediate level of the Old Frame last year, I felt that Tai Chi had brought obvious benefits to my body. Physically, my hands have become softer, my legs stronger, and the blood and qi in my hands and feet more abundant. The old problem of frequent pain in my lumbar and cervical vertebrae has basically disappeared. I can stand straighter now, and the hunchback that used to occur frequently is becoming less and less common. The greater gain lies in the psychological one. In the past, I often got anxious at the slightest thing, couldn’t sleep well, and had no smile on my face all day long. Now, my mindset is much more peaceful. I don’t get anxious with others anymore. I don’t insist on competing with others for superiority or inferiority as before, nor do I lose my temper at my children at every turn. I don’t get flustered as easily as before when encountering things. I have become more organized in doing things. The key is that my sleep has improved a lot. I sleep more soundly and deeply at night. My heart has calmed down and I am no longer so prone to anxiety. Practicing Tai Chi has greatly improved both my body and mind. This year, after completing the study of Laojia Erlu Quan, I feel that my Tai Chi skills have made great progress. I can sense that the qi in my hands can reach the fingertips. When the master was teaching boxing, he often emphasized the need to use both waist and move both waist. Before, I didn’t know where my waist was. Nowadays, most moves can locate one’s own waist. As soon as I started punching, it felt as if the whole world fell silent. This feeling is truly wonderful.

The master said, “Tai means heaven.” “Ji” means earth. BoxerQiAnd. Tai Chi is about heaven and earthQiAnd. Tai Chi Chuan is a form of boxing, rooted in Taiji, thus it is called Tai Chi Chuan. The master said, “Only when one’s mind is devoted to the unintentional can one truly understand the wonders of Taiji.” We are still far from the realm our master mentioned. But we know that we are on the right path, making steady progress every day, and practicing diligently according to the methods taught by our master every day. Eventually, we will reach the realm our master mentioned. Thank you, master, for teaching boxing. Encourage each other with peers.