Technique & Energy

This from Christian Birch's Re-vitalise website.

There are two approaches to T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Technique and Energy. The first approach is to work on technique and the mechanics until they are mastered. Nothing more, nothing less. What this approach lacks is understanding energy. It is cold and sterile.

Energy permeates everything, seeps into every fibre of our being and existence. It is all inclusive. It is not about ch'i. There is no place for intellectual understanding. It is about a deeper connection. My teacher, John Kells, calls this Heartwork. This is what the Tai Chi I share with you is about. Technique then becomes an expression of this approach. It is alive, a creation of the moment. The Sufis say that we should feel that God is breathing through us, not the self. Drop the baggage of the self.