Fear and Knife Crime

I was recently asked to give a talk to a group of young people about Tai Chi. In order to get the youngsters attention I dug out my old madarin suit and practice broad sword. On my journey to the venue I had second thoughts, would it be appropriate to encourage the practice with bladed weapons when knife crime amongst young people is such a big issue in todays society?

During the evening I demonstrated a short form then put on my old worn out Mandarin jacket. I explained to the young people I had planned to demonstrate a sword form to impress them but had left the big arsed sword in the boot of my car. I asked them if anyone carried a knife. I then asked them why they would carry a knife - the answer I was hoping for came back, 'to protect myself' and 'because I was afraid'.

I then explained that Tai Chi helps you to feel stable and calm, something the young people had noticed during the demonstration. I pointed to a poster on the venue wall telling people to slow down and think in an emergency. 'You don't need a knife to be safe you need to learn to learn to keep calm so you can think your way out of trouble' become my message to the group. Try this technique from Tai Chi to relax the legs. Try this technique to relax your abdomen and keep calm. Using Tai Chi you don't need bladed weapons to feel safe.

Sword forms may be attractive and sexy encouraging people to explore the art of Tai Chi but they are misleading. Tai Chi is an internal art, you can be easily distracted by the external weapon. You need first to learn to be calm, relaxed and open inside. Why my teacher would not allow us to learn weapon forms until we had mastered traditional Tai Chi practice.