Yin and yang

By Huang Lanlan Source:Global Times Published: 2015-10-11 18:13:01

Dressed in loose, white traditional Chinese-style clothes, Wang Kaiyuan demonstrates some basic tai chi movements in English to an Italian family of four.

"Follow me," the coach instructs soothingly. "Move the weight to your right leg and part your feet as wide as your shoulders…raise your arms slowly to shoulder level…breathe in…"

Standing behind Wang, Ignacio Boneu does his best to mimic his coach's movements. Having been in Shanghai for 18 months, Boneu is quite interested in Chinese culture. "We hope to learn more about China through practicing tai chi," said the 49-year-old businessman.

Tai chi (literally translated as "supreme ultimate fist") is a branch of Chinese martial arts characterized by its close connection with Chinese philosophical principles such as Taoism and Confucianism. "Tai chi pays attention to the interaction and balance between yin and yang, which is also the essence of Taoism," Wang told the Global Times.

In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang represent the two opposite principles in nature. Yin characterizes the feminine or negative side while yang stands for the masculine or the positive. "All the things in the world including our bodies consist of both yin and yang elements," Wang said. "That's why tai chi attaches great importance to the balance of human body."

Unremitting effort

At a recent tai chi class on a Sunday afternoon, Boneu's teen daughters Beatriz and Marta tried to carefully imitate coach Wang's movements, but still could not keep up with him. "Even when he did it so slowly, I couldn't get it," Marta told the Global Times. "And just when I finally started to follow him, he began another movement."

Beatriz also thinks that tai chi is quite difficult. "These Chinese things have a deeper meaning that we don't completely understand," said the 15-year-old. "But tai chi is healthy, and I believe that we can learn it well through constant practicing."

Wang does his best to make tai chi more understandable to his foreign students. He often takes them to the Chinese Wushu Museum in Yangpu district, and introduces the main principles of tai chi by telling small anecdotes. One of the stories is about a young man in ancient China who was eager to learn tai chi from a renowned master at a temple. At first the man was rejected because the master only taught his family members.

But the man didn't give up. He disguised himself as a servant of the temple and every day while cleaning he secretly watched the master practice. "Finally the master noticed the man and accepted him as his apprentice, impressed as he was by his determination and persistence," Wang said.

"This story tells us that to learn and practice tai chi well, one must make unremitting efforts and never give up."

A long way to go

In 2005, Wang, then a tai chi national champion, established Hunyuan Tai Chi Centre in Shanghai to teach local residents the ancient martial art.

"But I gradually found that many foreigners in Shanghai were also very interested in tai chi and would like to learn it as well," he said.

Despite the untapped market potential, at that time there were few English-speaking tai chi coaches in the city. "Most professional tai chi coaches don't have an academic education, so most don't speak English," Wang said.

Holding a master's degree in martial arts, Wang himself is able to teach foreigners tai chi in English. He later recruited a few college graduates who majored in martial arts, then trained them to become qualified English-speaking tai chi coaches. Since 2008, Wang's center has taught nearly 20,000 foreigners in Shanghai from 15 different countries.

Most have been university students, tourists or locally based businesspersons. Occasionally, Wang's team is invited to perform or teach tai chi at exhibitions. "I'm happy to see more foreigners willing to experience tai chi," he told the Global Times. "Tai chi not only helps people relax and become healthier, but also opens a window to traditional Chinese culture."

Nonetheless, publicizing tai chi lessons for foreigners remains difficult for Wang. The coach also admitted that many tai chi theories are too complicated to be precisely translated into English, which often confuses his expatriate students. "We still have a long way to go," he sighed.

(For more details about Hunyuan Tai Chi Centre in Shanghai, visit http://en.shanghaitaijiquan.com)

Ignacio Boneu (middle) and his family learn tai chi with Wang Kaiyuan (left).



 


 

Wang Kaiyuan teaches indoor and outdoor tai chi lessons to foreigners.

Photos: Huang Lanlan/GT and courtesy of Wang Kaiyuan



 

Posted in: Metro Shanghai

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