noticed that the days started flying by, as if in one instant. I felt that I did not have enough time for everything. I even stopped
visiting a few hobby groups so that at least, somehow, I could manage to do everything. Our exercises and trainings continued to gladden me with their novelty and uniqueness. At one of the trainings, Sensei began explaining a new subject.
“Today we’ll study and, as usual, partially will learn the style of Tai Qi Quan, considered to be from the soft style of Wushu. This style originated in one of the most famous monasteries of China, located in the Wudangshan mountains. It is noteworthy that the local mountains used to be called the Mountains of Great Stillness. But then a man, whose name was Zhen Wu, flew to heaven having reached Dao (which in Daoism is considered to be the internal divine power and primordial substance that created everything in the Universe). The mountains were renamed in his honor.
“According to one of the legends, a monk named Zhan Sanfeng lived in that monastery in the twelfth century. One day, hearing an odd sound in the yard, he looked out of the window. The monk saw a crow sitting on the tree and a snake on the ground, both looking at each other. Each time, as soon as crow flew out of the tree to attack the snake, the snake would quickly turn its head and would curve in such a way that the crow wouldn’t be able to peck it. While observing them, Zhan had an insight: an opponent can be defeated by dodging attacks.
“According to another legend, he received this wise hint from Zhan Wu in a dream. As the proverb says, ‘A saint said, a wise man understood.’ Having perceived the main principle of martial art, Zhan Sanfeng, after many years of training, developed the soft style, which received the name Supreme Ultimate (Tai Qi Quan). To translate it literally, ‘tai’ means supreme, ‘qi’ means ultimate, and ‘quan’ means fist.
“According to another version, the development of this style is ascribed to another Zhan Sanfeng from Wudang who lived in the fourteenth century, a disciple of the famous master Ho Lung (Fiery Dragon). Of course, there are other legendary versions of the origin of this style. Bur the main principle of Tai Qi Quan didn’t change and is stated in the following principles: Statics begets dynamics; the pliable overcomes the rigid; the slow defeats the fast; the short defeats the long. In other words, for example, you should respond to the sharp attacking movement of your opponent with soft pliancy, in this way amortizing the strike by letting it pass into emptiness. As a result, the opponent loses balance. And then a few grams are enough to overcome the power of a ton. The ancient writings of the masters of Tai Qi Quan say about this style, ‘Little movements lead to big changes. The pliable overcomes the rigid: make use of power of your opponent; attack suddenly, affecting points.’
“Tai Qi Quan is similar to a smooth dance. At the highest level of mastery of this style, there are no fixed movements or complexes, only the major principles remain. The body moves as if on its own, performing in dynamic meditation an undefined peculiar dance.
“But to reach something big, one needs to start with something small. That’s why we’ll start with the simplest exercise, pushing hands. It is done in pairs. Here, it is necessary to slightly touch with the hands, softly, taking turns to push each other, for the beginners under the known trajectory of movement, and for the more experienced, arbitrarily. This exercise develops reaction to the actions of the opponent by foreseeing his intentions. In other words, by ‘listening’ to where he wants to move, you should attempt to trick him by breaking free from his ‘stuck’ hands. With the inaccurate movement of your opponent, for example, if he moves roughly or loses balance, you, with a light push, can cast him to the ground. Movements should be relaxed, but the consciousness stays vigilant. Also I’ll show you the corresponding complex of breathing.
“These and the following exercises can be used as health-improving gymnastics. Especially for medical goals, Tai Qi Quan is helpful to people who are in a constant nervous stress because these smooth movements with even speed align potentials in the cerebral cortex, protecting it from overload. Moreover, the concentration of thought on movements distracts man from everyday problems, restoring his nervous system. And, of course, gymnastics trains all joints and ligaments. It is helpful for everybody. So, coming back home, you can show it to your mums and dads, grandmas and grandpas, so that they will never be sick.
“I want to draw your particular attention to the fact that the ancient masters of the Tai Qi Quan gymnastics insistently demanded from their disciples ‘purification, stillness, absence of wrong actions, preservation of purity of heart, restraint in their desires.’ In this way, a human not only will defeat his diseases but also will destroy his ego, thus clearing a path to the perfection of the spirit. They were strongly convinced that Heaven sees the ‘de’ (spirituality, love) of man and that, based on his ‘de,’ he gets a reward. The wisdom of the masters that reached us from the depths of centuries is relevant today. Each one of us can use this knowledge to the maximum, and not just for selfdefense, but also for the opening of his own internal world, for the perception of the mysteries of nature and the universe. You always need to remember that a human can achieve anything if the goal is clearly defined. Now let’s proceed to the practical part.”
We lined up, and the Teacher showed us the breathing exercises for ‘stuck hands.’ After individual demonstrations of the techniques by Sensei, almost everybody in a few seconds landed on his back hearing the laughter of his friends, who found themselves in the same position a few minutes later. More serious fighters, using the wrong techniques, were flying away as many as three to four meters. Most interesting is that during the first ten minutes we laughed, but after twenty minutes we were rising up slowly, groaning. After half an hour of more engaged, serious work, we completely concentrated on the movement and accuracy of our performance. Nobody wanted to be seen as a clown by excessively falling.
The speedy guys, including Stas and Eugene, worked especially beautifully. Evidently they had practiced this art for a long time. Their completely nonrecurring, improvised movements were similar to a grandiose dance, full of unpredictable and at the same time rational movements. And if one of them made a mistake, then immediately he flew far away, knocking down a lot of people on the way. In order not to harm other people, these guys were moved to the end of the hall, almost to the exit. But even here, Eugene and Stas surpassed themselves. Working at sparring, Eugene for one second got distracted by the opening door and right away received a powerful blow from Stas, which not only threw him into that unfortunate door, but also placed him before the exit on his knees. At that time, an imposing man of indefinable age, with a stately face similar to that of Ramses, entered the hall. Some kind of fine eastern aroma wafted from him. He was dressed in a stylish coat under which an expensive suit could be seen. “Ramses” looked at Eugene with surprise. But Eugene quickly composed himself and, touching the floor with his forehead, ritually uttered, “Oh, we welcome you, great Zhan Wu, the most desirable guest of our tribe!”
Eugene quickly jumped back on his feet and, bowing to the gentleman one more time like a fighter, turned around and went toward Stas, who could hardly control his laughter.
Sensei, with a smile, came up and greeted the man. “For how long did he practice this form of greeting?” asked “Ramses” with a strong accent, in broken Russian.
“Don’t get mad at him. He is young and always confused.”
“Ramses” was surprised even more and asked with a slight resentment in his voice, “Do I really look Chinese?”
“No, of course, but…,” Sensei continued in some unusual language.
“Ramses” laughed and added something in reply. Speaking in this melodious and very pleasant language, they went into the private room for coaches. I noticed that the guest walked the same way as Sensei.
As soon as the doors shut behind them, Stas couldn’t keep it in and laughed aloud, immediately receiving in return a punch from Eugene. Having fallen with a rumble on the benches, he couldn’t stand up for five whole minutes, rolling from his laughter attack. They might have kept laughing like that until the end of training, but the senior sempai, who was responsible for discipline in Sensei’s absence, showed them a fist, and the guys quickly hushed up and got back to work.
I was bursting with curiosity to find out who that mysterious guest was. But my attempts to ask the senior guys weren’t successful. They let me know that they don’t interfere in Sensei’s business.
In thirty minutes, closer to the end of training, “Ramses” and Sensei came out of the room, confirming something on the way with a smile. They bid farewell as old, good friends, warmly shaking each other’s hands. After the departure of the mysterious guest, Sensei, with the same ease, switched back to Russian and, as if nothing had happened, started explaining the guys’ mistakes he’d seen. His mood was clearly raised.
At home I wrote down, as always, the most interesting things in my diary. The visit of this unusual foreigner raised in me many unanswered questions. I decided to leave this mystery to an undetermined later. As Sensei would say, “There is nothing mysterious on Earth that one day won’t be revealed.” With such an optimistic forecast of the future, I continued to be an observer.
