We had our first class on Taoism and wushu theory this week. I wasn't really sure what to expect but it was really interesting. Shifu did an excellent job of explaining something which is basically impossible to explain and in english too. He said that even people that understand Chinese very well have a difficult time with the concepts so he will repeat the ideas over and over so we can understand them.

There is a text in Taoism which describes the attainment of peace and stillness. He explained a bit of the beginning to us:

In the beginning there is formlessness, no name, "nature", "the way". Lao tzu said that he chose a name to call it 'tao' and as soon as it was named there was shape to it, a circle. Because this circle contains everything, it has every extreme with perfect balance within it. 1 becomes 2. Yin and yang. Within yin and yang there is every part of heaven, earth, and humans. 2 becomes 3. These three together can create anything. 3 becomes everything (wan wu).

He also explained the idea of "He" to us. As far as I can tell He means unity and balance. Yin and yang have he because they cannot be separated. He said that this would come up many more times in future classes.

We touched briefly on the word for experience. Basically Lao tzu wrote that understanding can only be acheived through experience (repetition of techniques to relate it to kung fu) not through learning. An interesting and familiar concept. I look forward to the next class.

Well that's a brief synopsis of what was covered. I have explained it as well as I can at this point. Hopefully more clarity will come as I understand more and more.