What are the benefits of competition
Why Compete?
I love Tai Chi and want to improve, but this requires practice and immersing yourself in the art. But to discipline yourself to practice is hard to do. The preparation for competition helped me to practice every day to accomplish this. I had knee surgery in part to improve my Tai Chi, but I found that practicing more Tai Chi helped in my recovery from surgery.
What is Tai Chi Competition?
Competition is not about ‘beating’ your ‘opponents’, but about improving your own Tai Chi Chuan. You are really just challenging yourself to move more quickly along the road to personal growth and mastery.
Practice
Deciding to compete encourages daily practice, both to get into shape and to perfect your form. It is amazing how quickly your strength, smoothness, continuity, and balance improve if you do it every day. Your teachers love to see you invest yourself in the art, and give you extra feedback and training. And as you do Tai Chi more and pay closer attention to the form, your understanding becomes deeper and broader, and you realize how profound this art really is. You find yourself doing Tai Chi in the kitchen, or while walking the dog, or even subtly while waiting in line at the store. Your body wants to do it more and more.
Designing Your Form
The tournament time limit for each of my hand and sword events was 3.5 minutes. I had to modify one of our 3 minute competition forms due to not being fully recovered from knee surgery. This deepened my tai chi understanding, because I had to create a form that demonstrated my strengths, compensated for my weaknesses, and incorporated the principles from Tai Chi classic literature. My teachers gave me lots of feedback and helped me to understand how to make these transitions work. I had to do the mirror image of some movements, and change the sequence to include transitions that I had never practiced before. A wonderful learning experience!
Benefits to the School
Our school has a tradition of tournament competition in Tai Chi and other Kung Fu styles. Preparation creates a surge of energy and excitement in class. We had rehearsals, in which competitors do their forms in front of the class and get feedback from teachers and fellow students. Everyone learns to analyze the form for adherence to classic tai chi principles. There is no harsh criticism and there is lots of support, encouragement, and enhanced learning. And it is fun!
At the Tournament
Learning does not stop once you arrive. The Lion Dance kicks off the event with energy and excitement. You are surrounded by enthusiasts from 8 to 80 years old, in colorful school or individual Chinese apparel, and practicing and warming up in the hallways and large rooms. You see and discuss numerous variations of Tai Chi forms, which broadens your perspective and understanding of the nature of Tai Chi.
Feedback does not stop either. If you ask the judges for feedback, you will often get invaluable pointers that will improve your art! Everyone is connected by their love of Chinese Martial Arts and focused on improvement, excellence, and supporting each other- a warm and inspiring atmosphere. Whether you win a medal or not, a competition is an exciting and inspiring experience!