Tao Sorjaiphet (Absolute MMA), my first instructor in fighting and internal arts, once advised me to gauge my progress in 10-year increments. He told me this to give me motivation and to take stock of how far I had progressed in my training and practice from ten years ago. As a result perhaps we can gain perspective on our progress. Although the daily grind and labor might make it appear as though we aren't doing anything on an apparently never-ending list of tasks, if we keep going step by step, we will eventually discover that we have gone a long way.

I started my adventure with Sifu Adam Mizner’s Heaven Man Earth Internal Arts organisation back in 2007 . Actually, it was Tao, my fight coach at the time, who recommended that I go see Andy Mack at his new school in Melbourne. Large posters with the vivid message "real taiji - 4 heavy hits in 1 second" had been emblazoned all over the city. I had a notion somewhere that I would go try this arrogant man who claimed to have the "real" TaiChi. I never looked back because, as it turned out, he really did have the genuine deal.

I have taken many trips, often to Thailand to learn more about and experience TaiChi Chuan, which is a really profound art form. The man I call my teacher and close friend never ceases to astound and amaze me. Once more, path that this inexplicable and unfathomable internal art offers, which I am fortunate enough to tread, humbles me with its boundless depth and wonder.

Reflecting then in spans of decades, I can say that I am more content. I'm almost forty five years old as well, and it appears that with age comes ease and natural maturity. One of the great TaiChi practitioners, the late Michael Phillips said that TaiChi develops a strong ability for withstanding frustration. My teacher pushes me to the limit of my abilities every practice session, and sometimes even beyond. But I can definitely tell that I've changed from the beginning in that I can now handle the frustration of striving for apparently unachievable goals. That is to say that the joy of the practice itself is immense unto itself, and I'm sure I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of TaiChi's infinite possibilities and the freedom this form of cultivation affords.

This practice life. There are never enough words to adequately capture it. As things are, there's not really much to say. Enjoy your practice.

Decades of practice

The Spirit of Practice

Remembering - Qigong Day Retreat In The Yarra Valley