TIAN JINGMIAO ON TRAINING WITH LEI MUNI

Tian Jingmiao on Training with Lei Muni  

Tian Jingmiao is well known in Beijing’s Purple Bamboo Park as the “Lady Taiji teacher with the long plait.” She has been teaching Chen Taijiquan in the park every morning since 1990. Tian Jingmiao is the only female disciple of Lei Muni, who together with Tian Xiuchen, Gu Liuxin and Feng Zhiqiang dominated the Chen Taiji scene following the death of their renowned teacher, the legendary Chen Fake.       

In the following conversation, Tian Jingmiao bears testimony to the health benefits of Taiji; of how it has transformed from a life threatening and debilitating illness to robust good health. She talks about her meeting with Lei Muni, her long association with the renowned Taiji exponent, his teaching methods and how attitudes on Taiji have changed since that time. She relates how it is possible to incorporate other internal styles in order to enhance development. And finally gives insight into the difficulties facing women Taiji players in achieving success in their practice.  

As a child Tian Jingmiao suffered from a serious rheumatic heart problem. By secondary school, with her condition steadily worsening, she began practicing Yang style Taijiquan. After five years her health had improved dramatically and, at this point, she felt ready to do something more energetic and challenging and approached Chen stylist Lei Muni whom she had seen teaching in the park.  

First Meeting with Lei Muni  

“I was advised that Lei Muni was a good practitioner who had won many accolades. I also knew of Tian Xiuchen (another of Chen Fake’s disciples) and others. There were many Chen stylists in Beijing at that time. I approached Lei laoshi (teacher) and asked him whether I could learn Chen Style Taijiquan with him. That was 1976. I told him that I had a weak constitution due to years of ill health. All of his students were fit and strong young men and he didn’t have a single female student. When I first approached him, he showed some reluctance. “You’re doing well with Yang style, why do you want to switch to Chen style?” I said I needed something more energetic as I’m still a youngster. He still had reservations, as he was worried in case I suffered a relapse with the more physically demanding Chen system. We agreed on a trial period. “For a month, I only did jibengong (basic foundation work) and was not taught any taolu (form). “He saw that I was keen, as I didn’t miss a single day, even on a day a bad sand storm blew up, and he agreed to let me continue, and I began proper lessons with him. At first they all laughed at me, as I was used to the very gentle ways of Yang style. Their amusement only made me more determined to do it properly.”  

Lei Muni’s Teaching  

“Lei Muni’s method was meticulous,” said Tian. “He would teach only one movement and let his students practice this for three to five days. He then reviewed the movement and would teach another new movement only if he were totally satisfied with its accuracy. In this way, teaching was slow. At the end of a section, he would review the section, and, unless he was satisfied, the students did not get to learn another new movement.”  

“When the whole sequence of yilu (first routine) movements was completed, there followed a period of meticulous studying and exploration of the sequence. In Chinese we say “zhao – to research.” To learn the movements of a taolu is easy, but to do it right and to do it well is not easy; it usually takes three to five years. For me, it took five years to ‘zhao’ yilu from beginning to end – that is, to understand the complexities and right execution of each movement. Lei Muni made sure we went through a series of progressive steps, each building upon the foundation of the previous stage.”  

Tian explained that, “In the first year, for example, because I didn’t know how to regulate my breathing and didn’t know how to fangsong (to loosen up), I was always tired after doing a form, and needed to rest. The teacher said that I wasn’t regulating my breaths properly and in parts not loosening up enough. Previously when I practiced Yang style, because the movements are so gentle and devoid of fajin (explosive movement), normal breathing was sufficient to co-ordinate with the movements. In Chen style, if you don’t know how to regulate your breathing when doing the faster and more explosive movements, it leaves you drained and exhausted after just one repetition of the form.” Tian explained that most inexperienced practitioners have the tendency to exhale completely when they fajin and then need to take a full breath in the next movement. This, she said, makes a person very tired afterwards. “My teacher told me that I should not let out all my breath from the dantian when doing fajin. I should only let out part of the breath and then connect with the next intake of breath and in doing so I would be combining natural breathing with fajin breathing, and so would not feel any discomfort throughout.”  

Tian considers correct breathing to be an essential part of Taijiquan training and that this is often overlooked. “This is important for the body’s health. Breathing should never be laboured. Also how to regulate breathing to co-ordinate with each movement, i.e., the breath in between each change of movement, etc. I studied this aspect for a full year.   “The next important aspect emphasized by Lei Muni was pan jiazi, or adjusting the frame.” She explained that “pan jiazi involves going down on low stances; dissecting and examining every movement and every posture; learning how to fajin and how to connect movement after fajin; and how to connect movement when there is no fajin, etc.”  

The Importance of Wu Xing  

Tian says that, as a student of Taijiquan, one should constantly investigate and probe for a deeper level of understanding. “Like many traditional teachers, Lei Muni always stressed the importance of wu xing, the inherent ability to grasp facts, for a learner to be considered as having potential. “In practical terms, for example, when he was trying to point out an error in my movement, I was able to watch him show a particular movement and grasp what he was trying to convey without elaborate explanations. “It is easy to understand a concept, as most students are adults. But to execute the concept physically is not easy, especially in Chen style Taiji. If you understand a movement principle intellectually and are then able to do the physical movement correctly, then it means you “wu” (grasp) the concept. You have no “wu” if you cannot do this. Therefore, wu xing is often spoken about in assessing a student and is a very important aspect in the learning process.”  

“Wu xing cannot be given to a person, or instilled into a person. Sometimes it takes painstaking investigation and rumination to ‘see the light’ (the eureka! moment). Once you’ve done this, everything becomes crystal clear, and whenever a teacher demonstrates a point, you could ‘see’ it straightaway and be able to replicate it. This process is unavoidable, challenging and requires a period of time.” Tian said that people either haven’t got this innate ability or their learning method is not correct. “It may be that a person does not pay proper attention to what the teacher is saying. Every time you let the opportunity to learn slip by, you’re losing the chance to progress. I believe you should pay attention whenever the teacher instructs, whether it is directed at you or someone else.”   Tian stayed with Lei Muni and concentrated on improving her understanding of Taiji until he passed away in 1986.   As is the case with many Taiji teachers, Tian’s progression into teaching came about naturally as she started to help Lei Muni with new students. “As he got older, he would perhaps ask me to demonstrate a more demanding or energetic posture to other students. In the teaching process, whenever I came across something I didn’t understand, I would ask laoshi. When I had understood the point, then I would relay this to the students. This helped me a lot in my own progression. My teaching career started in this informal way, but it has continued until today.”   After Lei Muni’s death in 1986, Tian Jinmiao and two other instructors took over his teaching. In 1989 Beijing’s Chen Style Research Centre decided it needed to expand to the Haidien area (where the Purple Bamboo Park is located) as there was no Chen style instruction there. So in 1990 Tian was officially allocated this area, where people came to know her as “the lady Taiji teacher with the long plait.”  

Using Other Internal Styles    

After Lei’s death, Tian investigated a number of other internal styles, but nevertheless cautioned against cross training without focus. She began with Wu style Taijiquan: “my contact with Wu style Taiji happened after the death of my teacher. It was with Wu Tunan’s disciple Zhang Guojian. My motive was to continue my study and enhance my Chen style. I was studying the technique of push hands and realised that one of the most important components is rou hua (pliant neutralisation). I noticed that Wu style placed a lot of emphasis on this component of Taiji. “After all, Wu is also part of the larger Taiji family. I learned Wu style push hands and the traditional taolu for two years.” Tian then studied Xingyi to examine its fajin component: “Xingyi fajin is vigorous and fast, and I wanted to see how that compares with Chen style fajin in order to have a better understanding about its execution. I wanted to study how to instantly become relaxed and pliant again after fajin. I also studied Bagua and examined its footwork and circularity. All these activities were my way of increasing my understanding of Chen style Taiji, to look at ways of increasing my perception and knowledge, in order to raise my standard of practice, and to enable me to teach better.”  

“My main focus has always been Chen style Taiji, and I was committed to continue the teaching of Lei laoshi and the promotion of Chen style Taijiquan. “This method has helped me because I had already fixed my main direction. Chen style Taiji is my mainstay. I believe it is not useful to flit about with no focus. Lei laoshi had put a lot of effort into me, and I would not discard his teaching. From his lineage I’m the only one still teaching. I think of him often and wish to pass on his lineage. This task has weighed heavily on me. In the present environment of economic growth and rapid change, people’s focus is now different. Taiji is no longer a priority in their lives.”  

Changing Attitudes in Taiji  

Tian considers a person’s attitude towards Taijiquan as critical if they are to achieve any meaningful level of achievement. “For me my morning Taiji practice is like my morning breakfast. I need to do Taiji just as I need to eat breakfast. No matter what I do, time has to be put aside for this. In my mind, everything has to take second place to my morning Taiji. I hope that my students will have the same attitude. Today attitudes have changed. You can see that in many instances. When a teacher is away, people stop turning up. They take the attitude of ‘wait till the teacher gets back.’ So they are really practicing because of the teacher, and not because of Taiji. The focus is not Taiji. In the past, the students arrived well before the teacher to make sure little tasks are done before he arrived – like preparing the training area, hanging up the pennant and so on. So when the teacher arrived, he could start teaching without distractions. There was a thirst for knowledge. Whenever the teacher explained a point to whichever person, I would go and listen. It didn’t matter if I had encountered it before, since there may be something I had missed the first time, or had not enough understanding then to realise the message. Or I may be seeing the same thing from another angle. Practice is a matter of repetition, the more you do the better you get.”  

“In the past, there was definitely more respect and trust between teacher and student. The teacher was able to be strict and demanding with students, and know that the student will return. Nowadays learners do as they please. They turn up when they feel like it. They may put in effort one day and not at all the next day. They are not willing to be guided by the teacher. Some learners have a lot of potential physically and intellectually, but they have no staying power. There is nothing a teacher can do about that.” Tian believes that today people often don’t see Taiji as an essential part of life. “It really does matter how a person perceives Taiji. For myself, Taiji was chance for me to regain my health. So for me I consider it to be my best investment. Good health is the best asset one can have. To have healthy body is better than having a hefty bank account. What good is money if you haven’t the good health to enjoy it? In the three decades since I began training with Lei Muni, I’ve not had one relapse of my heart problem. Nobody believes or suspects I have a heart condition now.”  

The Issues Facing Women  

Tian went on to speak about some of the specific issues facing women Taiji practitioners. She believes that it is more difficult for a woman to reach a high level of Taiji attainment. “I speak for Chinese women here. The reason is social and cultural. Most Chinese women are expected to take care of the family. There is the inevitable break with Taiji after they get married. This comes with family responsibilities, usually beginning with pregnancies, which involves at least one year’s break from training. Until the child starts nursery, it is impossible for a woman to be committed to come to the park every day. These are the unavoidable facts of life for a woman.”  

“Woman Taiji players often ask me whether they could continue to practice Taiji when they become pregnant. I would say that a woman is advised not to do vigorous activity during pregnancy. Taolu can be done taking a high stance and narrow posture. The form should be done in the soft relaxed manner and fajin should be avoided. Gentle exercise is good for the health of mother and baby. Quiet sitting meditation is good to calm the mood. However, as pregnancy advances, it may affect the balance of the person. Taiji is about fixing the centre to maintain the correct posture. Pregnancy often throws this askew so one must be aware of this and be careful at the latter stages of pregnancy. “  

“As for the other natural physical cycle of a woman’s life, I personally have not let menstruation stop my practice. It is true that sometimes women feel uncomfortable and less energised at this time. The body retains fluid, especially in the abdominal region. Some women get very bad abdominal cramps (period pains). How I see it, the symptoms are there whether you do Taiji or not, so it shouldn’t stop you from doing it. You can reduce the physicality of the exercise by not going down too low. In fact Taiji is known to reduce abdominal cramps, regulate menstruation, as well as delaying the menopause. Delaying the menopause helps a woman keep at bay the aging process.”  

“People sometimes limit themselves by placing themselves into age categories imposed by social conditioning. When you are at a certain age, you should behave in a way befitting that category. I believe you should just carry on without putting these types of constraints on yourself. Go on regardless and let things develop naturally. This is Taiji philosophy. The human form returns to its natural state and within this natural state one seeks the principle. Ask yourself: ‘What is the principle and why is this principle necessary? What happens when I follow it and what happens when I don’t? You gradually understand that acceptance comes about only with the existence of a principle. This is also true to life. Everything you do needs a purpose and structure. Taijiquan’s philosophy is very helpful when applied to our daily life; for example, in our association with other people and how we deal with life in general.”              ~