When the system became form oriented and books were published there was material that was deemed unfit for the general public. Not a ton of material but some interesting stuff. It is one of the ways you can tell reconstituted taiji from true transmissions. The reconstituted stuff totally lacks meridian based targeting and the system of lines, which are among the aspects considered secret or reserved.

More interesting is that the songs of taiji were once considered secret but are now easy to find in print. The Michuan form itself was once secret, but is now known to the general public as well.

Waiting to let you “inside the door” can also be seen as a sort of test, to see if the teacher isn’t going to waste his time when he decides to invest heavily into teaching you. In that regard, I think it’s a good tool. How many people quit training as opposed to those who stick to it for a life time?
Those that quit soon deserve good training too but it’s up to them to prove to the teacher that they’re worth his time and effort.

Just some ramblings. Great post and discussion here.

Happy Holidays,

Wim

This is a great observation and really applies to practicing anything in any field. New styles, especially combination and “freestyle” forms will always generate new technique.

Rick, how would you feel if your instructor saw an area for improvement in your practice, but decided not to inform you, because you are not a formal disciple?”

She hasn’t been shy so far!!

If the master is not teaching more advanced teachings “for now,” as he is waiting for the student to be ready for it, or mature enough, or dedicated enough, or something like that, that’s fairly straight forward and acceptable.

If he’s holding back from a student who is otherwise ready because he wants only his son to have it all, or he wants only members of a certain ethnicity or race to have it or whatever, that’s bunk and he’s not a teacher for the 21 century.

I don’t think there are too many of the latter type teachers any more. If for no other reason, he would eventually lose his students to the masters who do teach all they know. There are plenty of them out there.

In any case, I just don’t believe there is much to be held back. The notion that a martial art has secret teachings, known only to a few wend out with the dodo. It was really just a way of preserving a monopoly. When the “secret” stuff was revealed, it turned out not to be all that secret.

There was a time when the tai chi forms were “secret.” Outside students were taught the practical applications, but only trusted insiders were given the whole form, as the form was seen as the vehicle to preserve the art. Does that mean the student who didn’t learn the form didn’t know some movements? Of course not! They just didn’t practice the form as we do today. But those students were still internal martial artists and probably made up for the lack of form with other methods.