James Abbott McNeill Whistler, the great Impressionist painter and etcher, was a contemporary and verbal sparring partner of Oscar Wilde. Ruskin, Professor of Art at Oxford University, once described one of Whistler's paintings as the first example he had seen of a coxcomb throwing a pot of paint in the public's face and demanding the sum of 200 guineas for the privilege. Whistler sued for libel.
In his book "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies", Whistler recounts how Ruskin's counsel asked how long it took him to paint the "Nocturne" in question. Whistler replied that it probably took two days. Counsel followed up with the charge that, for the work of two days, Whistler was demanding the outrageous sum of 200 guineas. Whistler replied, "Not for the work of one or two days; for the knowledge of a lifetime". Whistler won the case and was awarded a farthing in damages.
In the martial arts world, money is a difficult subject. If you charge too little, the common perception of students is that you are not very good. If you charge a lot, the common perception is that you are too greedy.
My teacher's grandfather was a professional martial arts instructor, a master of Hung Kuen, who taught the youth in his village. He was paid in rice and the fiery local alcohol. However, he strongly advised my teacher not to teach hard style martial arts because there was no money in it. Instead he said to my teacher, "Your uncle teaches Tai Chi Chuan; learn from him and you can meet wealthy merchants and officials who will pay you a lot of money to learn Tai Chi Chuan to improve their health."
My teacher followed his advice and began learning from his uncle. He found it very unsatisfactory as his uncle knew very little about the martial aspects of Tai Chi Chuan and taught it mainly for health purposes. The situation was remedied when his uncle heard from another Tai Chi Chuan instructor of a master, Chai Man-hin, from Hunan Province. In 1946 he invited Chai to Hong Kong to teach his sons and his nephew.
Chai taught Tai Chi Chuan as a fighting art. He taught the complete art to my teacher receiving in return his bed and board. Chai didn't care about money. He was a devout Buddhist who had lost everything, including his family in the war. In the winter of 1948, he left Hong Kong. My teacher never saw him again.
Before leaving Chai told my teacher that recent generations of the well-known Tai Chi families had no interest to teach the practical applications of the techniques so that there were few practitioners of high quality and this made others despise Tai Chi Chuan. He told the teenage Cheng Tin-hung that, if he wished to teach and develop the art, he had to be sound in mind and body and able to defend himself properly; because of this he did not dare to keep anything secret from him.
At the age of 18 my teacher became a full time professional Tai Chi Chuan instructor. With many old and famous members of the well known Tai Chi families teaching the art in Hong Kong, who would go to a teenager to learn Tai Chi Chuan ? But they did.
Some of the old teachers went to see my teacher and remonstrate with him for teaching so many aspects of the art so openly. In particular, they were angry that he taught the Nei Kung and other "inside the door" training from a fairly early stage and over a short period of time instead of waiting at least 6 years and even then teaching only a couple of techniques a year.
Until a few years ago there were very few people in Europe teaching Tai Chi weapons, self defence and Nei Kung; pushing hands knowledge was limited. At that time some teachers did not give value for money. They did not cheat their students, but they taught very little and asked a lot.
One teacher of high repute always tantalised students with the prospect that one day they might be taught the sword. That day has never arrived. Another always refused to teach the sword on the grounds that it was too violent.
I often get asked if I can make a living from Tai Chi Chuan instruction. Not just this, but why people invite me abroad to do seminars. In the last year, I've taught in Sweden, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Belgium and Holland.
Partly of course it is because nice things happen to nice people. The main reason however, is that it's like the ad for the AA on TV; if you can't do it yourself, find a man who can and will. The one thing that has struck me though is the great humility exhibited by some of those I taught. Many of these students have been teaching martial arts much longer than I have and are professional instructors.
In turn they have taught me a great deal by telling me about their methods and experiences. Whenever possible I like to watch them teaching, so that I can learn ways of improve teaching technique. These types of student are called part student, part friend by the Chinese.
The instructors who have influenced me most in recent years have been Finns. Ilpo Jalamo is a 6th Dan in Yuishinkai karate and runs a full time school in Turku. Chinese systems and in particular Tai Chi Chuan have interested him for many years. I first met him 3 years ago, when he invited me over to do a seminar. We have met many times since then in Finland and elsewhere and always I have learned something, whether in a gym, a sauna or a bar.
Ilpo has the idea to educate his students by taking them to exotic destinations in the Far East or elsewhere to learn and to compete. Now I do the same. He also has a formidable video collection featuring instructors from all over the world, many of whom he has also invited to Finland. I am grateful to him for many insights on all aspects of martial arts.
Ilpo is also keen on giving and receiving private lessons. Partly due to his influence, I've started to give more private lessons and to pay more attention to instructor training. I have also started to take private lessons, not in martial arts, but in Chinese.
I have been learning Chinese on and off for the last seventeen years, including doing a full time Postgraduate Diploma course, but the problem was that either the learning was formal, to pass examinations, or informal and unstructured. My teacher, Mr. Luo is a Chinese Postgraduate student of politics from Taiwan. He has that most vital of requirements, a sense of humour. In addition his rates are very reasonable.
There are many types of learning; I believe learning in a class is important, attending seminars is important, but to really understand a martial arts system there is no substitute for direct contact with a teacher whether through private lessons or accompanying him on trips to martial arts events. In the Song of the 13 Tactics it is written, "if you are to enter the door and be led along the path, oral instruction is necessary."
In other words there are many things that are not written down, that are not taught in open classes. This type of teaching is vital for students if they are to achieve anything approaching mastery. Over many years I accompanied my master to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia and other places. I often stayed with him. In many ways he treated me like a son; in many ways I treated him like a father. These experiences were far more instructive than any formal instruction I received.
Sometimes teachers ask for what seems like a lot of money whether for classes, for seminars or for private lessons. Remember though, what you are paying for, if you have an honest and able teacher, is not the work of one or two hours, but the knowledge of a lifetime.