Image from artist "LoggaWiggler" from Pixabay
Yesterday I happened to stumble on an international Body Builders' expo whilst I was killing time at the Library. As I walked from the car park towards the library I noticed a couple of "buffed" guys whom at first glance I guessed were athletes or rugby players. Inside the foyer there were more guys and gals with unusually well-proportioned "chiseled" bodies strutting around in training clothes. When I entered the men's bathroom two guys were half-naked, their lotions on the sink, warming up practicing their finely honed poses in front of the mirror. Something was up. The body-building expo was obviously a well-organized, major event and something I'd never seen before so I sat reading outside the main door where I could see the stage without having to enter. The few contestants I saw were of a very high standard & elaborately introduced by a professional MC. Some had backgrounds in martial or other physical arts. It was clear from the high standard that they took their "sport" very seriously, investing lots of time, thought and energy into it. The MC asked them to show off various muscle groups and the contestants would then go into their well-rehearsed poses.
Although you'd never hear Body-building and Tai Chi mentioned in the same sentence (except to illustrate the opposites of cultivating "muscle tension" against "muscle relaxation"), I began to notice things that we two groups share. The serious body builders I saw were all (I estimate) past their mid-thirties & some quite a deal older. The same of most Tai Chi practitioners, mature aged adults who have left their youth behind and were looking for something more satisfying. We are both serious and dedicated about our "arts", so much so that there is an "insider" culture to both of them. We have our Idols/inspirations, diet, terms, dedicated practice (hours and hours, years and years of it). And it struck me that we (many of us) are both pursuing something similar yet in very different ways. That is, we are consciously or subconsciously looking for: "the elixir of immortality", or at least to feel good about ourselves. Our methods differ, Body-builders' try to achieve it "externally" & Tai Chi people "internally". I imagine most body-builders would probably say the goal is to look their best through developing their muscles & sculpting their bodies to perfection, hence derive satisfaction from looking great defying the ageing process and maybe get respect from how other people would consequently treat them. Whereas we Tai Chi people would aim to feel good about ourselves from cultivating our "chi" and the consequent rejuvenating feelings it brings us. It's probably fair enough to say that both of us want to stay young and vital as long as we can even if it is through very different methods.
Authour - Lee Chang Tye
https://www.relaxedmindtaichi.com
Although you'd never hear Body-building and Tai Chi mentioned in the same sentence (except to illustrate the opposites of cultivating "muscle tension" against "muscle relaxation"), I began to notice things that we two groups share. The serious body builders I saw were all (I estimate) past their mid-thirties & some quite a deal older. The same of most Tai Chi practitioners, mature aged adults who have left their youth behind and were looking for something more satisfying. We are both serious and dedicated about our "arts", so much so that there is an "insider" culture to both of them. We have our Idols/inspirations, diet, terms, dedicated practice (hours and hours, years and years of it). And it struck me that we (many of us) are both pursuing something similar yet in very different ways. That is, we are consciously or subconsciously looking for: "the elixir of immortality", or at least to feel good about ourselves. Our methods differ, Body-builders' try to achieve it "externally" & Tai Chi people "internally". I imagine most body-builders would probably say the goal is to look their best through developing their muscles & sculpting their bodies to perfection, hence derive satisfaction from looking great defying the ageing process and maybe get respect from how other people would consequently treat them. Whereas we Tai Chi people would aim to feel good about ourselves from cultivating our "chi" and the consequent rejuvenating feelings it brings us. It's probably fair enough to say that both of us want to stay young and vital as long as we can even if it is through very different methods.
Authour - Lee Chang Tye
https://www.relaxedmindtaichi.com
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