An encouter with a Tai Chi Chuan Teacher

 Many, many years ago, when the sun would rise early in the morning and then gently descend in the evening. As if it doesn't do that now. I decided to take up the Art of Tai Chi.  I was young in my 20s, and exceptionally fit, having seriously jogged and done some half-marathons.  If only I was so slim now, I'll never see again. It was probably some time in the 1990s. I took up classes with a Tai Chi teacher called Dan Docherty. It meant travelling from outside of South-East London to Covent Garden. I chose this teacher because I'd read from a martial arts magazine about him and at one point he was an open weight champion. So unlike the soft slow dancing which Tai Chi had been associated with this was practical stuff that could be used. It was from someone who had used it for real and was exceptionally capable. Perhaps some would call him a Master. Although this is something the Chinese would use rather than Westerners. I would like to say I knew him well, but in truth I didn't. He didn't seem to say much. I didn't get much of time for socialising, by the time I had managed to get to Jubiliee Gardens Sports Centre there would be a crowd of students sat at the tables with him waiting for the hall to be free. But my memory is a little shaky here. 

Dan was quite young still at this time. In his thirties. He seemed to have a fondness for a particular track suit he wore. Maybe he had a few in the cupboard a blue and white one. The lessons were £5. I thought it was a lot of money to tell the truth. Doubling every 10 years you're probably approaching £40 in todays money. The first thing I learnt was the 7 stars style. I tried to reconcile myself, I'd learnt to step to one side to avoid a push/punch, then twist it away from the waist. So to avoid a punch just step to the side, did I really pay £5 to learn that? Yes. I didn't stop, maybe because Central London had is draw to me. I'd of liked to have worked there but didn't have the obligatory O'levels to walking into a career. So I continued, keeping up classes for two and a half years and even learnt a small bit of those internal strength exercises. I think I pissed Dan off as I was due to see him to learn a second set of internal strength exercises and there just seemed to be no way I could get through London to Clapham on time. I rang him, it was a Sunday. I just couldn't get there as my only means was public transport. Then at another lesson he said to me if I wanted to continue those exercises I should go an arrange it with a more experienced behind the door pupil Steve. He no doubt felt disappointed. I wish he'd understood the difficult I had travelling to get to Clapham. Unfortunately for me I felt Dan had come over a little petty. It was another one of those little things which disheartened me. After all, we all like to look up to our teachers.

Classes were, generally set pieces, 7 Stars Style, defensive techniques, pushing hands and lastly the form. There was a structure to the lessons.  For example in another side stepping demonstration we learnt to parry and then counter punch.  Once or twice I did wrestling, come a throwing technique, which I enjoyed very much. I liked the hands on stuff. Building up sensitivity in my body when a push came at me, learnt from doing pushing hands. Yet, I didn't find the lessons were a full work out. I wasn't exhausted like I might of hoped. Perhaps Dan had dialled them down because after all this was central London. Pupils were of different ages, I remember one older French man who was a little overweight, he was easy to talk to, and I remember Godfrey who would be formidable regardless at whatever he learnt. It could just of been I was exceedingly fit. More so than the average 20 plus fella. I could run a half-marathon in under 1 hour 30 minutes. During lessons Dan walked amongst his pupils, going from pupil to pupil correcting them if they were getting it wrong. His head would bop up as he scanned the piece of hall hired out. As if on the lookout for something. Then we'd gather round and he'd demonstrate another defensive aspect we would all practice. 

I recall one of the very few conversations I had with him where I said Tai Chi didn't have any ground techniques. To tell the truth I thought the throws were also lacking. Anyone who may have done the smallest study of Judo would show you many different ones.  Dan's response was along the lines of don't let yourself be on the fucking ground. He had his opinions, I'd say that. I wanted to learn hand or wrist locks as well so must of taken up the wrong Martial Art. They weren't present. It could easily be said Dan had a arrogance about him, but then he had put Tai Chi to the test in an arena, it worked. Maybe the Chinese calling it Supreme Ultimate fist has a good reason to it.

For some reason it felt as though getting to learn more and more Tai Chi was becoming an expense. Everything had a cost to it. And the bottom line was cost and time were not reconciling themselves with effort. I liked it but I also was getting tired with it. Maybe the internal strength thing narked me. Then I applied to Birkbeck College to do an undergraduate degree. The commitment was four years of evening classes. I got accepted and I allowed this to put an end to my Tai Chi. At the end of it I got my degree, I learnt a lot and had a Certificate in my hand.

I didn't I found out Dan died and had Parkinson's in his later years. He died before his time. There is out there a lot of words he wrote and books which are no longer in print. I have got to learn how scholarly he was in many ways. I wish I could again attend Tai Chi lessons, but there is nothing local to me in Practical Tai Chi Chuan. So who knows what my next phase will be.