Strange and mysterious happenings in Tai chi.
My first teacher, John Kells of Wimpole Street, London. Once told me that we should never speak of experiences above the normal that happen to us with our practice of Tai chi but to keep them to ourselves.Think about them and how these things can help us to progress but don’t fix on them.
I took this advice seriously as I was beginning to have some experiences. And as I progressed, more were to come. I kept faith with John’s advice and rarely spoke of them. However one very powerful mysterious thing happened to me which I feel needs revealing because 40 years after the event I discovered it has happened to other tai chi people.
The year was 1979. And my fourth year of tai chi I had completed the 37 steps style Chang Man Ching, and the 108 steps. I had left London and move to the east of England, but once or twice a week I travelled down to Wimpole St to continue my classes with John Kells. One afternoon as I was walking home. Three young men crossed the road to my side. I had a bad feeling from them and I decided to cross the road to avoid them. At that instant a voice in my mind said « no, continue your path and keep calm ». I obeyed and sure enough the three hooligans pushed into me . Two of them into my left side and the other into my right side. Astonishingly The men rebounded off me without anything that I did. The only thing that I felt was where the three touched me, a sort of bubble burst. Almost like a soap bubble, when it burst it sends out a spray of soap, In this case it was a spray of light which spread out only a few centimeters from the contact. The two men to my left, one was on his knees in front of me the other fellow had fallen to the ground to my left. the third to my right was still standing but in a hedge. All had the same distance from me, about 2 meters. They quickly got up and walked around me and took off.
For a moment my ego went « wow! I have rebounded these guys ». I turn around to see them and was surprised how far they have put themselves between me and them in a few seconds. I am still surprised to this day. My ego did not have much time to gloat either. As I slowly walk home I realized this was a very high level of Tai chi which I did not have after only four years of training and still do not have today. If anything it was a lesson in the potential shown to me though Wu Wei. It was one of the most powerful experience I have ever had and a complete mystery to me.
When I arrived at my house I emptied my living room of all furniture and this became my first Daoguan. I left my job and took on part time work just to earn enough to eat and pay the bills. I now had lots of time to train and develop my tai chi. After a year my teacher gave me permission to teach. And I open my first school at Cambridge university in 1981. That would seem to be the end of a truly mysterious story but no, 36 years later !!!
Wimpole St. 1979: John kells playing Fa Jing
I am sitting behind him in a grey Chinese shirt.
In 2015 I sadly attended The funeral of Wang Chih Shih in Kaoshiung Taiwan. There I met an English student of master Wang. His name was David and he was also a student of John Kells he told me we had met in London and Push hands together. But I had no memory of the occasion and I apologized for this. My teacher, Chen Hsui Yao invited me to join her and her students to a restaurant after the ceremony and David joined us. While at the table I ask him what he had been doing since we met in the 1990,s he said he had been living in Taiwan writing books and going to Master Wang’s taichi classes. I ask him about his books and he said after an experience in London. He wrote about energy. What was this experience I ask. And he went on to describe that three men had attack him. And that he repelled them, « that just bounced off me » he said. He then ask me why I was looking at him so strangely. I didn’t answer, I was just astonished. He went on to say that one man was on his knees another flat out on the ground and the third was still standing but all three were about two meters away. As David continued to relate his experience I couldn’t help but return to my own, exactly the same; I was confused but amazed that the same thing had happened to someone else 24 years after. I eventually told David that I had the this mysterious experience exactly as he had told me. Needless to say he was surprised. We tried to explain together what this strange occurrence could have been and came to the conclusion that our Teacher was responsible. John Kells after all was a very powerful tai chi master. I never had contact with David after the restaurant. Which I do regret. So if you do read this article please contact me; because where this should be the end of the story again it isn’t.
Several years after my meeting with David I was researching old yang style articles on the internet and I came across one that intrigued me. It was translated from Chinese into English So I think it was from Hong Kong and was dated about 1936 or later. It describe a disciple of Yang Chang Fu walking down a street in his home town when three men attacked him and he rebounded them. As like David and myself. I had the impression that the person who wrote the article actually saw it happen because he related that the disciple just carried on walking and that he was impressed with the disciple’s skill. I am quiet convinced that it was the same experience that I and David had. Unfortunate while changing my old computer for a new one, I lost the article.
These events remains a complete mystery to me, was this a creation by ancient Tai Chi masters and Taoists to secure the continuation of the higher levels of tai chi. And I had the good luck to be relaxed and open at the right time to receive this experience; certainly time and space are not a restriction for it to appear. I only have more questions and almost no answers. Which brings me to the real reason; for writing this article. If anyone reading this, has had similar experiences. Or understand what and how these things manifest . Please contact me. I would be so grateful.
William Nelson. France.