Thoughts on Performances

Don't be surprised, but there are actually many wushu/taiji performances taking place round the year in Singapore. Most of them are events organised by/at community clubs, though SNWF also organises some activities as well.

Of late, my teacher (and his students) has not been taking part in performances. The last major performance we did was a few years back, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Singapore and he was asked to get his students to perform taiji to showcase as one of the activities that goes on in the neighbourhood of Toa Payoh.

While I don't like the idea of public performance of pushing hands, I think it is important to take part in performances of taijiquan. Firstly, preparing for the performance gives the students an objective to work towards, so there is a reason for them to practise hard and to try for certain standards. At the same time, it exposes us to what other people are doing, so that we don't end up living in our own world. After all, taiji is practised in many different ways by many different people, it is always good to know how others are practising taiji (though we don't necessarily need to follow their style/way).

It is the same with competitions. We take part in competitions not for the glory or the recognition by others, but rather to give a goal for us to work towards so as to focus our energy, and at the same time, ascertain our own standards.