The introduction was written by Robert Amacker in 2008
It is natural for prospective students of Taiji to look for traditional sources of instruction, in their teachers and in what literature is available, as well. One result of this is a preference for teachers of Chinese ethnic origin, on the assumption that they are somehow more connected with all things Chinese, including this most esoteric of studies.
I have also heard it said that recent works on Taiji are superfluous, everything having already been said by great masters of the past. These are both flawed assumptions, but especially in the case of literature.
First, it must be understood that the publication of one’s works in China was, until the most recent of times, not a source of income. There were no copyright laws, and works were freely reproduced by anyone. Consequently, there was little incentive to reveal one’s secrets on paper. One of my own teachers was against any books about him or his teaching because, as he said, “People will read the book and not need to come to class.” If this kind of thinking could apply to even elementary instruction, one can imagine the attitude regarding the publication of what were considered “secrets.” Rather, books were a kind of combination of authentication and advertisement, revealing just enough to convince and attract. Even that which was revealed was always in the form of method rather than analysis because skill, once achieved, obviated the need for scientific explanation or justification. But more than one master of old was quoted as saying that at some point just such an analysis would be forthcoming, and that Taiji would someday be described in terms of geometry and physics. It is from this perspective that Vlasta Pechova’s current effort should be viewed.
I have for decades tried to analyze and describe Taiji, both in its underlying principle and in its various boxing manifestations, in an attempt to discover its theoretical basis. My own training and lineage are authentic and traditional, and I am quite conservative regarding any sort of new innovation in teaching, so it was mandatory that any such analysis would conform completely to traditional training, and produce results, if followed, that were identical to classical techniques and appearance. This has been the case, and the results, at least for western mentalities, has been dramatic in producing a school that practices Taiji on the most advanced and completely classical level of any that I have seen, and the highest percentage of students that achieve their greatest potential.
Of those students, Vlasta Pechova is without doubt one of the most talented, creative, and hard working that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. In only a few short years I appointed her as the official head of the Prague branch of my school, a position for which she proved to be more than qualified. In the years since she has become someone with whom I can practice and discuss techniques on the highest level. Her work is not a simple transmission of ideas, but the product of a thorough understanding and internalization of a complete system. Her approach in teaching is entirely her own, in some cases, I feel, more effective than mine. As a professional artist, her skill enables her to express ideas in visual form, greatly simplifying the transmission of things far more complicated to explain, and stimulating great envy on my part. In this book she explains many basic concepts and practices from a highly sophisticated point of view, something which should interest both beginners and experienced practitioners. She is by nature an extremely modest person, but her writing emanates the authority of someone whose knowledge and understanding goes far beyond what, in this fundamental work, she currently reveals. It also holds out the promise of future offerings, which I am sure will be eagerly received by those who meet her in these pages.
Robert Amacker, October, 2008, Moscow, Russia