The Master and the Shoes,
an old Tai Chi Story
A long time ago in ancient China there was a great Tai Chi master. He was well known for his fighting skills but it wasn’t always easy to find work. Late one evening he walked into a small town looking for a place to spend the night and perhaps find work. Enter Master with a sack of belongings, cudgel and broad sword wearing old Chinese shoes. He sees the lights on at a factory and knocks on the door. The Boss of the factory opens the door, looks out, and recognises the Master. He invites the Master to come in and sit down. The Master says: “I am looking for a place to stay.” The Boss replied “It is an honour to welcome you here, by all means let me offer you a room.” Master: “Thank you, I have little money and need work.” Boss: “I always need good workers. I will pay a good wage. With you here I know my business will be safe from ruffians and rouges. Now, if at any time you need extra money you can take some from the till.” So the master stayed. He worked hard and the boss was very pleased. The boss noticed that at the end of the first week some money was missing from the till. Then at the end of the second week money was missing again and likewise the third week. The boss decided to speak to the master. “Is the wage I give you enough?” said the Boss. “Oh yes it is fine.” replied the Master. A few more weeks went by and each week there was money missing from the till. The boss thought that maybe the master was in some sort of trouble or maybe his wife was sick. So he decided to ask again. Boss: “Are you OK? Have you any problems – maybe your wife is unwell?” Master: “Everything is fine.” Boss: “The reason I was asking is that you have been taking money from the till each week and I wondered why.” Master: “Oh that I can explain. Come with me.” The Master took the boss into his room. He lifted up the mattress on his bed and he lifted the boards under it so that the boss could see under the bed. Boss: “Old shoes! Pairs of old cloth shoes, all worn out!” And the Master replied: “Yes each week I wear out my shoes practicing Tai Chi. I train before and after work each day and the shoes are tattered by the end of the week.” So can you think of the Morale of the story? And now, this leads us to ask: what type of shoe should we be wearing for our tai chi training today? So click here for more about the elusive tai chi shoe.
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