Playing by ear

Hubby learns things in the same way that music people 'play by ear'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_music_by_ear

Peter Southwood thought that it was amazing how quickly Hubby picked up his forms and how Hubby was able to go home and return the following week with a better reproduction that what he was shown.

Not only can Hubby learn immensely quickly by ear, but he can also improve what he has learned.

I have never personally seen him do this with tai chi (he hasn't learned a new form in almost two decades) but I see him do it all the time with other things: for example 'baking'.

Bagua: designed by a schizophrenic?

Bagua is a weird form of kung fu; it is so sneaky and evasive. I first saw Hubby doing it at bootcamp in 2007. He started learning it from Peter Southwood in 1990 and received 20 years training in the art from his teacher. Baguazhang looks very spontaneous to watch and is unpredictable.

I've learned the first 6 palm changes at a crude level and really feel the paranoid strategy of bagua. You are constantly turning unexpectedly, checking behind you, changing direction erratically. It was invented by an Imperial Guard, a bodyguard and is famous for its effectiveness. My theory is that it was created by a paranoid schizophrenic!

Hubby trains the palm changes for 30-60 minutes every day. I manage 15-20 mins myself most days and try to do 30 mins at the weekend. It is firming up my legs!