The Tai Chi Monkey

I have seen a video clip of a monkey doing karate. I have read a comparison between Bruce Lee and a chimpanzee on Google.

But, can a monkey learn Tai Chi?

The animal instinct of the monkey and its lightening fast movement seems contradictory to the slow movements of Tai Chi, or Tai Chi Chuan.

Moreover, could a Tai Chi practitioner fight a dangerous monkey and win?

Your teachers may have told you a thousand ways to kill. But, have they ever used them? Or, can they really, really, really apply their “deadly” techniques during a confrontation. There are millions of Tai Chi students in the world, but how many of them can actually fight with a boxer, a karate expert, or Brazilian jujitsu practitioner?

If not, what’s the catch? Why is it that only a handful of people can apply the fighting techniques of Tai Chi?

The answer is: They only know about the Yin part of Tai Chi. If you take a closer look at the Tai Chi symbol, it is composed of both Yin and Yang. Trying to omit either side only leads you to the “Dark Side.” (Do you want to be Darth Vadar?)

I remember that grandmaster Cheng once told me, “Speed is the most important element in fighting. You can’t counter-attack an opponent with lightening speed.”

Of course, you can argue this is not Tai Chi. But, consider this: can a monkey learn Tai Chi? Or, more accurately, aren’t we the same as monkey who is doing Tai Chi? If not, why do we even bother learning the “Repulse Monkey” technique?