Meet David Hackett
Published Tai Chi Chuan Magazine (Meet The Teacher Series)
How many years have you been practising Tai Chi?
I have been practising Tai Chi
for nearly ten years now. This is
ten years continual practice. I
always set aside time for myself to
practice, whether it be in the park
in the mornings, or at home, as
well as teaching.
What stimulated your interest in Tai Chi Chuan?
I had heard of a Tai Chi class near
where I live, whilst I was trying to
find something active to do but not
too over physical, as I was trying
to recover from a devastating
back injury due to a car accident.
I had always been extremely active
doing all sorts of sports and other
martial arts before my accident.
The problem then, was that I could
hardly move, and was in a lot of
pain all the time with my back. To
cut a long story short, Tai Chi along
with osteopathic treatment, got
me back on the road to recovery,
where all else had failed. My
instructor Michael Davies who is
extremely patient stimulated my
interest further as I soon began
to realise how much there was to
learn not only from the health side
which had helped me, but also
from the martial arts side which
to this day I find challenging and
fascinating.
What does Tai Chi Chuan mean to you?
People reading this have most
likely heard it before, but Tai Chi
to me is a way of life and can be
applied to virtually all situations
we encounter in our everyday
activities. Once you start probing
deeper into the workings of tai chi
and the body, not forgetting the
mind, you realise how it can help
you as an individual and if you
teach, how it can help others.
What is the most important aspect for you?
I find it difficult to extricate any one
particular aspect of tai chi to say,
“this is the most important”. For
me personally it is split between
the health side and the martial
side. Whilst I continually feel
the benefits to my health from
practising Tai Chi, I absolutely
enjoy the challenges from the
martial aspect and working with
colleagues in this area.
Do you have any personal goals in Tai Chi?
I always want to know more, and
tend to have a very curious nature.
I continually attend courses and
seminars throughout the year,
plus I regularly attend Tai Chi
Caledonia. I do not deliberately
go out of my way to set myself
goals, but because of my hunger to
learn more, I cannot wait to learn
from some of the top practitioners
in this country. Also I feel it is
incumbent on myself as a teacher
to continue the quest for learning,
improve my skills, and pass this
knowledge onto my students.
Who or what inspired you?
There are so many top instructors
that have inspired me, and I feel
so lucky to have been able to
train with them. Really, my initial
inspiration is my own instructor
Michael Davies, he is such a good
teacher, he has no ego whatsoever,
he is very good at how he handles
people, he also has a lot of in depth
knowledge of Tai Chi.
What do you make of Tai Chi Chuans current popularity?
The main problem I see in this
area is that the popularity can be
short lived. It is interesting to talk
to other instructors for example
when we meet at Caledonia only
to find that it is not unusual for
a lot of students to fall by the
wayside very quickly. It is popular
to a degree, but when you look
under the surface a lot of the
students want a quick fix, so the
popularity quickly wanes away.
Everybody is an individual in their
own right, and consequently they
want their own individual rewards
from learning Tai Chi. To a certain
extent the instructor needs to be
aware of this and manage these
needs into a wider understanding
and practice of the art, having
said this I do not force anything
on any of my students. This either
makes the instructor adapt if he/
she truly loves teaching, without
compromising the principles of
tai chi, or the instructor just sticks
rigidly to his/her way of teaching.
As a Teacher, how do you feel about the Martial aspects of Tai Chi?
I cannot imagine learning Tai Chi
without knowing the martial aspect
of the art. To me it is another part
in the jigsaw to understanding
how tai chi chuan can benefit the
individual.
What are your views on competition?
I feel competition is good in many
ways. For those who want to
compete, it can test their skills
against others. But I would not
denigrate those who do not wish
to enter, as each must follow their
own path. One is not necessarily
better than another just because
they compete or visa versa.
What direction would you like to see Tai Chi Chuan going in the future?
This may seem highly contentious,
but I would love to see a Tai Chi
Chuan Academy set up in this
country. This would provide
full time and part time courses
of varying in depth levels, to
provide knowledge and training
for instructors/students. All
aspects of Tai Chi Chuan would be
taught from the very beginning,
including the classics, all types of
hands forms, bagua, xing yi, push
hands,weapons, the martial side,
chi gung etc. Also for those that
want to learn Chinese medicine,
calligraphy, and the Chinese
language and their history. I feel
a standard could then be set at
this academy and recognised
qualifications attained by those
students who have attended and
passed. Finally this would allow
instructors/students to be graded
on these courses by a panel of
experts at the academy.