Blackburn credits that
decision with changing the course of his life. "I reached the peak of my emotional life at that
time, at 26, " Blackburn said, 'and it was important that
I had him then because I could have gone off like a Roman candle,
and he gave me something slower and calmer. "He
was kinder and gentle than other teachers, and I was impressed
by that. "All
my other teachers were rough and tough, and made you
want to be as tough as they were.
"But
I think the most mysterious thing about you is smiling.
"If
you can smile, then you have shown a level of
comfort that someone of great prowess can't do
because they can't let down the tough-guy shield." Spiraling intricacies Fencing is an Olympic sport derived from dueling ( with
epee, foil or saber), in which points are awarded for sword strokes
where death once judged the competitors. As a sport, it's difficult to see what's going on in a
fencing match because the moves ficker, always shifting, a rapid
chess game in motion, in which every attack has a counter and
everycounter move counters. On the surface, it's not at all like his other art form.
Below the surface the two martial arts are connected by a philosophy
of physicality Tai Chi has been popularized in Anerica as a form of yogic
meditation and a safe calisthenics for seniors. But an ancient Chinese art of energy, tai chi suggests
paradoxes simliar to fencing: move and counter, attack and defense
blending together in constant motion. To the practitioner, tai chi may reveal itself to be about
unexpected relationship: of your heart to your hands, your feet
to the earth, energy to release, simplicity to intricacy. "I have found more philosophy through the movements
than through and words," Blackburn said. But
he admits that "it"s
very difficult to really see tai chi. "A
lot of prople say they teach tai chi, but tai chi can't be
be taught. "It's
even difficult to give it to someone because they have
to see it in themselves." "The
students have to see it in the teacher. If they don't know
what they're looking for, they're not ready to see it. "My
feeling is if you come in contact with it, you will get
something, some taste from it, and then you will want
more and more." The quick and the slow In 1975 while a student at UCSC, Blackburn began to study
fencing, fulfilling that dream of the little boy watching swashbuckler
movies. How did Western fencing fit with his Eastern martial arts
traning? "The sword is an extension of the hand," Blackburn
said. "There's a lot you need to do with your body before
you pick up an instrument, to experience the energies you will
go through before you pick up that extension." Blackburn experienced that duality with another weapon,
and learned how it can shape the man. 'Tai chi is the most medicinal and most lethal of the
martial arts.' Courtney BLACKBURN "I practiced the staff in tai chi, which is like
the pike in the western world," he said. "To master
the staff molds you." He's been teaching tai chi for 20 years and fencing up
at UCSC for five years. He's now added a fencing class for kids,
which he teaches at the Vets Hall in downtown Santa Cruz on Friday
afternoons. "If I start them loving something so soon, they will
find a wealth of opportunities in the future," Blackburn
said. Blackburn teaches with the kind of innovation and dedication
that children love in a coach. When one teen-age student retreated too much in bouts(an
endangering move in competitive fencing), he had the boy fence
with his back to a wall. "Ilove fencing because it brings people together
on a coed level, the large and the small, the quick and the slow," Blackburn
said. other side of medicine While fencing is an intensely competitive sport, tai chi
seems to be completely noncompetitive. "It's not true."Blackburn said. "Just
look at the number of tai chi teachers teaching their own thing. "Tai
chi is the most medicinal and most lethal of the martial
arts. "The
lethal is the other side of medicine. What can cure you
can certainly kill." Although
tai chi is performed in slow motion. "it
is full of explosive power, in short bursts of energy," Blackburn
said. "I
want my students to see that the martial arts are not about
fighting, but about not getting hurt. "Being
a tough guy is not a martial art. There's no art. That's
fighting. But harmony can only exist when you bring
peace and violence together. "I
try to give my students an overall picture of health. It's
about having good intentions and hanging outwith the right
people who have good intentions." Blackburn has even found a way to bring that harmony into
the clash of fencing. "When
I fence, I don't just want to win. I want to have a conversation
with the blade. "I
don't care if we never finish. I just want to play.
I don't want to drive it to the finish. I just want
to be involved." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're interested in either art, you can leave a message
for Courtney Blackburn at the university athletic department
at 459-2531. |
