Andy Summers: Police Guitarist Does Tai Chi Chuan
Andy Summers: Police Guitarist Does Tai Chi ChuanBy Hyung-min Jung |
Home Base: Los Angeles Where You’ve Seen Him: On stage with The Police Martial Arts Experience: chi kung, tai chi chuan, pa kua chang Andy Summers is a man of many talents. Best known as the guitar-wielding virtuoso of The Police, he’s also an accomplished solo artist, published author and student of the martial arts. Before The Police exploded onto the international music scene, Summers began his venture into the world of martial arts in London in 1975 with Chu King-Hung. Summers and his wife, Kate, began their study of the internal arts in quite an old-school manner. “The first day we went to study with master Chu, he had the two of us standing there in a static chi kung posture for an hour,” Summers recalls. “We were there shaking like crazy for what seemed like forever, and master Chu would just come by, look at our fingertips and then walk away. I remember wondering whether that was really part of the basic training or he was just playing a joke on us.” The dedication paid off, and the man who would go on to win multiple Grammy awards was received as one of Chu’s students. In the years that Summers studied with the master, he was exposed to tai chi, pa kua chang and chi kung He maintained his practice with some diligence until The Police rocketed to international superstardom and professional demands put him on the road constantly. Despite the tumult of those early days, Summers enjoyed the benefits of his practice. “One of the beautiful things that tai chi taught me was how to focus—how to be still in the middle of chaos,” he says. “To have the tai chi form as a constant part of your mental life provides an outlook of greater equanimity. Balance, posture, concentration, self-confidence—these are all traits necessary for any performer that tai chi develops.” In the years that followed the disbanding of The Police, Summers kept himself busy with film, music, photography and writing projects, many of which won critical acclaim. Not having to travel the world afforded him time to focus on his family. His desire to study tai chi returned. With his wife and son, Anton, Summers sought out Black Belt columnist Mark Cheng for instruction in the ancient art. “The return to tai chi was a very special thing for me because I always loved it, and I associate it with a very happy part of my life,” he says. Asked for his thoughts on how tai chi training affects his music, Summers explains in a lively manner: “In the kind of performances that I have to put on, it’s been all-important, particularly in terms of balance—i.e., standing on one leg with a guitar strapped around your shoulders and yet not falling off the stage. I believe that tai chi also imparts a sort of bravery, which perhaps you need when faced with a large and highly expectant audience.” With The Police poised to reunite for their first concert tour in more than 20 years, Summers is not fazed. The quiet calm of tai chi training is keeping him centered, relaxed and ready to give the world his best music to date. About the author: Hyung-min Jung is a freelance writer and martial artist based in Southern California. 
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