Tien Chi mages don't know martial arts, hence the weakness in melee. In fact, I think Lu Tung Pin is probably the only Spring and Autumn commander resembling anything close to a martial artist.
Have you ever seen any of the Chinese made movies where the different gods and super heroes duke it out using their super powers? I'm thinking along those lines. Not exactly martial arts, but it would be fun to be able to have a team of commanders decked out with powerful weapons and spells, roaming around defeating evil.
Yeah, Merry, my parents live off those movies/soaps. But not all Chinese people can kill you in four different ways with their pinky toe alone... Even though I rather like that stereotype...
Anyways, tinkthank is right, Celestial Masters are best off sniping like a coward.