The best of man is like water,
Which benefits all things and does not contend with them,
Which flows in places that others disdain,
Where it is in harmony with the way.

He does not contend and none contend against him.

(Lao Tzu)

Fluid

The reason why tai chi self defence appears to be fluid is because it does not allow any impediment to motion.
Your body must feel the movement itself and simply use the body to transmit the energy.

If you try to strike with your limb, this will not work.
You must feel the wave rising up from the ground and through to the extremities.
To develop this skill, simply do everything slowly and smoothly.
When you were a child and played 'tig', your arm was not impeded by dreams of strength and power.
You simply moved the limb without a care and it was fast.

Our tai chi system requires that same effortless motion to return, generated this time by the centrifugal turning of the vertical centre rather than the arm itself.
Arms, legs and torso all become one in the turning of the centre and the shifting of the weight.

Flowing

One strike must flow seamlessly into the next one in an endless wave of delivery.
When your body emulates water you can sustain pressure with the opponent, releasing multiple strikes without the need for recoil.
This skill is called 'folding'.

The secret of flowing movement lies with sensitivity.
If you can gauge the weight, strength and balance if your opponent correctly, you can shape your body around those factors.

One advantage of flowing movement is that it is very difficult to counter because it can always branch off when faced with a new obstacle.
This cannot occur if you are thinking. Only feeling can offer this ability.


Yielding

The significance of flowing lies in the fact that you use less energy.
By essentially cutting the circle with every delivery; you only use a slight amount of power.
Most of it is returned as the wave occurs.
This is like water tossing a boulder, to paraphrase the Art of War.

Fluidity is not achieved through willpower or force.
You must simply practice the form and self defence work slowly and sensitively, feeling for opportunities, maintaining a soft connection throughout your frame.

Ultimately, you realise that yielding is the virtue of water.

Home • Classes • Contact Details • Curriculum • FAQ's • Feedback • Health • Meditation • Self Defence • Tai Chi • Tao • A-Z

Applications • Background • Chin Na • Conduit • Controlling • Drills • Effectiveness • Energy & Strength • Experiment • Fa Jing • Fluid • Free the Movement • Hard & Soft • How • Imbalance • Jing • Nature Violence • No Jing • Orthodoxy • Power Generation • Primal • Sophistication • Stealth • Weapon

Page created 4 September 2003