Tzu-jan
is what happens of itself,
what things individually and collectively do
when they act in accord with their own natures.
Things cannot not act in accord with their own natures
so there is in tzu-jan a connotation of spontaneity,
of naturalness, very much like that intended in the expression 'naturally'.
Practicing tzu-jan means knowing what is our business and what is not.
Tzu-jan pervades our thinking and doing with an easiness,
as if we are moving unknowingly where we want to go.
There is a feeling of intrinsic belonging, of undefined fulfilment.
(Ray
Grigg)
Yielding
The danger with the connection testing exercise lies with the belief that
tai chi resists force.
It does not.
If an exponent were pushed or manipulated in application, they should
yield.
Yielding is not collapsing or crumpling. It is a controlled
letting go; like
ice melting.
The centre is maintained but the body adjusts.
If a limb is being manipulated, it becomes rubbery and flexible.
The benefit of yielding lies with
resilience.
A soft, loosely connected limb is like a tentacle.
Going with the flow is a key precept in tai chi.
Rather than
fight strength, you redirect it.
The aim is to continue the motion rather than start and stop.
Yielding makes a person responsive instead of
reactive.
There is an economy of form and
motion
to be found when contest stops.
Adaptation,
change, blending, bending and finding harmony are prioritised.
Working with force rather than opposing it offers more possibilities and
options.
Arms
like tentacles
Connection must be present at all times when a person practices tai chi.
The body should not be tense. This is a real challenge.
The aim is to emulate water.
Water offers no purchase and only a superficial surface resistance before
yielding.
Yet, water is strong, pliable and flexible.
It can take any shape, deliver tremendous power and never gets
blocked – it
flows around obstacles.
A
tai chi exponent should have an extremely supple body and never block
movement by tensing the muscles and freezing the joints.
If pushed, they
move.
If levered, they bend.
No resistance is ever offered. This is quite
different to collapsing or crumpling. The body feels rubbery and strong,
heavy and loose.
The tai chi person feels to have no
fixity or holding, yet can manipulate the attacker
with ease.
Jing
Tai chi application is all about jing.
Jing is the effect of your actions. It is the attacker’s experience of your
tai chi.
An exponent is assessed relative to their capacity to employ and generate
jing.
A strike is only noteworthy if it produces the intended effect.
If it is weak and ineffectual, it serves no purpose.
Jing is the measure of how the practitioner’s internal strength affects
another person.
This is not a
contest of strength.
Most jing are extremely soft and subtle; they affect the attacker in
imperceptible ways.
Jing teaches the exponent to use only the least amount of strength at any
given time.
Jing is about expressing energy. It is the quality of your
relationship with
the attacker.
The external arts do not use jing.
They use brute force and often employ far too much effort to accomplish any
given task.
Striking
A soft target pad can be used for practice but it is better to strike other
students.
The human body responds differently to a pad and the individual learns to
regulate their use of power.
Punches are never pulled short.
The intention must be to deliver power without any adverse feedback or
jarring upon impact.
The muscles must remain relaxed and serve only to move the bones.
Any form of muscular tension or holding will lock the joints and prevent
smooth action of the skeletal structure.
To strike using tai chi it is necessary to possess a whole series of neigong
(not just connection), along with jing and gravity.
The primary means of projecting kinetic power is called ‘fa jing’ which
essentially means ‘spontaneous release’.
Fa jing is a whole-expression. Every part is involved.
To accomplish fa jing, the body needs to become exceptionally soft and
loose.
Let go
Many beginners simply use brute force and twist their hips in a parody of fa
jing.
Bodily tension impedes movement and reduces the effect of the strike.
Real fa jing requires a person to let go: physically,
psychologically and
emotionally.
As a consequence, we do not lay the more serious groundwork for fa jing
until the intermediate syllabus.
Fa jing requires a unity of form and purpose called ‘shen’.
Shen is seen in the eyes: the gaze is expansive, distant and calm.
Instead of fa jing, a beginner learns how to strike using gravity.
The blow should be a considerable shock to the recipient and literally knock
the wind out of them.
Page created 1 January 1998