Sometimes it is necessary
for us to use our will, our intention, and sometimes we should just leave
things alone, just be with them and watch them. There is a time to think; a
time to talk and a time to remain silent; a time to intervene, and a time to
not interfere.
(Les Kaye)
Loser
In training, deliberately let other people breach your defences and compromise you.
Let them
smell victory.
Then take it away from them.
Coming back from the brink shows more skill than
effortlessly winning all the time.
Underdogs learn by making mistakes; they refine,
change, adapt and develop.
They are versatile.
You work harder when you are
losing.
Yield
You
cannot afford to get cocky and confident; this is naive and will cost you.
Surrender your ego, your vanity, your pride.
It is wiser to feign weakness and vulnerability, than look formidable.
Tai chi is all about
yielding.
The dying ground
Sun
Tzu talks about the 'dying ground' - where any dithering or hesitation will cost
you your life.
We deliberately put students in severely compromised self defence scenarios
and then ask them to extricate themselves.
Initially, it will seem impossible to escape. There are just too many attackers
and you are too severely compromised.
In time, you become less afraid of losing and possess the wherewithal to
succeed.
Find out
During partner work, people sometimes ask us what we would do in their
situation.
Tips, pointers or corrections may be useful, but what
somebody else does is ultimately not
important.
It will be you that is doing the work, not someone else.
You must find out what works for
you and what does not.
Losing puts you in the 'worst case scenario' - you have nowhere to go but up.
Page created 29 May 1999