It is said, "A great mountain can collapse at your feet and you need not change countenance".
(Cheng Man Ching)
Self defence in
perspective
Self defence is not the same as
fighting or
learning forms and drills.
It is about getting yourself out of a
bad situation, preferably unharmed.
This may not even involve combat.
To really understand self defence, you must set aside notions of fighting,
theatrical displays and competitions.
There is nothing glamorous about having to defend yourself. You simply do
what you need to do and leave fast.
Not all martial arts classes are about
self defence.
Myths
New starters
are sometimes disappointed when they are told that it will take a couple of
years* to gain self defence skills.
They were expecting a
six week program
of study or a weekend course, complete with certificate.
Self defence courses are like urban myths; they promise something that is
seldom delivered.
If you want to learn self defence you must fundamentally change your
nervous
system and this is not going to happen overnight.
No matter what the publicity tells you.
You cannot take a self defence course, walk away and expect to be protected
for life.
This is too naive.
What comes out comes out
When you are caught off-guard by an assailant, what is going to happen?
Your stomach is churning, your thoughts racing and your vision has narrowed.
Do you earnestly expect to remember techniques from a self defence
course?
In reality, what comes out comes out.
If you are used to moving a certain way and responding a certain way, there
is a higher likelihood of your body doing something constructive.
Under pressure you cannot rely upon your memory to save you; there simply
will not be time to think.
You must respond.
Parts 1 & 2
Our students learn to move their bodies in a
controlled, smooth, connected manner.
Every movement must be imbued with internal strength.
They learn to be soft,
sensitive, adaptive and protean.
The ability to remain
composed in the face of unknown
variables and unexpected attack is developed.
The body is conditioned and the nervous system calmed. Smoothness and power
are emphasised.
Intermediate
Once you can move with
neigong and your body is calm,
you can start to increase the diversity of application.
Escapes, striking, kicking, seizing, stickiness and basic
jing are now explored.
Students are pressure-tested against one opponent and then two, building up
to five at once.
This is playful rather than violent.
The attacker must always strike with a view to hitting the defender,
although the full power is withheld upon impact.
Nobody leaves part 1 of the intermediate syllabus without the ability to defend
themselves (at a basic level) against random attacks featuring a variety of opponents.
The next step is to learn how to deal
with a knife attack.
Tai chi exercises
Form, qigong and pushing hands are not self defence training methods.
Nor are form applications.
They serve a different purpose altogether.
You cannot expect to simply train these aspects of the curriculum and
suddenly have the capacity to defend yourself.
Self defence must be studied separately, with these tai chi skills
underpinning your training.
Nervous system needs time
Self defence is all about appropriate response, and your body cannot respond
well if it is unaccustomed to being attacked.
Your training must encourage you to move freely and naturally, following the
needs of the situation and your natural inclinations.
If your inclinations are to panic and
tense-up, then
you are still a novice and need to be seasoned and calm.
This takes time.
You must be conditioned to respond differently.
Tai chi qigong, form and drills are about training the body to move in a
certain manner, with the sole purpose of being physically loose, springy and
powerful at all times.
This
tai chi way of
moving is devoid of
techniques, plans and
pre-arranged responses.
It is all about moving freely and comfortably, in direct relationship with
the attacker and the requirements of the situation.
These are not skills you can learn overnight. They must be practiced as
an ongoing concern.
*
Bear in mind that 'real life' assailants usually carry a
knife.
Until you are confident against a knife, can you honestly claim to be
capable of defending yourself?
Page created 4 January 2005