In
serving, serve.
In fighting, kill.
(Jinzu)
Non-violence
In tai chi, we aim to remain calm and
relaxed at all times -
violence should only be used if your life or
somebody else's is in danger.
This is likely to be a very rare situation for most people.
Liz Koch, author of
The Psoas Book wrote:
Either emotional trauma or an ongoing lack of emotional support can also lead to a chronically contracted psoas, and thus to a loss of core awareness.
If your fight/flight syndrome is
triggered into constant arousal, eventually you lose contact with your inner
world.
One psoas workshop participant, for example, recalled her mother repeatedly
admonishing her, "Look where you're going, young lady."
Constantly receiving the message that her body couldn't be trusted led her into
chronic anxiety.
She realized she literally watched every step she took, forcing her skeleton to
sag under the weight of a drooping head.
Our fight or flight reflex should not be constantly aroused during self defence practice; it is far better to be detached and develop subconscious responses.
Without doubt
In self defence you are not offered the
luxury of doubt; hesitation and dithering will mean your immediate defeat.
Unlike competition or sport, being defeated for real could mean hospital or
worse.
If you do not want to be a victim, it is essential to be committed to your own
defence.
This most likely means hurting the attacker in some way.
Hurting people is an unpleasant thing but you may not have any choice.
Self doubt will only cripple your ability to act, and any form of weakness on
your part will provide an opportunity for the attacker to retaliate.
You must be willing to act without pity, without doubt. But with restraint.
Personal injury
If you are assaulted, what is going to happen?
Ordinarily you are likely to suffer
injury and pain, but sometimes people
are killed, raped, stabbed or set on fire.
Often the attack itself is just the beginning - afterwards you could suffer
feelings of humiliation, shame and
anger.
We live in a society that does not support or encourage self defence - it takes
a lot of
courage to stand up for yourself.
Are you willing to be a victim? Or will you protect yourself?
Serious
Self defence is a state of mind.
It is the decision to take a stand against an aggressor and potentially inflict
injury upon them.
Ideally, we must use minimal force and restraint... but in reality, you must do
whatever you need to do.
If you are lucky, a 'good scare' will prevent the situation from getting more
unpleasant.
Assailants want a victim, not a hospital visit.
Tai chi is designed to train your body to respond without the need
of conscious thought.
When the threat is serious, you will just move.
Your only problem will be doubt.
If you doubt the appropriateness of self defence, you will falter and fail.
Ruthless
If you want to defend yourself for real, 2 minutes of ruthlessness
may be required.
During those 2 minutes you must tap into your
primal brain and cease to be
compassionate and caring.
You can only succeed at the other person's expense.
It is an unpleasant truth.
You must manipulate the situation to your advantage: fear and the expectation of
pain may need to be employed as psychological weapons.
If this sounds unpalatable to you - good - it is not something to take lightly
or feel happy about.
There is nothing
impressive about harming someone else.
Use a scale of escalation.
Respond according to the needs of the situation - overkill is for the paranoid,
the weak and the fearful.
Do only what is necessary to avoid being harmed.
Use what you have
Some people are very good at
manipulating other people.
They naturally use every potential tool to strengthen their position and weaken
another's.
We all have different skills.
Part of our learning method is to encourage each student to find their own
strength and use it.
You must employ it without shame or self doubt.
Whenever possible, use
humour.
It is a good way to extricate yourself from a potentially bad situation with no
hard feelings.
Humility
If you can walk away, do so.
There is no shame in backing down, no loss of face or honour.
Page created 18 February 1999