Every
movement of the master is pure poetry as his concentration brings a fluidity
and precision to every action. The years of practice now bring the moves,
rehearsed so many times, into the realm of art in its purest form, for it is
art without thought, art as a pure connection with the ultimate reality.
The perfect clarity of mind and seamless movements of the master evoke a
hypnotic effect in the participants, who then can become one with the mind
and spirit of the tea master.
(Andrew Juniper)
Clumsy
Tai chi differs from every other martial art because it places sensitivity
first.
Without sensitivity, tai chi self defence is lousy.
External arts use force against force and the strongest, fastest person will
often be victorious.
Tai chi is not like this.
It regards brute force as being wasteful and clumsy.
A tai chi student cultivates softness and sensitivity. They re-train their
nervous system.
Striking without touching
One tai chi myth is the idea of defeating an opponent without actually
touching them.
This is nonsense.
If we could defeat an opponent without making physical contact, then why train
at all?
What is the root of this myth?
An advanced level tai chi exponent is extremely soft and sensitive. They can
affect the attacker using the slightest of touches.
Usually the attacker is completely unaware of what is happening and may not have
felt what the defender did.
The tai chi person will also look physically casual.
There will be no fancy moves. Nothing showy or demonstrative.
Nothing to catch the attention.
It is easy to imagine that the attacker may well believe that they were defeated
without being touched.
But they were touched. They simply did not realise it.
From coarse to refined
Partner work is the main source of sensitivity work in tai chi.
There are many partnered drills in our syllabus, peripheral exercises revolving
around the central theme of self defence.
Students proceed through the curriculum, starting with vulgar, clumsy
expressions... slowly refining the material until they eventually reach a
condition of inner quietude and skill.
Broadly speaking, there are four stages in our self defence work:
Introduction (beginners)
Fearlessness (intermediate)
Complexity (experienced)
Subtlety (advanced)
The subtle, innocuous skills of the advanced level student are the result of a
refined sensitivity, a receptivity to the opponent.
One form
If you train lots of different tai chi forms, then your attention is
divided and your time is spread thinly.
Our students only train one form.
The mind focuses upon one thing and the understanding deeps considerably.
Sun Tzu said: If I concentrate while he divides,
then I can use my entire strength to attack a fraction of his.
Instead of squandering their time collecting forms, our students become
extremely sensitive to the one form.
They start to really feel the movements. They see similarities between different
movements and positions.
Themes and patterns become apparent. Strategies. Students make connections.
Associations are made.
Eventually, students become sensitive enough to find moves within moves, subtle
nuances imbued with latent possibility.
Transition movements suddenly seem more significant. Even the slightest
ambiguity is explored.
Jing
Jing is all about sensitivity.
In self defence, your every action is determined by the opponent. Without an
opponent, you would have no reason to even move.
The opponent is everything.
Until you reach a level where you become the shadow of the attacker, you will
continue to struggle with them.
The tai chi cannot be applied correctly until conflict has ended.
The way ahead lies in sensitivity.
Do not be caught up in strength exercises, form collection and brutal applications.
Realise that the skill lies in the softness of your touch, your acute awareness
of balance, timing and positioning.
Your ability to affect the opponent in a meaningful way necessitates the
cultivation of sensitivity.
Be careful not to dull this by falling into the folly of ambition, ego or pride.
Page created 8 September 2007