The mind of the sage is empty and open,
profoundly calm,
dealing with the world harmoniously,
like bellows taking in air,
like pipes containing music.
(Jingyuan)
Shadow boxing
The term 'shadow boxing' is usually equated with the notion of pretending
to fight an opponent, of punching thin air.
In tai chi the meaning is somewhat different.
When faced with self defence, the tai chi student must become a
shadow - insubstantial, yielding, and formless.
Your opponent moves and you move as one with them.
They reach and you advance ahead of them.
You are sticky as they withdraw.
You must cling to the opponent with the tenacity of a shadow - ever
present, elusive, calm and silent.
The opponent who should feel to be
fighting with their own shadow.
Shadows
You must learn how to move without the benefit of foresight and planning.
You must be capable of feeling the location of your adversary from contact
alone.
You must be able to strike without warning, reaching spontaneously to bridge
the gap between yourself and another.
You must strike without being seen.
Form application
It is not enough to just practice the 'postures' of the form.
Without some semblance of how those movements can be used in combat, you
cannot attribute the appropriate
jing.
Every 'posture' is a combination of different jing.
By exploring the
application of the movement you come to understand the
form.
Every movement has a variety of potential applications and the
applicability of a movement is entirely relative to the specific
situation.
As a student, you must imagine how the shape of the movement can be used
in a variety of self defence situations.
This is a vital skill.
The more adept your imagination, the more effective you will be in combat.
Drills
Drills assist you in making martial sense of the form.
They explore practical scenarios.
Remember that a drill only offers a few potential applications for
those movements.
You should be able to find other applications of your own.
Some guidelines:
keep to the structural shape of a given posture
maintain the essence of the movement
yield to force
strike with the body, not the limb
respond rather than initiate
The main purpose of both form and drills is to train the body to move
whilst maintaining a
particular type of structure.
This structure becomes a
habit pattern.
Melee
Other martial arts systems like to practice 'full contact' but our aim is
to avoid fighting.
Tai chi is about self defence, and our aim is to incapacitate, not cause
injury.
Melee is an a way in which realism can be explored without brutality.
It represents a forum in which
logical thought will fail you.
You will not have time to plan or assess the situation.
The ways in which tai chi can be applied must be ingrained at this point.
You must be capable of simply striking, evading and countering as you
move.
When faced with multiple opponents you move in response to the
situation, change as it changes and strike spontaneously.
Methods and techniques will be rendered useless, so don't commit yourself
in any fashion.
Be pre-emptive when necessary.
Without well-developed habit patterns and a structure infused with
neigong, you will fail.
Page created 11 March 2000