Surprise is the best defence.
(Barry Davies, SAS)
Indirect
Our approach to the application of tai chi involves 'stealth'.
You must learn to disguise your intentions and attack indirectly rather than
head-on.
Soft,
yielding tactics (such as seizing)
are subtle and very difficult to anticipate and counter.
Rather than club your assailant, you metaphorically insert a very fine needle.
This attitude lies at the heart of stealth.
Careful
Miyamoto Musashi,
Sun Tzu and
Geoff Thompson all advocate
a very careful approach to self defence.
Rather than rush into battle, you tread warily and cautiously.
They argued the value of
patience, deceit,
unpredictability and
surprise.
Commitment
When you are potentially dealing with more than one opponent, it is
necessary to be
economical.
Going head-to-head with one person at a time/duelling is
unrealistic.
If you commit to combat with just one person - what are his associates doing
in the meantime?
Most likely hitting you...
Change
The
form teaches you to change from one
movement to the next without hesitation or doubt.
We also practice freeform partner drills that develop this same ability.
Most beginners can escape from a hold without undue thought or effort.
They simply
change.
If something fails, they do something else and if that fails, something else.
Water
We teach tai chi in a
way that seeks to
emulate the flowing
nature of water.
Water is always soft, loose, relaxed and yielding.
It never
resists or becomes
tense.
Water is only strong because it can combine mass, gravity and momentum.
Surprise
Learning to act without revealing your intentions is a difficult skill to
develop.
You should be capable of standing perfectly normally and slap your partner
gently on the cheek before they can counter you.
This is a game, not a martial application, but serves to illustrate how
present you are and how
relaxed.
Avoid being obvious or showy.
Page created 5 August 1999