He drew his
strong bow and invited me to step behind him and feel his arm muscles.
They were indeed quite relaxed, as though they were doing no work at all.
(Eugen Herrigel)
Strength
Almost every beginner struggles to understand the
application of strength in
tai chi.
They wrestle with the subject, believing that they cannot reasonably
apply
the system without tensing their
muscles
and using force.
Until you understand how tai chi uses
strength, you will
flounder in the shallow end of the syllabus.
Strength vs strength
Tai chi was not designed to be a
sport.
It is not a contest of strength.
In self defence you must evade strength.
We never use
strength against strength; it is a pointless exercise
which will only work in your favour if you are the strongest person.
Muscular usage
The biggest mistake in tai chi practice is the
inappropriate use of
muscular tension.
It is an immediate indication of limited skill in tai chi.
Your muscles serve to move the bones in a required direction.
If you tense or contract your muscles, the ability to move the bones is
impeded.
The act of contracting involves drawing the muscles inward, whereas the
delivery of power requires the muscles to extend outward.
Chronically contracted muscles prevent the natural movement of the skeleton.
Fear mechanism
Contraction is a biological mechanism associated with the psoas
muscle; its role is to draw the body into a protective foetal position.
'Cowering' is a natural reaction to threat and drawing into yourself is
a submissive body signal.
This is not what we want in self defence; it renders the body
inert and immobile.
We want the muscles to be free to move spontaneously without reservation.
The habit of tensing develops in childhood when we feel afraid.
Exposure to physical, emotional or verbal hostility makes a child
contract their muscles defensively.
Most adults never lose this habit.
Tense, contracted muscles fatigue as a consequence of over-use.
Liz Koch, author of
The Psoas Book wrote:
Martial arts students need a weight bearing skeleton, a free psoas muscle
and open hip sockets to perform well.
There is a tendency to lock the psoas muscle in a defensive posture and
fatigue the muscle by keeping it in a chronic contracted state.
This limits the movement of the leg, encouraging the use of the lumbar spine
for kicking and stops a person from performing effectively.
One question
Ask yourself one simple question: what does tensing-up add to your tai
chi?
Does it make you faster? Stronger? More capable of releasing jing?
Can you dodge a knife better by tensing-up?
Think this one through very careful.
Treat it like a
koan.
When you get it, you will start to let-go.
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Page created 24 October 2003