Investing in loss, or learning how to lose,
are statements which primarily mean not using force against force.
When energy comes to your body, do not resist.

This is called 'small loss, small gain; big loss, big gain'.

(T T Liang)

Survival

The 'will to fight' has got nothing to do with willpower, winning, aggression or even fighting.
It is about endurance.

If you want to survive an attack, you cannot stop when you become tired.
You must have the courage to see it through.

Nitobe wrote: To bear that which you cannot bear is really to bear.


Will to fight

So who are you fighting? What is the relevance of the expression?

Tao and zen martial arts work on the precept that the student is striking at themselves.
You must purge yourself of weakness and ego.
This is the fight they speak of.

Your inner conflict must be removed, so that you can move without fear, doubt, aggression or thought.
When you remain even tempered in the midst of chaos, you have found emotional composure and balance.


Losing

In order to use tai chi successfully in self defence, you must let-go. You must lose.
This probably sounds paradoxical.

Fighting requires resistance and resistance costs energy. Force against force is not tai chi.
You must yield.
It may not sound 'cool' or suit your idea of combat but this is how tai chi is used.

This is where your battle lies.

Progress in tai chi involves letting-go of your ideas, thoughts and wishes.
Letting-go of your physical tension.
Releasing your need to fight, to pit yourself against another, to beat them. Losing all of that.


Floor exercise

Despite an attitude of yielding, you cannot quit until you have escaped the conflict safely.
Grappling on the floor is good for developing the necessary endurance.

You are put into a situation where strength is not enough.
Stripped of all your weapons, you must use your whole body in cunning and creative ways.

Only by losing - yet continuing - can you gain a sense of what is required.
Your former standards of stamina will become meaningless.
This is why we offer the beginners challenges.


Practical value

The will to fight is really about cultivating an attitude. When you can 'invest in loss', hardship no longer upsets you.
You simply get on with the task. Ego becomes irrelevant.
You act without complaint, doing what is necessary simply because it needs to be done.
This is the heart of kung fu.

Tai chi is not about forcing; you should never seek to impose your will upon others.

Situations may occur where you have no choice but to be there and act.
Whether you want to or not.
The will to fight is about having the grit to survive, to endure it...

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Page created 7 January 1999