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Defending yourself
A speedy victory is the main object of war.
(Sun Tzu)
What is
self defence?
Self defence is the process of
doing whatever you have to do in order to survive a hostile
attack.
This is very different from
fighting or brawling.
It is also
different from learning a conventional
martial art.
Tai chi
Tai chi is not intended for competition
sparring or fighting.
They were designed for use in self defence.
The applications are serious and may cause damage to the
opponent.
If you can use
humour and
love to
diffuse a self defence situation in the street, do so.
If unsuccessful, you must defend yourself physically.
There are a few ways to employ tai chi effectively: chin na, fa jing or shuai jiao.
Yield to
force
The subtle martial arts skills of tai chi can potentially take a long time to develop.
Tai chi
yields to
force, meeting
hardness with soft muscles, rather than using tension.
If force is met with force, both people
experience a jarring effect and the stronger person overwhelms the weaker.
This is not tai chi - remember the
yin/yang diagram?
Hard/soft must
balance for tai chi to work.
Sensitivity
Pressure and force are important
in tai chi.
By moving slowly and softly, the body learns to 'listen' - physical
sensation is heightened and
awareness grows.
In self defence, awareness matters more than anything else.
Tai chi students learn to feel more through their bodies and neutralise an
opponent's force.
You move around strength.
Bow tension
Neigong creates internal
tension
within the body.
This is different to muscle tension. The muscles must
remain relaxed and soft.
We call this 'bow tension'.
Imagine a bow and arrow.
The bow is drawn back further and further, and tension builds in the bow,
ready for release.
This is how
tai chi striking occurs.
The opponent and neigong both provide the tension necessary to draw the
bow.
Fa jing is the force created by the release of the bow, it is the energy
that propels the arrow.
Page created 3 March 1998