Never assume
Perfection, then, is finally achieved, not when there is nothing left to add,
but when there is nothing left to take away.
(Antoine de St. Exupery)
Assumptions
Assumptions are born of planning.
We try to anticipate outcomes in order to navigate life more easily.
This can be a major drawback in self defence when the spontaneous and the
unexpected rule the day.
If you can shock the opponent, you may well take the advantage from the onset.
If you are the one being shocked, this could be your downfall.
Sun Tzu
The Art of War teaches that you must never underestimate the opponent.
This is why the tai chi form flows from one move to the next without pause.
It is necessary to continue your counter without being fazed by what your
opponent does.
Pushing hands and melee teach you to move in relationship with outward
circumstance; to change and adapt, to find weakness and strike without thinking.
Without rhythm
We do not teach 'conscious' breathing methods to students at the beginning of
their training.
Breathing is rhythmic, it produces a regular pattern.
It happens by itself.
If you begin by breathing with the form movements, the form will slowly match
the breath.
The timing will be predictable in rhythm.
We do not want this to happen.
Conscious breath must be used relative to delivery; it needs to be a spontaneous
expulsion of energy.
Your form needs to coil and release, turn and twist in a manner that is not
timed by the in/out in/out of your breath.
This irregularity will extend into application.
Paranoid
If melee is performed correctly, you never get the opportunity to recover.
You spend 2 or 3 minutes in total chaos - responding, responding, responding...
If your practice partners are lazy, you do not learn this and you are given time
to think and plan.
This is no good.
You need to expect the follow-up attack, yet be calm and alert.
When non-stop attacks become the norm, they no longer surprise you - one
attacker is dealt with as if he had friends.
This minimises your commitment time and prepares your reflexes for the
possibility of more attackers.
Gaps & deficiencies
Your mistakes are all exploitable.
A person can fail in self defence even if they make no mistakes (knowing how to
win does not mean that you can).
Imagine how little chance you have if you are using strength, have poor posture
or think?
This is why we spend so much time drilling - solo and with a partner.
By patterning the form repeatedly, our bodies become accustomed to operating in
a well-connected, structurally efficient manner.
The drills will fail unless we do the right thing, so we adjust our nervous
system and change.
Yielding slowly becomes instinct, feeling takes the place of planning and we
learn to adapt smoothly to adversity.
Take the advantage
Applications must be performed such that you minimise the possible avenues of
retaliation.
This is what silk arms teaches.
Whenever you counter, you also offer opportunities for counter-strikes back at
you.
Learn to strip your opponent of chances, whilst increasing your own.
Page created 5 August 1999