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Ninja skills
It is said a Shaolin priest can walk through walls.
(Kung Fu)
Ninja skills
If you were hoping to wear a black hood, climb-up walls or throw pointed
metal stars - sorry to disappoint.
There will be no smoke bombs or grappling hooks. No assassinations or
infiltrations.
You are still learning tai chi:
(i) Never assume
The Art of War teaches all manner of skills but much of the advice can be
whittled down to a single premise: Never assume.
You cannot make any assumptions about the size, strength, experience or skills
of your opponent.
They may or may not be armed.
They may or may not have friends.
(ii) Evade
No matter what occurs, it is advisable to evade the attacker.
If your opponent cannot make contact, they cannot inflict injury upon you.
Agility is essential.
(iii) Standing still
Standing in one place advertises your position. You are literally a 'sitting
duck'.
You need to move spontaneously and freely, without any preparation or preamble.
This requires presence, awareness, composure and physical relaxation.
(iv) Peripheral vision
By remaining calm and using your eyes and position appropriately, you can make a
small movement that has a great effect.
The attacker is intent upon harming you.
You can flow around their assault and incapacitate them.
It will feel to have happened by itself: tzu-jan.
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Agility requires good footwork.
(i) Comfortable
Since you are not training
baguazhang or kickboxing, you do not need to move a lot.
But you do need to step swiftly and readily.
Your footwork must be comfortable and natural.
(ii) Cat-step
Cat-stepping is vital.
You must be capable of executing a kick without advertising its presence
beforehand.
This form of moving teaches you how to be sensitive and soft.
(iii) Quiet
Vibration and sound give away your movements.
Also, if your feet are heavy, you are not agile.
This is not an invitation to walk on tiptoes. You still need to be rooted,
sunk and mobile.
(iv) 60/40
Your feet need to get you very close to the attacker.
Do not reach-out for your opponent. Be patient. Let them come to you.
If they step back or stop, step closer. Step in.
(v) Yin/yang
A new starter is yin in the feet, yang in the arms. Small stance, big arms.
A beginner is double yang. Larger stance, big arms.
An intermediate student must become yang in the feet and yin in the arms. Longer
stance, small arms.
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(i) Timing
Timing is the product of presence and experience.
The ideal expression of timing is called 'mutual arising', where the attacker
and defender appear to move as one.
This looks like the yin/yang symbol and ends with the defeat of the attacker.
(ii) Yielding
The yielding/chin na skills of 'slipping the attack'/'leading the attacker to
emptiness' are essential.
You move as they move.
If you stand still and hope to be successful, you will feel crowded.
Yield.
(iii) Circles and spirals
Avoid linear movements. Make everything circular.
Follow the path of force.
Lead the attacker out of their root.
Turn them off at strange angles by skilfully employing curves.
(iv) Folding
You need to be folding extensively.
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(i) Exaggerated
There is a temptation to be big, overt, aggressive and strong. To stretch out,
feel your muscles working and relate to that feeling.
But this is not how our school approaches tai chi.
A beginner may succeed with large frame movements, and they are necessary (at
first) for the cultivation of peng.
But long-term they are a hindrance.
(ii) Scapula
You must free-up the scapula, bring the arms closer to the body and become yin.
The shoulders need to be free.
Do not extend beyond your natural range.
(iii) Free and easy
If you move in a free, comfortable manner, your responses will be spontaneous,
appropriate, and difficult to counter.
This is not an invitation to just move your arms by themselves.
That would be disconnected, and not tai chi at all.
Instead, you must employ internal power.
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(i) Internal power
Most students in our school possess internal power but
very few actually bother to use it.
Instead of moving in a natural fashion, they ruin everything by being external.
The knack is to keep the hands closer to the body, move the feet closer to the
attacker, and use groundpath.
(ii) Use mind not force
Remember that groundpath involves body weight and mind.
Be as gentle as you can be. 4 ounces of pressure should be second-nature
by now.
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You cannot afford to get caught-up in
things.
If the way comes to an end, then change.
Adapt, change and improvise. Move and flow like water.
No matter what the attacker does, do not become entangled in something.
It will cost you energy and time.
It will also leave you vulnerable to other attackers.
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The use of tension and force
is a sign of incompetence.
As you progress through the syllabus you will aim to provoke these very
qualities in the attacker.
Tension locks up the body and impedes movement.
If you can stay soft and flexible whilst your attacker is locked-solid, then you
have a significant opportunity.
Forcing indicates failure.
Feel the flow and move with it.
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(i) Form
Form is the best way to train this alternative, unfamiliar way of being.
Be soft, gentle, graceful, calm and light. Switch and change smoothly and
easily.
Let your body flow.
(ii) Wholeness
Self-awareness. Self-discovery. Self-expression. Self-possession.
Be at one with who you are.
There is no need to fight, to struggle, to control.
Flow. Change. Be still.
(iii) Ninja
You need to be more
ninja-like. Cat-like.
Silent, calm and alert.
Only by moving in a free, spontaneous, comfortable, composed manner can you use
your body intelligently.
It is easy to be clumsy and brutal.
But far more skilful to be graceful, sophisticated and decisive.
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Page created 4 August 1999