Paper tiger
A blustering, harmless fellow they (the Chinese) call 'a paper tiger'.
(John F. Davis)
Paper tiger
A paper tiger is a person who appears to have power but is in reality
ineffectual.
Some martial artists are paper tigers.
They spend years training a system but cannot deliver effective strikes or use
the art against a realistic opponent.
Tai chi is particularly prone to ineffectual students.
Kung fu
Tai chi is a form of kung fu.
If a teacher claims to be teaching the internal arts, then they should be capable
of using the art in self defence.
There is nothing macho about this.
Were you to purchase a car, you would expect it to work.
You should be able to get in, turn the ignition and be capable of driving
somewhere.
It is the nature of a car. It is what makes a car a 'car'...
Yet, so many tai chi students lack even the most basic sense of how to use tai
chi in self defence. Why?
Do not stray
If you want to gain tai chi self defence skills, you need only consider tai chi.
Looking to other martial arts for input and ideas is utterly fruitless.
You will only get good at tai chi by training tai chi.
Read the classics, the Tao Te Ching, I Ching and Chuang Tzu. Study The Art of
War and The Book of Five Rings.
Put the insights into practice.
Striking with ease
Not all internal strikes need to use fa jing.
It is possible to deliver a potent strike using body weight and very little
physical effort.
Any tai chi instructor should be capable of demonstrating this on you.
There should be no pushing, aggression, speed or change in emotional state.
The punch should be easy, comfortable and natural-looking, yet potentially wind
the recipient as it penetrates deep into the body.
Any sign of effort or force indicates inexperience.
The teacher should seem to be genuinely playful and friendly.
It should be unlike an external punch. Not remotely similar to karate, wing chun,
boxing or ju jitsu.
There is no jarring. No banging. No adverse feedback. No sense of punching
through the body.
Escaping
If you try to grapple with a tai chi student, it should feel as though you are
attempting to hold water.
There should be no purchase.
A student should be capable of very creative body use.
They can shift and move in a powerful, internal manner without using strength or
applying force.
Slippery and cunning, a teacher can employ a wide range of chin na skills
without needing to plan or think about them.
Be advised - if you 'try it on', expect the teacher to respond accordingly.
Multiple opponents
Tai chi is ideally suited to multiple opponent scenarios.
It does not employ locks, holds or any kind of committed action. It is agile and
changeable.
It is adaptive and responsive.
A skilled exponent should be capable of working with a number of simultaneous
attackers, using timing, distance and positioning to produce ongoing appropriate
counters.
Feel
Jing is the science of touch and expression.
A tai chi teacher should be an expert with jing.
They should be capable of utilising the eight powers in a diverse manner of
ways.
Sensitivity skills are just the beginning.
The range of jing at your disposal are considerable and their applications
varied and surprising.
For jing to work effectively, the exponent must move naturally and freely.
No stances or postures. No posing or preparing.
Every movement should be casual, yet decisive. Soft, yet deeply penetrating.
Page created 5 August 1999