Practical yielding
Because
the sage does not struggle with world, the world does not resist.
An ancient teaching says, "A winding path reaches its destination."
By yielding to the way of the world, the sage is fulfilled by the world.
(Lao Tzu)
Resistance
Beginners resist the idea
of
yielding and choose
not to do it.
Consequently, they do not understand yielding and strictly speaking are not
training
tai chi anymore.
The resistance is psychological and comes from a poor
understanding
of the physics involved.
Without yielding, there is no
tai chi.
A
common
deceit is to yield a little
and
tense a little. This
is a well-know ploy and will only work against other beginners.
Physics
Yielding is not simply about giving way when force is applied to you. It also
concerns the matter of not applying
force
into a stationary object.
Tai chi
does not involve force against force. Consider Newton's 3rd Law of
Motion?
No feedback
If you were to push a person and they moved immediately, you would experience no
adverse feedback.
The person would be offering no resistance.
Your kinetic energy would encounter only surface
pressure before
continuing unimpeded.
Rooted or resistant
If you were to push a person and they did not move, you should not continue
to push.
Tai chi advocates the use of gravity and balance. Allow your weight to fall into
the person.
Attempt to affect their balance on the horizontal or vertical axis.
This may not prove successful.
But then, it is not necessary to move a person in
order to affect them.
Striking
Tai chi strikes should not be pushes. Karate may make contact and then push. Tai
chi does not.
The key to not pushing is stopping as soon as you experience resistance.
If your body is loose and floppy, you will not want to push or use your arms for
strength.
Our class places great emphasis upon not pushing.
We regard pushing to be a folly common to beginners.
Once you can feel the difference between using your weight and pushing, it is
easy to realise why.
If you wish to harm the person, you simply strike by dropping your weight
and allowing the surface pressure to bounce your hand away.
Do not try to strike through a stationary person.
Unbalanced
Yielding teaches you how to capitalise upon incoming force and strike a person
when they are unbalanced and/or moving.
Your aim is to maintain a discordant relationship with the assailant such that
they are unable to find their balance or find your centre in turn.
Creating space
Yielding is used to evade punches, kicks and grapples. You also use it to escape
from locks and holds.
Instead of
resisting or blocking force,
you relax and create space. This concept is usually introduced in your very
first night in our class.
The space is both physical and psychological; it gives you time to move and
helps you to remain
composed.
One of the
13 postures is called
'withdraw'. It exemplifies yielding.
The principle is simple: you evade the attacker by re-positioning yourself.
By creating a more favourable situation, you give yourself more choices whilst
reducing the attackers.
You do not retreat. You do not go anywhere as such. You simply change the nature
of your relationship. You allow your attacker to go
where they want to go. You
do not resist.
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Page created 13 July 2000