Soft
In all things train soft and slow for from the the greatest softness comes essential hardness and from the slowest movement comes the greatest speed.
(Cheng Man Ching)
Cotton-covered iron
Internal power is commonly referred
to as being "cotton-covered iron".
The metaphor suggests a firm core, surrounded by something softer.
This is the essence of what we are developing in tai chi.
Using gravity and connection, we build a substantial structure. That structure
must also be fluid and adaptive like water. Nothing is softer than water.
Soft meeting
Tai chi cannot work if you resist force
with force. Yang (firm) must encounter yin (soft) in order for balance.
This is not just philosophical, it has a basis in reality and can be illustrated
in the class.
Soft meeting is sometimes called 'blending'.
The more strength you use in your tai chi the longer
it will take you to learn the system properly.
Softness is a yin quality
Yin is considered to be a yielding, feminine
attribute.
It requires the body to relax, remain loose and pliable.
Men have much more difficulty with this type of strength and tend to tense their
muscles rather than relax them.
Working with gravity
Softness occurs when the body relaxes
fully and allows gravity to affect the muscles and joints.
Rather than fight the pull of gravity, the body works with gravity, employing
only the minimum amount of strength.
The support mechanism developed through training qigong and neigong will keep
the body upright and connected.
All you need to do is to remain loose.
The middle way
If there is tension in your body when
you strike, some of that tension will bounce off the opponent and back into you.
With soft meeting, the adverse feedback is removed.
However, the danger now is that you will push rather than strike.
The solution is to apply 4 ounces of pressure upon contact.
You will soon meet resistance in the other person.
At that point, stop - you have applied sufficient pressure - any more and
you will be using force.
A beginner will now worry that they could not hurt somebody using so little
power...
This is a natural concern.
Momentum and gravity will add greater substance to your delivery.
The real skill, though, is to take the opponents centre, to break their root.
When somebody is disconnected from the ground, 4 ounces of pressure is enough to
drop them.
Fa jing
Softness will make your
tai chi effortless, your body will drift through form.
The ultimate soft skill is fa jing.
It is an internal ability that grows as you relax and move as one.
Any tension or unnecessary force will impede its development.
Consider: soft meeting
represents a bridge between you and the opponent.
Your bodies must be joined.
Once joined, energy can travel through you into the other person.
If you encounter resistance, the energy will be blocked.
Page created 21 July 2000