Strategy
Therefore, those who know martial arts do not wander when they move,
and do not become exhausted when they rise up.
So it is said that when you know yourself and others,
victory is not in danger;
when you know sky and earth,
victory is inexhaustible.
(Sun Tzu)
Strategy
Strategy is about planning. About determining a course of action in
advance.
In self defence, it is difficult to have a strategy because the attack
will occur spontaneously and you will have no opportunity to plan your
response beforehand.
You will be suddenly faced with a situation and you will need to respond
smoothly and skilfully.
Fixed strategies: techniques
A technique is a series of steps designed to counter an attack
effectively.
By following a step-by-step sequence the attack can be neutralised.
In theory, techniques are excellent. In practice, they do not always
work.
The drawback with techniques is that the individual must pull them off
under pressure.
This is not so easy.
Also, the defender must be capable of adapting and changing the
technique to suit the situation.
Techniques are fixed strategies. Our school does not teach techniques.
Open strategies: habits of response
In contrast with techniques, it is possible to apply strategies that are
not fixed.
(i) Open strategy
Imagine that a knife attacker slashes or stabs at you...
You may have a loose plan of action:
Evade the blade
Make contact
Incapacitate the attacker/remove the knife
Walk away
Although this is a strategy, it is not a technique.
As a plan it lacks detail. It does not tell you what to do. It is not
specific.
It simply offers a broad guideline and does not explain the method.
(ii) Habits of response
If a fixed technique is potentially too rigid and limiting, an 'open
strategy' seems at first vague and unhelpful.
However, the open strategy offers choices, options and possibilities. It
allows you room to manoeuvre. To be creative.
Tai chi
teaches habits of response rather than fixed techniques.
It encourages students to move a certain way.
That is why tai chi students practice form - form is how you move.
By cultivating your instincts and doing what
feels right, you increase the
likelihood of something useful
emerging when you are put under
pressure.
(iii) In class
In class, students are taught what options are available to them at each
stage of their counter.
They can see for themselves what works and what does not.
Gaps & deficiencies can also be highlighted and corrected.
The attacker is required to be earnest, unpredictable, realistic and
(eventually) uncooperative.
Instead of training a constant fixed pathway/routine/technique, a
student explores variations, permutations and possibilities.
The situation is changeable. Everything is in flux.
Planning
Strategy in
tai chi does not involve planning.
You must learn to let go of preconceptions and move in relation to what is
happening.
This is difficult.
It takes patience and reserve.
Watch and be
aware, but do not resort to
thinking.
Thinking is a form of tension and blocks your ability to move
spontaneously.
Invest yourself in the moment and feel what is happening.
Be aware of the surroundings too.
If there is more than one person, position yourself so that you can see them
at all times.
Should there be conflict, you need to be aware of a multitude of factors and
move without needing to think them through one-by-one.
Manipulate
Your clothing, posture and manner offer certain clues to the opponent.
They can be used to manipulate the situation to your
advantage.
If your behaviour seems natural and spontaneous, it is less likely to make
someone defensive.
A relaxed, friendly, familiar demeanour serves to softly break through
defences without the other person realising it.
You can
turn almost any situation to your advantage by seeming receptive and open.
Put your personal feelings, thoughts and opinions aside.
Be open and warm to even the most hostile person and they may falter
immediately.
If things go sour, you can still strike.
You will be striking from the shadows - they will never expect it.
Nice
If you back somebody into a corner, they may find new resolve and reason
to fight.
Try to offer a way out that involves minimal shame.
Few people enjoy conflict, and will retreat if they can.
Encourage them to depart.
If they are being hostile but you are being friendly, it will confuse them
enough to wonder why.
A polite conversation can often diffuse an aggressive situation and leave
the other person confused but relieved.
Your incongruous behaviour will make them doubt - it is a 'blocking' method.
Uncertainty
If conversation fails, you need to make the opponent wary of you.
If they doubt, they will fear.
Remove their certainty and you become a less appealing target.
Spontaneous,
unpredictable behaviour will keep them
unbalanced.
Be a nuisance.
Play things on your terms, not their's - make the opponent twitchy and
edgy.
Make them feel uncomfortable around you.
Yield
Tai chi only has one real strategy: yielding.
Everything else springs from this one principle.
When you fully understand the nature of
wu wei, of water, of yielding - then
you realise that nothing else is necessary.
Yielding requires you to
follow rather than lead. It is concerned with listening
rather than imposing.
If you have never encountered a skilled tai chi person, then the
significance of yielding will not be apparent.
You may believe that yielding is the same as 'giving in', 'collapsing'
or 'losing'.
In practice, it is none of these things.
Yielding is gentle, soft, subtle and comfortable. It enables you to
adapt, change, improvise and overcome.
But it is not weak.
If a person were to yield to gravity completely, they would collapse on the floor.
How easily could you lift them? Would their body feel heavy and
difficult to manipulate?
Letting-go is the beginning of yielding.
From a simple realisation vast application may be found.
It just takes a little awareness and
insight.
Page created 23 January 1999