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Partnering
New starters who are unfamiliar with tai chi
tend to do all manner of odd things when introduced to
partner work.
Working in close quarters with another person can be strange, so
nervousness is to be expected.
Remain calm and only do what you were asked to do.
Time wasters
Avoid ad-libbing.
Ignoring instructions wastes time.
Instead of training the required skill, you are potentially locked in some
macho contest for no discernable reason.
The tool
Now and again a student decides to be a total tool during a playful
partnered game.
This is the equivalent of agreeing to play cricket and pitching like it's
baseball.
Or using rugby rules during a football match. Would anyone be impressed?
Proving a point
Sometimes a new starter seeks to prove a point during partner work.
This usually takes the form of "It would not
work on me".
Presented in advance with the format of what is to take place, the new
starter braces themselves and uses their tension
against the anticipated efforts of their
partner.
Real life?
The awkward new starter may believe that they are reflecting real life
combat but they are actually doing the opposite.
In actual real life conflict, nobody will tell
you in advance what they are going to do.
It would somewhat defeat the point.
And, if you are awkward or tense against a more experienced opponent, they
will simply adapt and do something else.
Showing your knowledge?
Occasionally a new starter will profess to have
martial insights.
Typically these are not informed and will not
work against the attacks featured in our syllabus.
A layperson - with no martial background - is simply not qualified to
speculate on the martial viability of the material
being studied.
Let your knowledge grow with actual experience.
If you already feel qualified to challenge the teachings, then clearly
you have no need of martial tuition.
Tai chi fighting method
The whole syllabus cannot be taught in one go.
Subjects, themes, principles, skills and insights must be broken down into
component parts and then explored piecemeal.
This is inevitable.
At any given time, a student is studying a fraction of the whole.
Growing
As the student proceeds through the grades more and more aspects of the
whole becomes apparent.
They gain a sense of context.
Here and now
Focus on what you are working on right now.
Get the hang of this skill.
Everything in life starts with the fundamentals.
Get comfortable with these and then you will be introduced to more.
Rushing headlong into a more realistic, potentially
violent scenario is not so smart in a martial arts class.
Give it time.
Cooperative?
The aim is to neither cooperate nor be
uncooperative.
Find the middle ground in which you give your partner just enough to work
with.
If your partner is using local muscle tension and disconnected strength,
then encourage them to perform the drill properly.
Uncooperative
The lower grades are for learning the basics of
the art.
Until you are working through the black belt syllabus there is no need to be concerned with an uncooperative opponent.
When your skills have developed, a line of force will just be a line of
force.
It will not matter what the attacker is doing; they will always be offering
you something to work with.
Suppose we estimate the
strength of a man in units of one. Let us say that the strength of this man
is 10 units, whereas my strength, less than his, is 7 units. Then if he
pushes me with all his force, I shall certainly be pushed back or thrown
down, even if I use all my strength against him. This would happen from
opposing strength to strength.
But if instead of opposing him, I leave him unresisted, withdrawing my body
just as much as he pushes, at the same time keeping my balance, he will
naturally lean forward and lose his balance. In this new position, he may
become weak (not in actual physical strength, but because of his awkward
position) as to reduce his strength for the moment, say to 3 units only
instead of 10 units. But meanwhile I, by keeping my balance, retain my full
strength, as originally represented by 7 units.
Here then, I am momentarily in a superior position, and I can defeat my
opponent by using only half of my strength, or 3 1/2 units against his 3
units. This leaves one-half of my strength available for any other purpose.
If I had greater strength than my opponent, I could of course push him back.
But even if I wished to and had the power to do so, it would still be better
for me first to give way, because by so doing, I should have greatly saved
my energy and exhausted my opponent's.
(Jigoro Kano)
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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