Aggression | ||
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Aggression
Most martial arts cultivate
aggression.
It is a natural, human, easy response to violence/confrontation.
No aggression
Tai chi does not use aggression.
It calls upon the student to be emotionally calm and
composed.
This is not so easy, but is far healthier:
physically, psychologically and
emotionally.
Macho
At the heart of aggression is the need to present a strong external
image.
When you are hurt, you pretend that it did not hurt. When you are
upset, you hide your feelings.
You cultivate and maintain a stoic image of
indifference.
Those who use force soon
exhaust themselves.
And what can be accomplished with exhaustion and struggle?
(Lao Tzu)
Image
An image is a front, a facade. It is not
real.
The effort that you spend in developing your image is wasted; because no two
people will respond to it in quite the same way.
How do you gauge its value?
Pretence
What does pretence reflect? Fear.
When you live in perpetual fear, your life becomes a pantomime of self
delusion and worry.
You seek approval and reassurance from those around you - empowering others
- allowing them to determine whether you are happy
or not.
Force
It may seem 'manly' to use force, but it can also be
stupid. Why exert yourself needlessly?
Our approach to tai chi seeks to
circumvent force and avoid exertion; it advocates yielding and
softness rather than
hardness and
strength.
Conflict
The word 'aggression' has the connotation of hostility; it suggests
violence, provocation, attack and the
intention of causing harm.
This is not the tai chi approach to
life or self defence.
We aim to find accord with others, to move in
balance with them, to avoid interference and
judgement.
Yield
When you impose your will, you over-commit.
It is far easier to take something in the direction that it
already wants to go.
There is no collapsing or
flaccidity in tai chi; it is vibrant and
alert, responsive and
adaptive, so you must learn to give-up yourself without losing your
integrity.
This is not easy for most people because they are mentally
hung-up on ideas,
opinions and perceptions.
Yielding is what defines tai chi - in many
ways it is tai chi's greatest skill.
Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.
(Buddha)
Page created
18 April 2005
Last updated
16 June 2023
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