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Illusion
Martial arts training halls provide a safe place
for people to meet and explore combat
material.
There is seldom any risk of injury.
The training is carefully monitored by the instructor.
It is a predictable scenario.
However, it is also an illusion.
Real life
Periodically you may hear of a skilled,
seasoned martial artist being beaten up in the street
by an untrained assailant.
This sounds incredulous.
Yet, the situation is really quite straightforward.
Falsehood
Real life combat is nothing like class practice. In the street, the emotional vibe is
different, the threat is sincere and there's a
high likelihood of getting hurt.
In class, you are often told precisely what will happen - before it happens -
giving you ample time to prepare. No assailant in the street will do this.
Simulations
If you want to see if your taijiquan works it is necessary to experience some
sort of combat.
Being actually beaten up is not so sensible.
It is better to simulate an assault without too much risk of being
injured.
Roughed-up, struck, caught unawares in class - these are good. Being actually
damaged is not smart at all.
Anticipation
A student will often fail to commit to an
attack and then be a 'smart
arse' when the defender attempts their application.
This situation exists because the attack was
poor in the first place, and the attacker is forgetting that they are
engaged in practice, not combat. In real life, no one will give you a heads-up.
Poor attacker, means poor counter-attacker
Poor attacking skills stem from inexperience and fear.
You must learn to set aside your ego and forget about
sparing yourself.
If you fail to commit, you will probably not
have the opportunity to correct your mistake.
Second-guessing
It is very common for new students to over-analyse
training methods in class, second-guess the instructor or think that they can
see holes in the material.
This stems from naivety.
The instructor knows full well that the training is not real.
This is why we have a syllabus.
Taijiquan fighting method
As the student makes strong progress through the grades the line between
illusion and real becomes blurred.
The speed, ferocity and challenge of the training methods will tax even the most
entrenched sceptic.
Unpredictable situations force growth, change and adaptation.
Truth
Eventually, the student submits to the syllabus and trains hard without
ego intruding.
They merge with the Way.
Only then will the art become fully realised.
I feel extremely lucky to have
found a martial arts school where integrity and being a nice person matters,
this is missing from every school I have ever attended.
(Dave G)
Page created
18 March 1997
Last updated
26 January 2020
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