Weak 2

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Show respect

Make meaningful contact but do so with respect and consideration. Make contact but avoid using too much power. Train slowly until you can apply an application competently and consistently.


Brutal and clumsy

Brutality may be a deterrent, but it must be applied skilfully. 'A bull in a china shop' mentality is incongruent with tai chi. It shows poor control.
It is the physical equivalent of becoming angry or aggressive.


No need for harm

You do not need to really hurt anyone. It is enough to incapacitate the attacker. Harming other people reflects badly upon your character. It shows insecurity and fear.


4 ounces

Tai chi uses no more than 4 ounces of pressure. This will never change, no matter how experienced you become. In fact, as you progress, you should use less and less strength.
Your aim is to decrease effort whilst increasing power. The first step is to become as soft as you can yet still pull off the counter. This is not to be confused with being weak or floppy.


Jing

It is easy to forget that tai chi is all about kinetic energy, not brute strength. If you are struggling with the attacker or using way too much force, you have forgotten this basic fact.
Stop trying to be deliberately 'strong' and just move.


Commitment

Your aim is to use just enough power to pull off the application. Make contact, feel the bite affect centre and balance. Then come off immediately. Do not wait around to see what happens.
Strike like a snake or a scorpion. Fast, deep and penetrating. The exact same mentality applies to performing a throw.


Fact rather than thought

Ignore what you think is needed. What you think is irrelevant. The effect is all that matters. Judge your skill relative to the effect.


Reduced commitment

Less is better than more. An expert strike looks like absolutely nothing but penetrates deeply. It is unimpressive in appearance but powerful in effect.
Similarly, a throw should feel to have just happened all by itself... Unless you reduce your commitment and rely upon jing and groundpath, you will drown in shallow water.


Control

If you are not in control of your tai chi, who is in control? You cannot treat the art like a runaway car. Be responsible. Only you can make the power manifest. So take responsibility.
Learn how to control it.


Do not spare yourself

You must come to terms with your fear, and relax. If you get hit, you get hit. Accept this. When you flinch, anticipate or tense-up, you have lost control completely. You are thinking.
You are not in the moment at all. You are in your own head. A more skilled opponent will defeat you instantly.


Rushing

Rushing is a sign of fear. Yield, make space. Take your time. Rushing is a timing fault. Your awareness is askew. You are not present in the moment.
 

She did not consciously think, "Ah, today I learned this and that; I gained this much." You do not do it step by step that way, by adding on coatings of varnish, or new paint. When learning becomes you, then it appears as you need it, when you are being you. Sometimes true learning surprises you when it emerges.

 (Chungliang Al Huang)

Sensitivity

If your aim is just to brutalise everyone with your powerful strikes, you are training the wrong art. Tai chi is not about fighting.
Nobody wants to be injured. No one wants to break an arm or lose their front teeth. Being careful with the people you train with indicates respect. You care about their wellbeing.
It makes you look better as a person. You come across as strong, but controlled. You have the power but you use it considerately.


Increasing power

Our classes place a far greater emphasis upon framework than other classes do. This will be particularly evident later in the syllabus.
Your whole-body strength should continue to increase as your body becomes stronger and more connected.


Clumsy

Clumsiness is an indication of low skill. As you progress through the syllabus you must demonstrate a growing capacity to use the tai chi properly. Ineptitude speaks for itself.
If you cannot gauge how much force to use then you have no real skill. Listen to what is happening, be aware of the sensations, interpret the feedback.


Refine

Imagine picking up a glass... If you cannot determine the necessary degree of pressure to apply, you will either drop the glass or crush it in your hand. Neither is acceptable.

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Page created 2 December 1996
Last updated 16 June 2023

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