I was at my Tai Chi class on Wednesday night, the exercise was a simple push, but Mark was making the point that you should only use “4oz” of pressure. Now this isn’t a literal commandment, but the principle is not to apply force.
While we were doing this, I thought of the Taoist metaphor of water. Our hands were like the tips of the waves, gentle, but with hidden power behind them. The power came from the depths, from our feet, our weight and then came crashing down when it was released (obviously not so much in the case of some of the students) with great effect.
This is great for Tai Chi, but I was just thinking that this goes much deeper than Martial Arts, it’s a useful metaphor for all of life. You stay connected to things and situations, not by crushing pressure, but gentle contact. When the situation moves, as you’re not trying to rigidly control, you can flow with it better.
But your motivation is not in your hands, the superficial contact with things, it should come from a deeper connection from developing an understanding that can only come from not trying to control or exert ego. I feel that when you move from that place, you add much more quality to what you do and things should go more smoothly. I’d like to develop this line of thought further, watch this space.
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