Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

Hi Everyone,


This string has taken many interesting directions - mental, emotional, spiritual and push hands technique. On the latter, some people consider "resistance" a dirty word in Taiji. They hold that yielding is the only real way. So how do you define resistance? T.T Liang writes that ward off energy is like water holding up the hull of a boat. I like this description. It implies a springiness that is proportional to the energy received. I show my students that taiji is not totally floppy and not totally rigid - it is springy and tenacious. With this type of energy used then it is correct to yield - but as described by someone above, the energy returns to the pusher through the other side. So should we blacklist the word "resistance" from our Taiji vocabulary? I don't think so. The same holds true in life - just because you're peace loving doesn't mean you should be a door mat. Balance is important in all aspects of living. Taiji is a great teacher.

Take care,


Jamie

Wow - this is a great read

The subject of attracting to emptiness is a big one for me and it's in a period of change plus I have a long way to go with it - oh, and I'm non to articulate!

Now, though, I work on no resistance - on any level. There was/is a lot of letting go necessary for me.

At first it was giving emptiness from the ground to the point of contact (movement starting in the feet) until their root was broken and they fell.

I was using a bit of peng (increasing the heaviness in the light heavy balance) to float their force (as has been described) so that I could keep my structure enough for the emptiness to reach the point of contact.

After that it was taking their intent ealier and earlier, until their was no need for strength in poisition - just emptiness to break their root (and either let them fall or channel the emptiness back through them or past them to bring different results).

It was a wake up call for me when I realised it was not about controlling their body but about controlling their mind.

Stephen