The Spirit of Competition

Recently, there was a pushing hands competition in Singapore. While I did not go and watch the competition (because I didn't hear about it until it was over), I did hear something from my teacher that set me thinking. Apparently, there was a round in which a big size man in his 40s was pushing hands with a smaller size man in his 70s. The man in his 40s pulled the man in his 70s, causing him to fall. To me, this just doesn't sound right. In pushing hands competitions, shouldn't the matches be organised according to weight? And even then, pushing hands is not sparring, it is friendly competition and should stop before anyone gets hurt. Those who take part in competitions should be at a certain proficiency level that they know when to stop, how to prevent themselves from getting hurt, or from causing hurt to their opponents.

For myself, I have only taken part in one taiji competition so far. To me, competition is not about winning. It is about learning from others, seeing the standards of others, and from there motivating myself to do better. With the competition in mind, I motivate myself to train hard, so that I will not go in and make a fool of myself and my teacher. I don't go in to win. I don't go in to pick on the faults of others. Rather, I go in, do my best, and see where I stand. I look at those who do better than myself, and ask myself what are they doing better. I look at others and see what are their mistakes, so that I don't make the same mistakes.

The spirit of competition should be in learning from one another. Your opponents are not your enemies, they are there to help you learn what you are doing right and what you can improve on. Treat them with respect, as in a way, they are your teachers too.