Wisdom of Our Forefathers Part 2

The people who developed taijiquan really are great. They not only studied human anatomy in great depth, they also studied human behaviour.

It is human nature to be afraid of losing, to want to win. Humans are impatient. And taiji takes advantage of these. Fear of losing (or the pressure to win) causes one to make mistakes, as judgment is clouded by emotions. By learning to keep calm, the taiji practitioner is able to see, and feel, much more clearly than someone whose mind is preoccupied with winning and losing.

And when one is afraid to lose, the reaction to resist an oncoming force becomes second nature. And taiji uses that second nature against you. When you resist, the more you resist, the harder you fall. Our forefathers studied the natural reaction to resist, and taught us to relax instead, so that we can feel the opponent's force, redirect it and use it against him.

It is a natural reaction to move back when attacked. Besides resisting an oncoming force, we move our body back to put distance between us and the opponent. Taiji teaches us not to run away. By running away, we let the opponent close in further, backing us up against a wall. Instead, when the opponent attacks, we should be ready to stand up to his attack, and be ready to meet his force.