Win the Battle, Lose the War

Sometimes, we are so fixated on gaining a certain advantage, attaining a certain objective, that we don't realise that we have lost more than we have gained. Like when pushing hands, sometimes we try to achieve a certain effect, and we become so focused on achieving it, that in the end, when we do achieve it, we don't realise that our opponent actually managed to defeat us in another way. We may think we can win by pushing our opponent away, but actually, even if we do push him away, we have actually lost, because we were so focused in pushing that we ended up using brute strength.

In winning, we have actually lost. That small little gain in ego has resulted in effort lost in trying to master taiji.

The important thing is still not to fear losing, to concentrate on achieving the principles of taiji, to focus on your movements as a whole, to use your opponent's strength against him, and if bested, to learn from your mistakes.