How to Lose

Wait! This blog is about taijiquan, a way of life and a martial art, right? Then why am I talking about how to lose?

Because if you know how to lose, you know how to avoid losing.

I lost today. Not because my opponent managed to ram his shoulder into my chest. No, I lost today because after that happened, I allowed my emotions to take over, and wanted to get my revenge. In the end, we ended up tangling in a mess, more like wrestling, instead of pushing hands. And in doing so, I have lost, because I have let my instincts and emotions taken over, instead of trying to apply the principles of taiji to defeat my opponent. No longer was I trying to relax, no longer was I putting attention to my waist and kua. I was no longer practising taiji, which is what I want and am trying to learn. So I have lost, lost sight (momentarily) of my real objective (which is to better my taiji, and not defeat my opponent), and lost to the devil in my mind that is called emotion.

I quickly picked up the situation, telling myself to stay focused on learning taiji, on applying the principles of taiji. But I also told myself that if my opponent wants to play rough, then I don't need to play nice. Usually, once my opponent loses his balance, I don't press the attack (pushing him would just make him fall, there is no need to do that when training). But if my opponent needs to fall down to know that he has been bested, and needs to push his opponent down before he knows that he has bested someone else, then there is no reason not to play the same game, using his rules, but keeping to the taiji principles. He can punch and ram, I can still stick to my push and seal. In the end, I get to improve my taiji skills, which is what I want to do.