When it comes to Tai Chi, people often think of many classic sayings such as “use intention without force” and “four ounces to move a thousand pounds”, but there are many different opinions on whether Tai Chi uses force and how to use it. Today, combined with my own experience of practicing Tai Chi for many years, I will talk about the relevant issues about the use of force in Tai Chi from the perspective of self-sacrifice, in order to improve together with fellow practitioners.
Not using force when you have strength is self-sacrifice, and borrowing the power of others requires following others. Self-sacrifice and following others is great wisdom, and not competing for good victory is true technique. Self-sacrifice and following others is the yin and yang balance of the opening and closing of internal strength between oneself and others, it is to see the opportunity in relaxation and tranquility, to win the initiative in passivity, it is the premise of not losing or resisting, taking advantage of the situation, and defeating the strong with the weak, it contains the philosophical wisdom of inaction and inaction, and it is the general strategy and principle of Tai Chi’s offensive and defensive skills. The so-called self-sacrifice means not to follow one’s own will. It means to practice boxing in a relaxed state for a long period of time, and loosen all the ideas and practices in one’s body and mind that are not applicable to the requirements of being relaxed and lively, such as loosening the active thoughts of “what should I do”, loosening the subjective desire of “what should I do”, loosening the active offensive consciousness of “strike first to gain the upper hand”, loosening the habit of resisting “fighting against the enemy”, and loosening the tense and stiff body strength, so as to adapt to the changes of the opponent with sensitive perception, flexible body and mind, and move with the opponent; conceal one’s own offensive and defensive intentions, so that the opponent does not know oneself; understand the enemy’s situation, so that I know the opponent alone; and achieve the goal of using softness to overcome hardness and using weakness to defeat strength. Even if it is necessary to exert strength in fighting, it is under the principle of sacrificing oneself and following others, and generating strength and relaxation from relaxation. Sacrificing oneself and following others cannot be separated from relaxation.
Self-sacrifice is the premise, and following others is the key; sacrificing oneself is for following others, and sacrificing oneself can follow others. Following others includes knowing others, following others, and leading others. To know a person, one must “listen to the strength”, which means that after holding hands, one must rely on the sensitivity of touch to sense the starting point, size, direction, and landing point of the opponent’s strength. The skill of listening to the strength comes from relaxation. Relaxation means sensitivity, while tightness means dullness. When a person is in pain, he grits his teeth and clenches his fists, tightening his body to numb the nerves and dull the senses, thereby reducing the pain. Relaxation can not only improve the ability of sensitive perception, but also improve the ability of sensitive reaction, just like the boxing theory says “a feather cannot be added, and a fly cannot fall”. Not only can one sense a feather coming, a fly falling, but also can relax where it touches me, loosen the contact point with me, relax as the force moves, unload the force, unload it to the feet, unload it into the ground, so that even the force of a feather cannot be added to me, and I cannot bear the weight of a fly. This is the skill of describing the sensitivity of following the person. Following the person means not throwing or pushing, because throwing means giving the opponent space, and he will be hit; pushing means giving the opponent strength, and he will be pulled. Following others is like flowing water. If you have a gap, I will flow in and fill it up. If you fill the gap, I will withdraw. Following others means “if the left is heavy, the left is empty; if the right is heavy, the right is empty” (Wang Zongyue). If others advance, I retreat; if others retreat, I advance. The footsteps of the two are like the front and back feet of one person. If others open, I close; if others close, I open. The two bodies are like the front and back half of one person. If others bend, I stretch; if others stretch, I bend. The two arms are like the left and right hands of one person. If others are empty, I am full; if others are full, I am empty. If you are yin, I am yang; if you are yang, I am yin. The two people are a pair of yin and yang, with the contact point as the “center”. “They breathe as one, and the movement is natural” (Wu Tunan). They are in the same Tai Chi. In short, I have the same yin as others, and I have the same yang as others. I follow others’ momentum and combine their strength. I bend and stretch as they bend, without losing or resisting. Follow the listening to the strength and follow the induction. “Never move without induction, otherwise you will have delusions” (Wang Zhuanghong). Following others is to lead them, to loosely penetrate my intention into the opponent’s movement and get their true and false; to borrow the opponent’s strength of a thousand pounds and add my own strength of four ounces without the opponent noticing, so that the two forces can be combined into one force, so that the opponent’s strength is too much and the direction is off, resulting in “the higher you look up, the deeper you look down, the longer you advance, and the faster you retreat” (Wang Zongyue). That is: if the opponent wants to lift me up, I will follow the trend to lead him up, so that he can uproot and float up, and it will be unreachable; if the opponent wants to press me down, I will follow the trend to lead him down, so that he can bend deeper and can’t touch the bottom; if the opponent pushes me forward, I will follow the trend to lead him backward, so that he can go further and longer, so far that he can’t reach; if the opponent wants to retreat and pull me, I will follow the trend to send him back, so that he can retreat quickly and stand unsteadily. In short, no matter how the opponent moves, I can make him unable to stop and control, and lose his position. To trick someone into falling, you must be more flexible and flexible than your opponent, and have a greater tolerance for flexibility than your opponent. Otherwise, you can’t even protect yourself, let alone trick others.
“One force defeats ten skills”, “One courage, two force, three skills”, are all famous sayings that emphasize the use of force in fighting, and are easy for ordinary people to understand. It is indeed unconventional to say that fighting does not require force. But Tai Chi is such a boxing that does not follow the rules. The strong beats the weak, and the strong beats the weak. “It is not about learning strength but being able to do it! Look at the phrase ‘four ounces to move a thousand pounds’, it is obviously not about strength that wins” (Wang Zongyue), and when fighting with others, “using force without intention is the easiest to provoke” (Yang Chengfu), and it is the easiest for others to borrow my strength to hit me back, which is the most clumsy and harmful, “not worth admiring”. “Tai Chi uses softness to overcome hardness, that is, it can defeat a very strong opponent by being soft and flexible without using force” (Wu Tunan). “Tai Chi is very powerful because it is loose and soft” (Yang Shaohou)! How can you defeat others without using force? Mr. Li Tongqian answered: “It all depends on the mind as the leader, the body and mind are relaxed, the strength is calm, and the weight of the body is instantly transferred to a certain part of the opponent’s body. Because this kind of force does not require muscle contraction, but only gravity, so it can be effortless.” Mr. Wang Zhuanghong answered: “Don’t use force, it’s over if you use force, let it be automatic. If the opponent hugs your thigh, you must not struggle, you just need to put your weight there.” This is the way to defeat others by “using weight instead of strength”. On the other hand, as long as you really “use your mind instead of strength”, even if “others are stronger than you, even if you are beaten out, as long as you go out loosely, even if you lose, you will not let him take more advantage” (Ronghuafeng), and you will not be injured. Because the body is relaxed, it can produce a buffer, decompose the incoming force, and drain it, just like wearing a bulletproof vest or protective clothing. Even if you are beaten, there is no reaction force to the incoming force, and there is no harm to yourself.
The muscles and bones of drunk people are soft and their minds are not attached. When they fall, they just roll on the ground. Without the force of struggle, they are not easily injured. This may be an inspiration for us not to use force.
Mr. Jin Renlin also explained in his “Notes on Boxing” that in the process of transforming, moving and releasing force, we must relax and not use force. He said: “Transforming force should be shattered in the void, moving force should be continuous and penetrating, and releasing force should be calm and relaxed. When the void is shattered, the various parts of the body are not restrained by each other, and there is no mutual influence of shaking here and there, so that the opponent’s force can be digested completely; continuous penetration means that there is an endless supply, and it can penetrate into any gap, drill into, and lift up; calm and relaxed means that it is comfortable and stable, complete and unbiased, crisp and neat, and can be released and released far.” Then he emphasized again: “Such kung fu is ultimately about relaxing the mind during practice and not holding strength.”
Not only fitness, but also martial arts should be relaxed and not use force. This is not only emphasized by contemporary boxers, but even in the era of Yang Luchan two hundred years ago, there was a saying that “soft thirteen, dare not touch”. The “thirteen” here refers to the thirteen postures, which is another name for Tai Chi; “soft” refers to being loose and soft, without any effort; “dare not touch” means not daring to touch or touch, and if you touch or touch, you will definitely lose. This shows that Tai Chi is only when it is loose and soft as if it has no bones, it can have the skill of being invincible.
In short, Tai Chi uses intention but not force, just as Mr. Wang Zhuanghong said: “Using intention means using will and imagination, and not using force means not using the force of muscle tendon contraction. ‘Using intention but not using force’ does not mean not using force, but not using the force generated by your own muscles and tendons. Instead, you use the force from others through relaxation, including gravity, ground reaction force, and the opponent’s force. Only when you don’t use force yourself can you borrow the force of others.”
Void shattering, continuous penetration, calm and relaxed, using force without using it, giving up oneself to follow others, borrowing force from others, and bending and stretching are all clever techniques to generate strength and liveliness in relaxation, which can promote harmony and reduce frustration. It is not only the principle of practicing boxing and fighting, but also the principle of dealing with the world and being a human being. It is rich in philosophical thoughts and scientific principles. It should be integrated into our blood and soul and become a spiritual wealth that we can enjoy throughout our lives.
This short article about the power of Tai Chi hopes to inspire readers.