Tai chi chuan literally means "yin-yang boxing". We borrow but give nothing to borrow, conceal and reveal our intent in a cyclical manner so that the orthodox becomes unorthodox; we give up ourselves to “follow the opponent”. These esoteric guidelines are belyingly simple to comprehend, but as my Tai Chi Chuan master said to me on our first meeting: “I know you can understand this intellectually, but can you physically apply it?”
Many wonder why the tai chi chuan form is practiced slowly, what does it mean to be internal and guided by intent? It is too easy to escape the question and resort to jargon, I'll try not to.
I have fought and trained fighters for several years now, and have witnessed many students rush to the finish of a technique they were practicing, striving for speed, disregarding the many subtleties that enliven the method and make it realistic, many spar and at first waltz up to a comfortable position where they feel sure of executing a knockout blow without ever earning this position, the result a bruise or two and bewilderment at why they could not just stroll up to a good position and issue.
The phrase “energy-path” once filled me with derision, comming from many still does, conjuring up to my mind all the new age hippies “playing” at martial arts. Today I’ve decided to reclaim this nei-jai phrase and hopefully restore to it some meaning. To me it means the cycle of issuing force from the guard, or counter, through to the strike or throw. The entire transformation of shape and form of an action will contain enough structure and softness to enable for example; a simple counter to an opponent’s punch with one part of our arm (without breaking the opponents momentum), whilst guiding our strike to the target. In other words every part of the body, every hair on our skin (hyperbola), is alive, aiding one another, capable of transformation, of opening and closing , of folding and issuing - an awareness of the seven stars, ours and the opponents. A lock is applied, the opponent resists so we punch him, maintaining adherence, guided to his void by his actions and structure, kick-punch-throw, “the technique is broken, but the intent unbroken”.
This for me is the “surging and flowing” of Tai Chi Chuan, where the body acts in concord driven by the intent, not just where the full weight is behind a strike but incorporating “total body force” where we can for example step aside and escape the brunt, and with a twisting and rising elbow interupt or empty his power and cut across his shin / thigh to defend against a roundhouse, opening up a path for a punch to the head- a progression of the initially defensive path, which continues after impact to become leverage in a spinning throw, we move, sometimes fast sometimes slow, but as inevitable as the great rivers course to the sea. I have preformed and witnessed on many occasions such flowing moves being executed as I've described with just a single arm and some well timed foot work. It is a matter of efficiency and aptness of movement not speed of limbs or hair-trigger responses; this is true trained ability not just innate athleticism. When the opponent moves first but we arrive first, it is because of our cultivated efficiency of movement, our "gung fu" trained through practices such as "nei gung", added to an unfathomable intent born out of practice - sometimes concealed sometimes revealed - which is used to entice our opponent into the void. It is a matter of emphasis. Simply put, the repeated slow movements (not an alternative to normal fighter training, just an addition) of the Nei Gung and to a lesser extent the Form together with the tui shou training help us to be aware of our entire body our seven stars and the opponents at all times, not just the weapon we strike with. This trained awareness allows us to respond more quickly and sincintly to changes, to be aware of the direction of forces and lines of structure, to understand how much to borrow and give, and how to effectively apply leverage. This coupled with a study of intent and focus - another primary concern of Tai Chi Chuan - we learn to effectively and effortlessly "faint and draw"- conceal and reveal. Thus true nei jai emphasises these aspects of fighting from the beginning, the conditioning drills gain the same results as push ups etc. as far as strength goes, but similtaniously the strategy of the art is being practiced.
Shoud we isolate and divide our techniques and tactics? Seperate kicking, boxing and grappling? This is like a general dividing and seperating his army into ten isolated divisions. Even an army a fifth the size of his will defeat any of his units. Let one strategy / technique aid and flow into and be part of another, the full arsnal always aware, ready to be aptly applied, because there is no no mental seperation, only unity! This is the "Stillness that defeats Motion".
Like the fighting, training primarily concentrates on building efficiency and awareness to generate powerful movement or "educated force"(jin) rather than on speed and strength. There is no "dead time" just yin and yang.
Take the "rolling thunder pad drill" the puncher practices the technique, builds on his mental and psychological enduance, and orders his intent to drive back the pad man, the pad man endures the blows, learns how to structure and refuses to be moved.
“Ceaseless exertion is the method of self cultivation”.