Today
many people train Taijiquan for enjoyment, sports performance, artistic
expression etc. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but the mindset is very different
from that advocated in traditional Taijiquan where we are told to train using
intention without revealing our purpose externally. An often quoted saying from
famous military strategist Sunzi’s “Art of War” advises that: “If one knows the
enemy and oneself, one can fight a hundred battles without defeat”. How is this
relevant to Taijiquan practice? It’s generally said that a person trains form
to know themselves and that they train push hands to know an opponent. But this
isn’t quite sufficient. For sure push hands training sensitises us to the
movements of an opponent. However, it is critical to realise that this is not a
one way interaction. Learning to read the movements of an opponent has to be
tempered by an awareness that one’s own movements may be read by the same
opponent. Even as an exponent is feeling
for the tell-tale signals giving away the intention of another, he must learn
to recognise his own anticipatory movement.
This is one of the reasons why the form is practiced so slowly and meticulously.
By carefully and meticulously examining each movement one can begin the step-by-step
process of rooting out any “telegraphing” of our own intention. By uncovering all
the places where movement is inefficient or lacking the necessary smooth and
spiralling quality, one gradually reaches the point where it can be said that
we “know ourselves.”
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| An early shot of Chen Zhenglei and Chen Xiaowang |
