Paradox of Yielding

Assi Ben-Porat

The point I'm trying to make about listening, softness, yielding, whatever you want to call it, is that it is all these things but is in no way passive. It gives way and receives but comes forwards at the same time. This is the paradox we need to struggle with. My dictionary defines soft as "presenting a yielding surface". How do we present? Dr Chi, in his struggle to explain softness to John on one occassion prodded his handkerchief which was lying crumpled on the arm of his chair. The handkerchief, being limp and light, gave way instantly, "This not yielding". Then he prodded the arm of the chair. The soft, foam-filled plastic gave way and allowed his finger to sink down, then, as he withdrew, the plastic of the chair stuck to and followed his retreating finger because the foam inside was springy. "This is yielding". Yielding has an elastic, consuming quality which, as it advances, accommodates oncoming energies, storing the energy of the impact or allowing that energy to stimulate a transformation. The chair is ready to "yield" all the time, it is only ever that chair, with the same unvarying properties and intention. To learn to yield or listen we must be similarly just one thing. My teacher used to say, "If you're cut, even your blood should yield". This is why we practice the Form day in, day out. It slowly anneals and tempers your energy, unifying your different aspects (mind, body, spirit). Body as one unit. However, this will only be healthy if the Form is allowed to develop with your developing energy. So often I come across Tai Chi practitioners of 20 years standing still doing their Form in the mechanical way they were taught it. Students have to realise that teaching and explaining a Form piecemeal ("...turn the waist to the right, transfering the weight to the left foot and holding a ball, now transfer to the right, turning to the left and step forwards...") gives only an approximation to the Form. These movements have to be strung together with energy through correct practice. Correct practice should be investigative rather than habitual. Like the Classics say, when doing the Form you should appear like a soft, beautiful woman, but inside you should be like a tiger ready to pounce. One sure way of stringing everything together is to practice with speed. Yang Cheng Fu used to do 30 Long Forms a day, each one taking no more than 12 minutes, which is double the speed we were taught. As I said before, Dr Chi recommended doing the Form three times per practice session (practising twice daily), firstly at a moderate speed, to relax and warm up. The second Form should be slow and sunk, making every effort to keep to correct form; by the time you finish this one your legs should be screaming in agony. The third Form is fast for spirit - light and playful. You should be able to instantly spring from slow/sunk to fast/light and back again. Remember that practising precisely what you are least inclined to want to practice will do you most good.

Two other things to remember. Firstly, Dr Chi once told my teacher that the Tai Chi we have now is only 2% of what the Chen family originally possessed. Secondly, the Yang Style Forms we have are the ones the Yang family felt happy to share with the world. There were also other Forms (fast, explosive Forms) which they never let out, presumably because they were too valuable and effective to share. So, in a sense, we only have half of the picture. Without learning to attack (to let your energy out) your yielding surfaces will not have the vibrant spring necessary to complete the conversation.