28 April 2006

Yielding

“The more you bleed in practice the less you bleed in a fight.”

Imagine being in a fight for your life. The furthest thing from your mind would be relaxation. That's why it is imperative to “cultivate a relaxed habit” as Dr Chi put it. You must be relaxed all the time, or at least most of it, rather than just for the last half of each practice session. The same with yielding. If yielding is something you need to turn on once you are under attack then it is always going to be too late. The Classics recommend developing a yielding mind – a constant and continual yielding – yielding all the time. Life with all its richness and intensity is a constant barrage, and so continual yielding, for the Tai Chi student, delicate flower that he is, is a necessity. Not only does it allow him to survive, it encourages him to become a part of a process of opening and joining – opening to life and joining with its thrust – the natural process. Continual yielding also encourages the relationship between student and life – encourages life to present you with continually improving and refining energy to work with. The same law at work that causes the teacher to present you with the next facet of the teaching by the simple fact of his presence, naturally and without too much effort. Yielding encourages attack. As Liang used to say, to catch the robber you must first tempt him in by leaving a window open.

Yielding isn't withdrawal. It has little to do with turning the waist, sinking or relaxing. Yielding is the spark of connexion – the leap of compassion that engulfs the attack. Yielding comes from the heart. It is the very beginning of the creative act – a gentle but intense pulse of spirit. If you practice it enough then eventually life becomes a constant stream of such pulses and you begin to vibrate with life and a passion for life. This is Dr Chi all over. The glow you see in his face in those wonderful photographs is the glow of pure yielding.

4 comments

Karen Puerta and Tim Walker said...

Yielding is a great idea in theory. In practice I find it really, really hard beyond a certain point. Especially when I'm under a sustained verbal (or physical) barrage. How the hell does one manage it?

taiji heartwork said...

As I say, yielding isn't something you can really turn on when it becomes necessary. It's something you need to have internalized through years of dedicated practice. Also sometimes attack is far more appropriate - and more enjoyable.

Karen Puerta and Tim Walker said...

the problem for me is dealing with people who just want an argument, when going on the offensive is not going to achieve anything - except wind the situation up more.

Anonymous said...

sorry Steven but some of us women do not like to be excluded..you write of the tai chi student as male...'he' but I guess this is just an oversight