Yielding

One thing we must all ask ourselves is “Has our yielding – our response to the other's energy and presence – become stylized, affected or habituated?” The usual image of the yielding individual, especially in the softer Tai Chi classes, is that of the shrinking violet: a sensitive soul meekly retreating, by moving back or aside and by collapsing the chest cavity, from energy devoid of spirit or power that probably wouldn't hurt a fly anyway. It is difficult to imagine a situation in which such softness/weakness would be in any way effective or useful, other than the artificial one created for the Tai Chi class. Such a practice is simply going to over-sensitize (weaken) an already over-sensitive individual, although it will probably also give them a feeling of self-worth within the school, especially if they are conforming to a standard set by bad practice within that school. If the energy coming towards you is of no threat then there is no need to yield – just take it in and enjoy it, and/or give the “attacker” a good slap to wake them up.

Another thing we must all ask ourselves is “Are we teaching our students anything that will be useful to them in situations other than the contrived ones we present them with in class?” Ultimately it is not how strong, or rooted, or soft you are that counts, it is how able and willing you are to engage with life. When the unknown beckons do you whole-heartedly throw yourself into it with no thought of self-preservation, or do you flinch, or worse still are you still asleep. Ultimately it is what we lose that counts, not what we gain. Naked before God and Creation.