15/09/2026
Keep The Faith
One of the main and best known characteristics of Tai Chi Chuan, is the emphasis on being soft. This requires a high degree of sensitivity. It is essential that we keep to this principle and not substitute hard strength at any time. Keeping to the soft, also requires having faith in remaining soft. It is far too easy to inject hard strength, much more difficult to apply softness. Although soft, it is not floppy, it is rather not opposing, but using sensitivity to overcome an opponent.
We all know this, Im sure, however, it takes constant awareness to not be drawn in to using strength. This is investing in loss, as it takes longer and no matter how many times we are pushed over, we have to come back soft, until we gain an understanding of what soft really means.
Even when pushing or striking, there is softness. With both, there is the same flow from the ground up through the whole body, although they are not the same thing. A push is an acceleration of relaxed power in one direction, when an opponent is off balance. Whereas a punch, is obviously striking. Also with a punch, there has to be an element of relaxation, this is to allow the full force of the strike to manifest. It is not necessary for the fist to be tight, as it is the knuckles that are the striking surface. The important point here is to keep a straight line through the back of the hand into the arm, this allows the hand to remain soft. Everything is met with softness, but within the soft there is the hard, or a tensile spring like strength, which is whiplike in its application. Hitting a focus mitt softly but with focus, will give an indication of how much power there is in remaining soft. It is co-ordinated power that is important, not how hard you hit, that comes from striking true. Whether pushing or striking, they are not tension filled affairs.It is interesting to note that in the Classics, it is the hands that are mentioned last as in expressed in the hands.
Countering, doesn't always mean that you have to be hard. The throwing techniques of Tai Chi, are always soft, in as much as there is no resistance to them, as the opponents balance is destroyed before the throw. Returning energy back on to an opponent can be soft and feel like you are tying the person up, giving no room for a counter. No matter how soft, the emphasis, has to be with the whole body and with focus. Perhaps, a better description would be to say positive, rather than hard.
When receiving a push, depending on the situation, you can yield by making large movements or by doing just enough to “nullify a push. Also, if we are sensitive enough, a push can be caught almost before it has started. This relies upon listening through touch, or feeling the intention. One of the self defence principles of Tai Chi is that you keep contact with an opponent. That is why it is so important to keep to the soft , it is alive and flexible, able to respond through touch, and adapt to whatever an opponent may do. One saying that sticks in my mind is, A punch should be received, like a stone hitting a curtain. You could say the same about any attack, where they are absorbed and allowed to fall into nothingness.
Having faith in the soft, means just that, and not relying on anything that might be added to Tai Chi, such as lifting weights for example. Although I have nothing against this, it has nothing to do with Tai Chi itself. You can combine keep fit but that does not mean it will do anything to enhance or improve Tai Chi. It somehow also, implies a lack of faith in the soft principle of Tai Chi, that we need something else to build armour around us to feel safe. There is enough within a Tai Chi system itself to develop power, and it is the art itself that develops this power. Building muscle is not important, it is the development of theTai Chi technique that is important. Cheng Tin Hung was once asked about this. He said there is nothing wrong with lifting weights, but it is not the type of strength that you want to develop in Tai Chi. I do believe that the type of strength used and developed in Tai Chi can only come from the practice of Tai Chi.
I remember pushing hands with an older gentleman in HK. He was small and light, but he felt incredibly heavy. This kind of ability does not come from lifting weights, but from pure Tai Chi technique. That is the kind of technique to aspire to.
In HK we had auxiliary exercises such as, punching with light weights (punching without the weights after, so that the muscle did not tighten up) rolls for stamina, punching focus mitts, while moving, or heavy bag. These exercises were used for training to fight in competition. The idea was stamina and speed, and it was emphasized they were not to build muscle.
To be relaxed, yet not relaxed (Song) means that you are always aware and ready to respond. It is also a sense of being, of feeling settled within oneself. Like everything in Tai Chi, Song is both physical and mental. Being cognisant of the moment and your environment.
When we practice, we should do our best to always learn. Sounds obvious, but practice is not competition, you don't win anything. The focus is always on learning through practice, not defeating a training partner. It has the added benefit of taking care and respecting your training partners. This is also keeping to the soft, the receptive, in both mind and body.
Ian Cameron
