The
weak overcomes the strong,
The
weak overcomes the strong,
The soft overcomes the hard,
No
one under the sky ignores it,
No one can practice it.
Dao
De Jing (chap78)
The
weak overcoming the strong is however the ideal of Taichi.
How
can this paradox be understood?
Well, by an other one!
Non doing
Rule
the state by
righteousness,
Win
war by the weird,
Get what is under the sky by non
doing.
Dao
De Jing (chap57)
This
non-doing, which is at the same time a very central and very
controversial notion of the Dao De Jing, should in any case not be seen
as a static state. On the contrary, it's the ability of non resisting,
like the highest leaf of a tree is able to follow to the
slightest breeze. The virtue that Taichi practitioners
call 
, light and
alert.
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Surrender
In
the use of military force,
There's a saying:
I don't
dare acting as a master,
But act as a guest;
Don't
dare advancing an inch,
But withdraw a foot.
Dao
De Jing (chap69)
So
Non doing implies never acting on your own, never forcing
anything
but instead completely adapting to the circumstances by
following your opponent's moves.
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No struggle
He
who excels in vanquishing his enemies,
Doesn't commit,
He
who excels in using the men,
Puts himself under them.
This
is the virtue of not struggling.
Dao
De Jing (chap68)
If
one doesn't resist, there can't be any struggle. One doesn't use force
and as there is no opposition, the opponent doesn't know where to use
his.
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Clear vision
What is brittle
is easy to melt,
What is tiny is easy to scatter.
Act
on what is not yet,
Rule what is not disorderly yet..
Dao
De Jing (chap64)
As there is no struggle,
one
is able to relax, both mentally and physically.
Mentally
because
he is not busy trying to find a weakness to exploit in his opponent,
nor
is he afraid of not being able to block his attacks.
Physically
because if the mental is relax, the body follows naturally and one
doesn't have to be tense to surrender and follow with fluidity, on
the contrary.
Therefore, surrender
leads paradoxically to a form of freedom...
Being
relax and quiet, one's vision becomes clearer and he becomes able to
act on things before they grow.
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Letting go
Be
silent, natural.
A strong wind ends before the
morning,
A sudden rain ends before the day.
Dao
De Jing (chap23)
When one is quiet
and relax, it becomes even easier for him to adapt to circumstances and
wait for them to
change...
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Conclusion
Instead of
cultivating strength and speed like most martial arts,
Taichi emphases openness, quietness and softness.
The first
opponent is therefore oneself.
How can one vanquish
himself?
Well, just like this!
There
would be of course a lot more to say but I'm afraid that you will have
to come to see us at LongToushan if you want to hear it and,
more
important, to practice it!
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