About Tai Chi self defence
Self defense is Nature’s eldest law.
Self defence is an ongoing process of awareness of the situation you are currently in. The more you are able to be aware
of your surroundings the better you can protect yourself, your property and others. The right to protect ourselfves is a
right, not a privilege. But how can we take down the walls and protect ourselves in healthy ways, by learning what
healthy boundaries are ? How to set them, and how to defend them ? The most important component in self-defence is awareness,
and the first line of keeping yourself safe is communication. Learning to set boundaries is a vital point of learning to
communicate in a direct and honest manner. It’s impossible to have a healthy relationship with someone who has no
boundaries.
China’s pink army.
Colors make men’s eyes blind.
“Girls, please kill me!”
In wartime colors and borders vanish.
What we see is often not what we see.
What we hear is often not what we hear.
Every war, before it comes, is represented as an act of self-defense.
Most people want to survive.
In the world of self defence the only thing that matters is survival.
Wisdom is anticipating self-defense.
“Mastering others is strength, but mastering yourself is true power”.
In Tai Chi Chuan fighting is just a very small part of self defense.
Self defence is whatever you need to survive.
To survive we need our intuition (our sixth sense).
Often, when all seems calm, your cat suddenly becomes alarmed,
staring intendly... at something that humans cannot perceive.
Intuition helps you to take right decisions,
it protects you and keeps you out of harm's way.
When dealing with invisible energy, it's very easy to be fooled by one's own feelings
Intuition (Yin) comes as natural to women (Yin).
Men can't analyze women in the way they analyze themselves.
Self defense for women.
Women don't think and react like men, that's the way Nature made them.
Women must grasp the fact that
they can't analyze men in the way they analyze themselves.
Man don't think and react like women, that's the way Nature made them.
It is important to realize that internal martial arts are never just about one thing (fighting).
Self defense for women is not simplistic or limited in scope. Unfortunately -I think- the missing
link in self defense training has been largely ignored, the verbal and mental psychological skills
needed to preempt violent attacks and end fights before they start. There is a reason for this,
most martials arts are invented by men as a response against physical aggression from other males.
Second : most studies on human aggression have been conducted by men, even when females have been
the subject of the study, aggression has been operationalized in typically male or physical fashion.
The problem is that human beings are complex and multi-faceted and there is not a single theory that
can tell the whole story. Thankfully, we no longer live in the stone age, but in a certain way we are
still in the stone age and we always will be.
Aggressive behaviors are used to defend and maintain territories : without territory and self-determination
we cannot survive. Although there are benefits in maintaining a territory, there are also costs.
Male birds may migrate sooner than female birds and they will tend to defend a wide territory claiming not
only the area of their nest. Female animals can fight for nest sites and can be very aggressive. Some animals
will defend their territory by fighting with those who try to invide it. Is homo sapiens a territorial
species and what do we mean by territory? Women don't think and react like men, they don't fight like men.
A deeper understanding of male (direct) and female (indirect) aggression can help. There is such as an
'emotional territory', (some women think that man is her territory and other males/females are intruders).
However, most women do not display openly aggressive behavior, they frequently fly from physical aggression.
Women tend to defend their emotional territory : "A woman can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes,
she can ruin faith with her casual lies" (Billy Joel). What means that women may more often judge aggression
from a moral domain, relation aggression is the domain for girls' aggressive behaviors.
Catty, gossipy and manipulative behaviors are often associated with negative female qualities. Are we talking
about a gender neutral phenomenon here ?
Aggressive behaviors are used to defend territories.
Women don't fight like men.
They tend to defend their emotional territory.
Woman, man,
don't eat your brains.
Relax, keep emotional control, adjust the spinal, stay calm, think clear.
Aggressive behaviors are used to defend territories or emotional territories, and therefore keep distance. Reduce
your tension levels and stay calm, get in tune with your body, own your emotional control, it is yours to control.
It doesn't matter what your emotional side finds right or wrong, come into a comfortable position with the spine erect.
The spine should be held vertically, it calms the mind, soothes anxiety and stress, balances right and left hemispheres
and promotes clear thinking. With clear thinking, we can make the right subconscious decisions. When the spinal is
compromised the whole body is compromised, then we are unable to defend ourselves. The spinal cord makes connection
between your yin-feminine and your yang-masculin pole (between Shiva and Shakti).
Man is the head, women is the neck that turns the head (Chinese saying). Defending yourself keep your neck yin and the
top of your head yang. Relax into the spine. Breathing release tension : slowly breathe in, breathe out slowly. Push your
shoulders down, your heels into the floor. Most important is that the mind is clear and active, you must learn to trust
your own strenghts, trust your martial skills and enhance them.
Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art.
You must learn to trust your own martial skills.
Students must learn to combine techniques and defend themselves. In our school we teach two styles : the Yang Cheng Fu style
and the Old Yang style, what means real street-wise self defense which is what Tai Chi, Bagua and Dim mak are. Basically Tai
Chi Chuan is a martial art, it comprises 6 elements : *tui-shou (push hands or -self defense- response drills), *sansau (real
self defense), ta-lu (2 person movements for real self defense), *weapons (real self defense), *solo forms (martial codes),
and *nei-gong (breathing, meditation and spiritual practice).
Where Tai Chi Chuan can become a problem is if the simplified version of the art has been spindoctored, when histories and
outrageous claims become more important than the truth about Tai Chi Chuan. Real Tai Chi is difficult, often superficial or
esoteric explanations pass for legitimate knowledge especiallly when they are presented with a confidence bordering on arrogance.
Such an attitude goes as far as to aping another cultural standard, ideals and using another language's terms etc... You've got
to do your own growing, no matter how tall your Chinese master was. After 45 years of "martial arts" I'm still wondering why so
many Westerners accept as credible the myths, misconceptions and downright lies regarding Tai Chi Chuan ? Too many so called
'martial artists' readily accept them as gospel, they believe learning these misconceptions are part of the martial tradition
of the (secret) art. Are they ? Or, are they part of machinations and money making schemes ? Extravagant claims destroy
credibility, they will suspect both veracity of outrageous claims and the motivations for making them. Wrong attitudes encourage
more misconceptions, more blind acceptance of misinformation and baseless feelings of superiority. Tai Chi Chuan is difficult,
it is a martial art, not a Barbie dance.
Some students ask:
"How can I defend myself in this case or in that case?"
"What would I do confronted by a stranger
armed with a Kalashnikov
standing over my bed at three in the morning?"
A student’s mentality in learning martial arts is to overcome one's problems.
To strengthen themselves.
Most importantly is that the mind is clear and active.
The mind combined with common sense is your most powerful weapon.
There are two approaches to solving problems:
the" stop it" and the "mop it" approach.
Martial techniques are creative processes in problem- solving contexts.
If you train to make peace, you will be able to make peace.
If you train to fight, you will be able to fight.
Can we train to combine both ?
Yes, we can.
While Tai Chi Chuan/Baghua Zhang is not the only martial art I have studied/practiced,
it has a profound influence on me. While Yang Lu Chan's form is not the only Tai Chi
form I've studied/practiced, the Old Yang has brought a new understanding of Tai Chi
Chuan as a no-nonsense martial art. In Jitsu, karate or judo we move by muscles,
(keywords: conditioned reflexes and automatism). That's okay, but Tai Chi is moving by
intention, so now I use my intention, and it works. It is said : "Empty the mind, be
formless, shapeless like water", water can flow or it can crash. Water will follow its
own intention.
All martial arts systems also emphasise the need to develop the mental aspects of the art,
do you have the mental discipline to win a battle ? No matter how much martial training
you've had, most people get overwhelmed in the first critical seconds of a real streetfight.
There is our natural instict, there is control, and you have to combine both. In real self
defense the mental aspects are very important, it is not so much the art as the person
practicing the art. Tai Chi self defense relies on deep meditation, it is about being
present with what is in the now. Are you willing to put in time and effort to learn both
the mental (neigong) and the physical (weigong) aspects of Tai Chi Chuan? Just because we're
trained in one, doesn't mean we can do the other. It takes time, that isn't going to happen
on its own because the goals of Tai Chi training for beginners are a little bit different
than the goals of street self-defense training.
All Chinese internal martial arts, even Wing Chun, are principle based, not technical based.
Wing Chun is aimed at striking many times in a short time frame. It achieves solid stance
by abducting the knees inward and gripping the floor with the toes. Xing Yi is based on the
principles of Yin and Yang : Xing means external form (yang), yi means idea, intent (yin).
Xing Yi: external (Xing) and internal (Yi), Yin and Yang. Bagua Zhang means circle walk practice.
However all Chinese martial arts teach how to survive real street attacks. Tai Chi sinks
energy into the ground to favor committed attacks of various types. Make Tai Chi Chuan street
effective, yes we can create a succesful self-defense strategy using Tai Chi Chuan-Baghua Zhang.
Small sansau is one of the best methods to learn from about Dim-mak and street fighting so that
you will be able to strike with great power over very short distances. Small and large sansau
are great fighting tools, just do it.
Don't think, just do it.
But we need also automatism.
Automatisms involve doing something automatically in a natural way and not remembering afterwards
how we did it or even that one did it.
‘It’ happened.
'It' happens.
Martial sports are great as spectator sports, and a good way to get fit. Martial arts on the other
hand really come into their own right when they are used in real self-defense, undoubtedly the ultimate
result for many of them. Keep in mind that Tai Chi for beginners and real Tai Chi Chuan are two
different but connected arts. Tai Chi moves for beginners are perhaps a good way to get fit, perhaps,
but real Tai Chi Chuan -the hot stuff- was intended for no-nonsense self-defense. It is not only street
effective, it is perhaps the most deadly self-defense ever invented, a full killing attack is what we
need to know to handle. As a martial art, Tai Chi Chuan is externally a soft excercise, but internally
hard, even as it seeks softness. Tai Chi is difficult, there are martial skills that many teachers
don't know, and the problem with the art is that most Tai Chi teachers don't know the 'hard' stuff;
think of small and large sansau, dim maks, baghua etc...think of all the medical-martial stuff...
This 'teaching' is done in a total vacuum, so very few do know about this martial stuff.
Very few can do it.
The minute you start to think about what you’re going to do if you lose, you have lost.
We need routines and drills.
Everything we do repeatedly becomes our practice.
There are 'single focus' and 'multi focus drills'
But in Tai Chi Chuan we’re looking for 'no focus' or 'empty mind drills'.
Tai Chi drills must be flexible enough to train for all situations and all environments.
If they did not what purpose did they serve?
Tai Chi championships are funny things.
Great men dont blow their own trumpet.
(Chinese proverb)
Tai Chi Chuan self defence:
You don’t need competition.
Competition is a confrontation between egos,
a question of your lower chakras.
You don’t need a master or even a teacher.
You don’t need your wuchu forms or your hundred ways to kill.
For self defence you need simple things as a strong physical,
a mental and a spiritual structure.
We cannot solve our problems with the same level
of thinking and doing that create them.
When tempted to fight fire with fire,
remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
Self defence is first of all a defence against myself.
Against
my own wrong ideas.
Against
my own wrong attitudes.
Self defence is not a competition between egos.
Tai Chi Chuan entails physical, intellectual, spiritual,
medical and mental martial tools.
In self defence
there are no "useless martial tools."
"Some people tell you to fix your attention on one thing to keep it there.
This is not the way of Tai Chi Chuan.
You do not see with your eyes. You see in your mind.
You need to be sensitive.
You need to be capable of "listening" to what is happening.
You need to adapt.
Self defence involves total immersion in what is happening.
This means no dreaming in the future or worrying about the past.
Our drills cultivate these senses.
If they did not, what purpose did they serve?
Assertivity is the ability to express yourself and your rights
without violating the rights of others.
The difference between being aggressive, assertive and passive can be learned.
"Self defence is more than application."
Applications are relatively easy to learn but self defence is serious.
Consider the underlying purpose of self defence.
For your sister is like you, she wants to be happy.
For your brother is like you, he wants to be happy.
Peace occurs when conflict ends.
Self defence is serious, not easy to learn.
All things of value are defenceless.
Lucebert
Rani meets Onno.
Consider the underlying purpose of self defence:
All of us
We all want to be happy.
Self-defence is serious. Why?
Just like animals people also try to survive life physically
as long as possible by trying to defend themselves
in as many fields as possible.
Not easy to learn.
Listen to the Yin-Yang principles, trust your instincts,
develop your intuition.
Your intuition is your sixth sense, it helps you to take decisions,
it protects you and keeps you out of harm's way.
Intuition is a combination of instincts, sensitivity and experience.
Intuition impacts how much we enjoy a subject.
It's our sixth sense -as any cat owner can tell you-.
Cats sense fairly well whether we wish them good.
Learn
about the Yin-principle from the Yang-principle
Learn
about the Yang-principle from the Yin-principle
Self defence
entails learning processes
The dept of your Tai Chi form shows the dept of your intuition.
The dept of your intuition shows the dept of your life.
Being aware
The Heaven-Earth-Man aspect of self-defense is not to be overlooked. In Tai Chi Chuan there is the circle of Heaven,
the circle of Earth and there is the circle of Man. The 3 powers of Heaven-Earth-Man refer to the basic powers that make
your chi powerful. Circles of Heaven and Earth come together and mix inside of your own life circle, the S in the taijitu
represents this mixing action. So it’s important to be aware of the overall safety circle in the area where you are.
A good self-defense program should reflect these 3 circles of self-defence. If your fighting techniques are your only
preparation, it is too late to avoid an attack. Heaven, Earth, Man, visualize this three circles of protection around
yourself, the more aware you are of your circles of protection, the safer you will be.
1. First circle: Heaven
Your outermost circle of protection is the community, the government, the police and the large area in which you are
located. This circle represents the mental and the physical area without eyeshot of you. Limit GSM phone usage as you
travel, talking on the phone is extremely distracting. Alcohol and ego oftentimes don’t mix well. Do you carry your purse
correctly, do you look or act like a victim or ”easy prey”, do you posses the mental aspects of self defense? Are you
prepared? Remember there is nothing wrong with asking for help if you feel you are in danger.
2. Second circle: Man
The second circle of protection represents your family, your closest friends, your house, your car… this circle represents
the area within eyeshot of you. You may be aware of potential attackers, but they do not pose an immediate threat because
they have not yet begun the assault. If this circle of protection does not appear to be safe, move to another area, move to
another circle of protection, you need to wake up before its too late. Do something, it’s time for you to go now. If you
feel you are being followed, do not go to your vehicle, continue to populated area and summon help. Safety and emotional
wellbeing is an important part of feeling secure. Sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you breathe,
the water you drink, and the food you eat, it’s your second circle of protection. Family is your closest second circle of
protection, but ”We do not have that strong family background into which to fall and to be protected” Erle Montaigue..
3. Third circle: Earth
The third circle of protection represents you, the area immediately surrounding your body. Your third circle of protection
is your very basic protection : your reptilian brain, your instincts, your “no-nonsense approach”. Remember you are Earth,
so you are your first and your last line of defence, once a threat passes through to this level, you can no longer live in
denial. Therefore it is vital to understand that you are your own last line of defense. In the moment when the attacker has
slipped through the outermost two circles, and is standing in front of you, it is up to you, alone, to protect yourself.
Prepare yourself for this possibility.
4. The best self-defense
The best self-defence is your instinct, your intuition, your common sense. It is each one's responsability to protect
themselves. Safety awareness has nothing to do with paranoia, worry, anxiety, it may just safe your life.
Erle : “A real master will always walk from a fight, unless there is no choise. Real masters should not feel the need to
hit someone hard to show how tough they are”.
WTBA
Basic rules
and
Art of Fighting in Erle Montaigue's Tai Chi self defence system.
1. Never step backwards.
2. Never fight the peripheral attacking weapon, fight the whole body.
3. Never meet force on force,
always move at a slight angle to the attacker as you move in.
4. Never use two steps in fighting.
5. Never look at the attacking portion
6. Never use a lock or hold as your main fighting method.
7. Never use pushes or pulls in self-defence.
8. Never go to the ground.
9. The legs are for standing, the hands are for fighting.
Erle Montaigue: "However, it is important that you do not just read about these rules and try to intellectualise them, but
rather do the training methods in order to gain the necessary body mechanics. A fighter learns certain switches as he becomes
more and more experienced at fighting and aggression. However, it is also these learned switches that can bring him unstuck
in a fighting situation against someone who knows about switches and the art of fighting. The fighter learns these switches
but also learns sub-consciously that his switches will also cause other switches in those who he is attacking, which will
in turn switch on more switches in himself.
This is the way that a fighter works. He may not know this and indeed it would be rare that any street fighter would know about
such things. So, when the expected switch does not happen when he attacks someone, it throws his own switches out of wack, thus
putting his timing and co-ordination off. This is where internal gung-fu and the art of fighting gains the upper hand. We know
that the fighter expects us to react in a certain learned manner when attacked or when faced with aggression. He expects us to
move away from him trying to lessen his attack. So he is ready for this and knows exactly what to do when we do this expected
movement. But if we do not, then he is taken by surprise and before he has time to change his method, we have already finished."
Please visit Erle and Eli's web to know more.
Tai Chi Classics: about self defence
Make your spirit peaceful and your body calm.
Pay attention to your mind at all times.
Lin Yutan: About self defence.
Where there are too many policemen, there is no liberty.
Where there are too many soldiers, there is no peace.
Where there are too many lawyers, there is no justice.
ABOUT TAI CHI SELF DEFENCE and ANGER
Dealing with anger
Learning how to deal with anger is vital in having a healthy lifestyle. Anger is not the same as aggression, anger is a
natural reaction, it inspires, it allows us to defend ourselves. Not all anger is misplaced, and often it's a healthy,
naturally 'response' to our problems. You could be angry at a specific person, or your anger could be caused by worrying
about your personal problems, your social situation, your relations... A certain amount of anger, therefore is necessary
to our survival, but angry people tend to jump to conclusions and actions, and some of those can be very inaccurate. Don't
do, don't say the first thing that comes into your head. Like other emotions, anger is accompagned by physiological changes,
your heart rate and blood pressure go up as do the levels of your energy, adrenaline, hormones... Silly humor can help
defuse rage in a number of ways, and all martial arts offer us anger management skills and techniques based on insight.
Dealing with aggression
It's fascinating how we all seem to have certain things that get our goat. And what's even more fascinating about this is
what tends to irritate one person may have no impact at all on another. Nobody thinks that discovering the roots of
aggression will be simple, there may be as many roots as there are acts of aggression. When faced with an act of aggression,
most people do not know how to react. Confronting advances only deepens the well of discord and creates violence. Then you
feel the anger raising. Anger is not the same as aggression, keep in mind that anger is only a reflection of what is inside
your aggressor, and not inside you. It's important to know that aggressive people may not always intend to harm you, the
aggressor may not even be aware of what is triggering his aggression, or may not even realize that his-her behavior is
harmful to themselves and to others. Breaking the circle of aggressive behavior begins with understanding the cause and
effect of aggression, we must look at the deeper causes.
Nobody thinks that breaking the circle of aggressive behavior will be simple, everywhere we look there is violence. We
have a genetic structure to be violent, the status of violence with chimpansees and humans has a common origin, but in
the modern environment our status of violence may be very destructive.
Breaking the circle of aggression
Dealing with aggression, breaking the circle of aggression requires patience, insight and understanding. There is no right
or wrong, so seek the other side of the disagreement. We don't have to agree with everyone, but do strive to know why
people are acting the way they are. Speak and be truly interested in what they say, make sure to have direct eye contact.
And, if you can help, just do it. Take responsability for your words and actions,
confronting advances deepens the wall of discord. By keeping your cool during a confrontation, you will not give fuel to
the fire. When you feel your anger raising, take a deep breath and find your center. Know yourself, know your limits, your
fine martial Tai Chi skills look good in demonstration, in the movies, but not outside in a chaotic situation. All your
subtle internal martial skills are unusable once your heartbeat goes above 150 (in a confrontation, your heartbeat reaches
this pretty fast). Therefore increase your focus and awareness, reduce your tension levels, stay calm, get in tune with
your body, thereby increasing your ability to do whatever is necessary, including fight. In 100% of street situations, the best defence
is being aware of surroundings, and, being ready to run. Never allow the aggressive person to position himself or herself
between you and the door, and always plan your confrontation of the aggressive person carefully avoiding "you" statements.
Don't speak loudly, leave the room for a few minutes, then you can resume your previous conversation after the aggressor
has had a few minutes to think what just happened. Respect their value as a human being and do not try to injure there
self-esteem. Be aware of your body language during the confrontation, never touch a person, this can easily be perceived as
a sign of physical aggression. Never confront an aggressive person alone. Never resort to personal attacks of the person's
character. Take care of your self and protect your garden (Chinese proverb).
Dealing with yin (female) aggression : "You're dead to me"
Evolutionary psychologists have developed a theory to explain the origin or differences between men and women. The two
sexes developed different strategies to ensure their survival and productive succes. Chimpansees, bonobos and humans are
closely related species, so male violence and male dominance over females have long been part of our history. From the
evolutionary perspective most martial arts are "stone-age arts", each martial performance determines its placement in the
social structure. Mate selection is women's way to move up the social ladder. Women prefer strong men, so physical
appearances play a big part in mate selection. Today we begin to understand how violent behavior have traveled throughout
our evolution.
Most 'stone-age martial arts' tell us how to deal with "yang agression", or male-male aggression. They don't tell us how
to deal with "yin aggression". Aggressive behavior refers to an intentional infliction of harm on one person by another,
but most women do not display openly aggressive physical behaviors. "I love feeling helpless!", the majority of aggressive
behavior in women is more subtle, or indirect. Making subtle negative comments, backbiting, critizing the judgment of others,
interrupting a conversation, giving a cold shoulder, passive aggressive female behavior, damaging relationships or
friendships... Indirect Yin (female) aggression involves manipulation and the identity of the aggressor is more difficult
to detemine. In some situations, drawing attention to the effects of the aggressive behavior is enough to stop it, but keep
in mind that there are some things we will never change about a woman (a man). An understanding of female, "passive, Yin
aggression" can help to make the best of the worst. I wish you good luck.
The modern world is an aggressive, hyperactive, competitive, and a masculine-Yang world, it needs the woman's touch as
never before. We need the "Yin touch", but like it or not, since women are smaller than men, man and woman evolved
different kinds of violent minds. Women developing their gender roles in different societies and in a different context
also are combative, competitive and aggressive, and act with the intention to harm another person, one self, or an object.
Most women tend toward indirect, non-physical and relational aggression. "You are still alive, but you're dead to me".