Tai Chi Chuan - Paradigm Shifts

Tai Chi Chuan – Paradigm Shifts

Once in a great while, I play with someone who does not play MY game.  And it is a reminder that there many ways to skin a cat (though I don’t advise you try this at home).

I was sword dueling with a partner who clearly works the interactive form of dueling with a different focus.

What to do? 

First, observe what your partner is trying to achieve in the game.  He was doing two effective things: the point is mostly aimed directly at me as a warning to keep out and his neutralization works to block me from getting closer to him.  This is done with real finesse. My game focuses on inviting him in and NOT letting him know where I am by just sticking and following without much regard to getting a strike.  If he comes in too close, I have a shot at getting a point. 

When I told him that I always know where his tip of the sword is – because it is always aimed at me – his response was that he didn’t care that I knew where his sword is.  This was great news to me because now I have a situation where I know where his sword is, but he doesn’t know where my sword is.  In my form, the tip often leads away from my partner, so he can’t know what I’m going to do next.

But in all fairness, his form and his skill are of value.  It tests my form and my skill and makes me work harder to effectively “defend” myself.  My form makes me more vulnerable and my regular partners don’t always test this vulnerability because we get caught in our own patterns and assumptions about the game itself.

I have to adjust to his style, and he has to adjust to my style.  All forms have pros and cons.  They all have strengths and weaknesses.  If we work from a “learning” perspective, not a “wining” perspective, we can really grow.  Luckily for me, he operates this way.

We all have to adjust to whatever the situation really is and make appropriate choices.  If we stick to our built in patterns, we lose the value of this particular interaction.  My goal is not to persuade partners that I am right.  My goal is to find a way to play their tune and not lose my core principles.

That’s where deeper learning takes place.

I have to note that this is easier to do in sword dueling as opposed to push hands.  There are ways to escape difficulties in sword that in fact may be a way of not really being in the game.  I need to take a closer look at this tendency.