I’ve been wanting to post about this for some time. Mostly just sorting out my own thoughts, and inviting comments if anyone feels so inclined. I had a page or more of notes assembled. But driving home tonight my thoughts on taiji took on a less analytical cast. I haven’t had expert instruction, so why play guest lecturer? All I can offer is my own story and insights for what they’re worth. I’m tossing out my notes. I sat down tonight and wrote this out at a go. It says both less, and more, than I originally planned. Intuitive leaps can’t replace knowledge, but they may have value. I hope that this grab-bag is based at some level, upon realities.
********
Borrow your opponent’s hands and arms. Whether in actuality, or via intention only. Do not use your own arms and hands, but rather your torso which is an extension of your legs which is an extension of the ground.
Think of your legs as one, not two. They are connected through the kua.
The ground is not two, it is one. But how can it move? By an earthquake. That is, shifting and folding which results in shaking. But the ground is still “one”.
The only thing keeping you and your opponent in juxtaposition, is gravity. Since this is what unites the two of you, you need to control it. You control gravity with your knees. One up, one down, change, yin and yang. Every time your shin bone departs from or returns to the vertical, your knee is going down. Or up. If my opponent’s house sits on land which is suddenly a little higher here, a little lower there, his house will crack and topple. I will neither support nor rebuild his structure. My lower is rock; my upper, shifting sands.
