Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Returning to Center -- the Goal of Self-Defense and Life

finding your center philosophy self-defense tai chi balance wuji Aug 17, 2011

We were videotaping a lesson for the instructional website a few days ago -- basic principles of stepping in Hsing-I Chuan.

You begin in San Ti, and whatever you do next, your ultimate goal is to establish balance and return to San Ti.

You can attack, defend, take your opponent's ground (one of the primary objectives in Hsing-I), but as soon as possible, your mission is to return to San Ti.

The same is true in Tai Chi. An opponent attacks -- force comes in. You relax, adapt, neutralize the force, counter, all the while seeking to return to wuji - absolute balance, centered both physically and mentally.

Bagua is the same. As you change and adapt to multiple attackers, you try to maintain your center, capture and control the center of your attackers, but with each movement, your ultimate goal is to return to the centered dragon stance.

Wuji is a state of absolute balance -- of nothingness. From a martial perspective, it's a state of supreme awareness within relaxation. Once you ...

Tai Chi and Integrity - Philosophy in Action

philosophy tai chi balance May 04, 2008

I was practicing push hands in the park yesterday with my friend, Douglas Nakamoto. He has learned from some excellent Chen teachers and has excellent insights into body mechanics. We were testing each other and then working out the body mechanics of handling an opponent's push, and we began discussing the concept of "maintaining your integrity."

There is a balanced position that you want to attain in tai chi. When you are in that position, where you can deal with attacks from any direction, you are said to have "integrity." When you find yourself becoming unbalanced, you must move in a way that brings you back into a position of integrity.

Naturally, since I love to translate the physical action into philosophical principles, this one is very interesting and I've been thinking about it. Having mental balance is to have mental integrity.

It's amazing how often our daily lives put us off-balance, from driving on the street (the drivers here in Tampa are crazy) to the bizarre behavior...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Returning to Center -- the Goal of Self-Defense and Life

Tai Chi and Integrity - Philosophy in Action

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