Standing still

Standing in one place advertises your position. You are literally a 'sitting duck'. You need to move spontaneously and freely, without any preparation or preamble.

This requires presence, awareness, composure and physical relaxation.

Evade

No matter what occurs, it is advisable to evade the attacker. If your opponent cannot make contact, they cannot inflict injury upon you. Agility is essential.

 People who are compulsively active are unstable,
while those who are addicted to quietude are indifferent.

One should have a lively spirit while in the midst of tranquillity:
this is the mentality of the enlightened.

(Huanchu Daoren)

Spontaneous

A cat can go from complete passivity to combat readiness instantaneously. It does not tense muscles and prepare. It just moves.

The cat does not psyche itself up, rock, dither or demonstrate any of the characteristics you often see demonstrated by human fighters.

Only a skilled student tends to move smoothly and calmly in response to threat. Beginners are jerky and tense.

Agile & responsive

Have you ever watched how a cat responds to perceived danger? The entire body moves as one, drawing away from the threat, coiling and expanding.

This is akin to the amoeba-like movement students acquire from reeling silk exercises if they take their training far enough. The cat evades and counters without hesitation or doubt. It moves.

 Never stealing

Injuring no one
Who can discredit me?

Do you think that I’d climb down from an elephant
To ride on the haunch of an ass?

 (Songs of Mirabai)

Get a feel for it

Some things can be taught, whilst other things just occur.

You cannot teach someone to ride a bicycle. You just cajole and encourage. You do not really teach anything.
The learner figures it out for themselves. They get a feel for it.

Internal martial arts are like this.

Over-training

Tai chi is not dance, gymnastics or boxing. Do not treat it like weight-lifting, either, and try to build muscles.

Over-training can harm your body and will reduce your enjoyment of the art.

Do less rather than more.

Stagger your training across the week and do a little every day.

If your training exceeds an hour a day then you are doing too much.

Even a skilled student should constantly trim off unnecessary exercises and keep their daily practice time down.

Qigong

Qigong is intended to condition your body, to develop stamina and endurance.

But be wary of trying too hard.

If you find that your body is aching considerably and you feel really tired, you are doing the exercise incorrectly.

Let-go of your tension and relax into the posture.

Imagine that your arms are on strings or resting on something.

4 ounces

When in contact with another person, 4 ounces of pressure must be maintained.

This is not accomplished through effort.

Relax.

Let gravity do the work for you.

Tension

Beginners wear themselves out training qigong and partner work with too much tension.

Remember to use only the minimal amount of strength; use only what is necessary to hold your limb in place.

Anything more is wasted.

 When you do tai chi, you shouldn't sweat.

Sweating is a sign that energy is being dissipated.

It comes from tension and it's as if you are depleting your bank account.

Doing tai chi, you want to accumulate energy, not spend it.

So, if you sweat, you should stop and rest.

(Cheng Man Ching)

 To rejoice even in a harmless game means that you delight in someone's defeat. 

(John Lash)  

Get help

If you find yourself prowling the web looking for some way to assuage your boredom and vent your wrath, you may have some problems.

Rather than pour your heart out via TikTok, why not talk to a real person?

There are counsellors and therapists in most cities around the world.
Seek them out. Talk to them.
Find a constructive release for your frustrations.
Let a caring professional assist you. Find meaning and balance once again.

Online manners?

One of the problems with the internet is that it encourages all manner of unpleasantness.

Blogs and chatrooms allow malignant people to insult strangers anonymously.
Bad feeling and gossip are rampant.

Troubled people are free to pour out hatred and malice, with no risk of consequence.

This is not healthy.

  Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say: "In this world, Elwood, you must be..." - she always called me Elwood -  "In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you may quote me. 

(Harvey)

Do Nothing Day

Make the time to do nothing at all.

Have a 'do nothing day' in which you ignore:

1. the phone

2. chores

3. responsibilities

4. commitments

Release your burden

Shedding unnecessary belongings, commitments and habits can free up your life. Instead of doing 15 things, you do 3.

As with all things in life, your success in this endeavour is entirely relative to how earnest you are.

  Seeing an old man who wanted to take up philosophy but was embarrassed, Socrates said to him, "Don't be embarrassed to become better at the end of your life than you were to begin with."

(Thomas Cleary)

Tai chi chuan?

Tai chi chuan is a Chinese martial art. It was developed hundreds of years ago and draws upon Taoist observations, Chinese traditional medicine, biomechanics, physics and combat. 13 patterns of movement are used to express power.

To train the art correctly you need a highly-skilled Instructor who can offer a very comprehensive syllabus.