Tai Chi Chuan is the art that espouses emptiness. One must move without force to realize true Tai Chi. And, in Tai Chi, you never run out of emptiness.

One must understand, of course, that there are stages to the concept of emptiness. The beginning student will have one viewpoint concerning this principle, and the advanced master will have another, and there is plenty of degrees in between. Indeed, one could almost say there are as many viewpoints of this great nothingness as there are students to perceive them.

In the beginning concepts of Tai Chi give much confusion. The beginning student tries to get in his own way, tries to figure out the mechanistic nature of the universe, and works his way through confusion. Eventually, the beginner starts to realize that there is more to this idea of emptiness than he ever had inkling.

One can perceive space inside the body. The apparent concreteness of organ and tissue gives way to perception. Awareness permeates unhindered through the contrivances of the apparently real body.

This is something we learn through practice. The beginning student becomes advanced as reaction time goes away and begins to move in harmony with the motions of a foe. It is a short journey, once embarked upon, until the student attaches his body to that of the attackers, and is able to draw upon the energies of two bodies.

Eventually the space of the body gives way to the knowledge that there is a great space open to the awakening perception. Indeed, the flesh stops being a dividing line between the student and the rest of the universe. The student becomes master, and his perceptions are not stopped at the threshold of his fleshy sack, but rather are unlimited and as far as he can perceive.

The new master practices with new students, and he speaks of great space, and he gives way that the newbie may fall into that great space, an entire and new and glorious perception of the universe. Slowly, the new student accepts the reality of the master, understands gravity only to reject it in his notions, and the cycle evolves. The fresh seed grows, becomes a young tree, seeks the heavens, undergoing evolutions of life that enliven the mind throughout time.

This is the journey of Tai Chi Chuan, endless, immutable, hastened only by the striving towards knowledge of the student. This is the tai chi of a race, of a humanity, and it is a goal and a method and a principle that should be sought by all. What would happen if all governments gave way to the kindness of the people?

Al Case has practiced Tai Chi for more than 35 plus years. A writer for IKF for years, his methods are unique, and you can read about them at Five Army Tai Chi Chuan.

Tags: Self Defence