The most effective form of self-defence is learning to remove the buttons that my myriad daily "attackers" push to throw me off-balance. I must learn to relax my fear . . . . ."
Gateway to the Miraculous (Further Explorations in the Tao of Cheng Man-ching) by Wolfe Lowenthal
The above passage expresses a truth about Tai Chi I have come to realise with an attitude of gratitude to this art and my Sifu, E.K. Yeap, who introduced me to it. At the age of 71 years you can still be thrown off balance by those very things by family and life. I was able to pull myself out of a near emotional breakdown recently in a relatively shorter time than it would have taken someone less exposed to Tai Chi. I definitely attribute that to the Tai Chi principle of being like the roly-poly doll that bounces back however you try to push it down because your strength is in being rooted softly but deeply, and centre of balance is maintained steadily. This applies to emotional centering and rooting that arises from physical balance.
This came on top of realising that in my short acquaintance with Tai Chi over the last 2 ½ years I had built up "strength in the marrow of the bones". I had stumped my foot on a hard and heavy concrete block. This would have crushed the bones of the big toe in one of my age according to my doctor who was with me. But, after the initial killing pain and swelling of the first day, my toe suffered no great injury and in a couple of days was back to normal. Strange as it sounded when I first came to know of Tai Chi strengthening bones and storing resilience in the bone marrow, I now realise these are more than words. My faith in the art as taught by my Sifu is not misplaced!
By Nesa Arumugam.
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