Marshall Ho'o taught us a lesson on martial arts, during a T'ai Chi class in Snowmass, CO, which I have always remembered and taken to heart: Martial arts is putting yourself in a position of advantage. That was more than 30 years ago.
A simple story.
During graduate school in Chicago, I often had to work late, and arrived at my train stop - Howard Station - after 12 midnight. My wife and I lived in an Evanston apartment a mile away, and at that late hour the buses came too infrequently. So I'd walk, instead.
The walk along Howard Street is not the most pleasant, safest route in the city. It wasn't bad, relatively speaking, but I had to be alert and careful:
- Everything was in my shoulder bag, and I had it positioned evenly on my shoulders. So my hands were entirely free.
- I walked confidently, and looked straight ahead. I walked with an air of 'Don't fuck with me' (pardon my language).
- My breathing was calm, and I kept my mind as still and empty as I could. T'ai Chi mind is a meditative mind.
I'd often see clusters of men on the sidewalk, by certain shops, and I'd walk on peacefully by. Once or twice, however, my inner antennae sensed the possibility of danger. So I'd cross the street, and walk along the sidewalk, opposite to where some men were. Once past them, I'd cross the street back.
The complement to Marshall Ho'o lesson was: Avoid putting yourself in a position of disadvantage. In either case, I applied his lesson.
That's T'ai Chi self defense.
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