How T'ai Chi Builds Confidence (3) Believing

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T'ai Chi brings about confidence this way:  By studying (knowing) and practicing (doing), we come to believe that we can do the movements.  We may have to encourage ourselves, or seek encouragement from others, to keep it steady and to keep at it.  We believe that we can do the movements, because we show ourselves and others actually doing them.
 

How T'ai Chi Builds Confidence (2) Doing

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Beyond the studying, knowing and learning comes the doing, practicing and sustaining.  T'ai Chi builds confidence by practicing in a step by step, mastery fashion.  I am grateful that I learned one movement at a time, with our instructor giving us a class, plus a followup session, in a given week.  The idea is to master a movement as best as possible, before learning the next.  Also, while some practitioners are positively hardcore, that is, working out several hours a day, there simply isn't a need to do that to gain the full benefits of T'ai Chi.  Whatever few minutes we can devote to practice must be sustained over time, that is, repeated daily without fail.  In time, the movements that seemed so difficult and awkward become fluid and natural.
 

How T'ai Chi Builds Confidence (1) Knowing

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I mean read a book both literally and figuratively.  (a) Literally by browsing books on T'ai Chi at the bookstore and library, and reading them.  These may be physical (hardcopy) and electronic (ebooks).  (b) Figuratively in the sense that we can read across a host of platforms and forums, such as YouTube videos, Google+ communities, and Twitter timelines.

Knowing and learning can be a first step in building confidence.
 

Song of 13 Postures (2) Yin-Yang

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Be mindful of the interchange between insubstantial and substantial; the chi circulates throughout the body without hindrance.

Reference: Song of the Thirteen Postures.

The Song of Peng (4)

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Even if the opponent uses a thousand pounds of force,
he can be uprooted and made to float without difficulty.

Reference: Songs of the Eight Postures, by T'an Meng-hsien.

The Song of Peng (2)

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First sink the ch'i to the tan t'ien,
then hold the head as if suspended from above.

Reference: Songs of the Eight Postures, by T'an Meng-hsien.

Two-Person Practice in T'ai Chi

Two-person practice in T'ai Chi may be like sparring in other martial arts.  The important thing to keep in mind is that you're working together to challenge and strengthen each other.  You follow T'ai Chi principles, as you would with other postures or movements. 

Jackie Chan Martial Arts Scenes

Jackie Chan has to be the most comedic and creative in the genre of martial arts hero.  I mean, what's funnier than fighting while drunk and saving precious vases?

I couldn't think of another movie that I could tie-in to one of Jackie Chan's, but I found this bit with Jim Carrey.  So my articles this week have been, I hope, entertaining at least.  Carrey pokes good fun at what happens in dojos, including some excessive self-promotions.  Neither T'ai Chi nor martial arts in general have to be so serious all the time.

Jet Li Martial Arts Scenes

Jet Li didn't resort to shirtless scenes as much as Bruce Lee did, but he had his own panache, humor and steely face.  He was superb in his own right.

Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang had a handful of superb fight scenes in `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but the gravity-defying bout and rooftop chase were the best.  Jet Li's `Hero takes a bit of its choreography from the two ladies' extended hang-time.  All of these scenes are staged, of course, but a bit of inspiration and imagination can lift real-life Parkour practice, for example, to a higher level of athleticism and impact.  

Bruce Lee Martial Arts Scenes

Bruce was a great martial artist in his own right, and he was also a great show man in front of the camera.  In either case - fighting and acting - he was determined and disciplined.  He was constantly practicing and training, for example.

This is the most stunning, kickass fight scene I know, and while the martial arts choreography and movie making were more sophisticated, `Matrix Reloaded pays homage to `Enter the Dragon.  There are lessons to draw from these movies, such as using our opponent's energy against him and even using the opponent himself as a human weapon.  

Tao of Kindliness and Confidence

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6. They don’t judge people. 

Highly confident people have no tolerance for unnecessary, self-inflicted drama. They don’t feel the need to insult friends behind their backs, participate in gossip about fellow co-workers or lash out at folks with different opinions. They are so comfortable in who they are that they feel no need to look down on other people.

Reference: 15 Things Highly Confident People Do.

The highest good is like water.
Water give life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In daily life, be competent.
In action, be aware of the time and the season.

From Tao Te Ching, Chapter 8, by Lao Tzu.

The article on confidence resonates with this chapter by Lao Tzu, and is among the most resonating for me overall.  It guides me not only in my day-to-day practice, but also in my day-to-day life.  I am far from perfect at it, but T'ai Chi study, practice and meditation are my Tao (way).

Embrace It is the Way of Taoism and Zen

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For example, if you are feeling worthless and try to suppress those feelings, you will never be able to do what it takes to improve. If, on the other hand, you come to terms with your negative self-views and accept the fact that you are not as good as you would like to be and, especially, that you are unhappy with yourself, you will be able to focus on what you need to do to improve. 

Dissatisfaction is the mother of change, and only change can drive improvement. 

The choice between the two options is a no-brainer. Deliberate attempts to increase your confidence are bound to result in failure and demoralize you, whereas attempts to improve your performance can result in not just competence gains but also a genuine boost to your confidence. The answer to the question, "What should I do about my low confidence?" can hardly be simpler: 

Embrace it.

Reference:  The Best Way to be More Confident.

The idea of embracing something dissatisfying or disconcerting is a novelty to Western culture, which is about categorically and deliberately ridding yourself of anything negative.  Instead, it's more Eastern mindset, arising from Taoism (i.e., go the way Nature has somehow guided you to go) and from zen (be in the moment, be where you are now).  That is T'ai Chi.  You don't have to be anywhere beforehand, with any prerequisite skill, fitness or motivation:  You start from wherever you are, and accept wherever you are, as troublesome as it may be.

Stand Up Straight, Build T'ai Chi Confidence

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Regardless of your confidence level, slouching communicates you lack faith in yourself. 

Try posting a note on the edge of your computer display with a reminder such as an up arrow in thick red marker or the words "SIT UP STRAIGHT". To correct yourself, roll your shoulders back and imagine someone just pulled a string from the top of your head, elongating your spine and raising your chin so it's in a neutral, forward-facing position.

Reference: Simple Tricks to Immediately Boost Your Confidence.

Standing up or sitting up straight, the body perfectly aligned from head to toe, is a T'ai Chi principle.  The joints are not locked, and the posture is not rigid.  It's a relaxed straightness.  In fact, chi is stored in the natural curves of our body, which are seeking straightness during the movement.  Specifically it's about imagining a string attached to the topmost of your head (ba hui), pulling your head, and the rest of your body, up gently.  At the same time, you root yourself, and tuck your buttocks in gently.  So you feel a stretch downward as well.  Your awareness, and mindfulness, and clarity all go up, and that is confidence-building.

Things not to do to Build Confidence

15 Things Highly Confident People Don't Do

In regards to No. 7:  

They don’t let lack of resources stop them. As a startup entrepreneur, I've learned that not having much of any resources has made me really resourceful. My confidence comes from something very real: I've been able to move forward, and keep going, with very little on hand.

Posture and Philosophy of Confidence

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Skill takes time to build. Talent takes time to nurture. So if you want to perform better right now, there's only one way: Feel more confident. Everyone's been there. We don't need research to confirm the more confident we feel the better we perform.

Reference: Simple Tricks to Immediately Boost Your Confidence.

Make a conscious effort to sit up straight or stand up tall. To nix negative thoughts, have a positive self-affirming statement ready and say it even if it's just quietly to yourself.

T'ai Chi posture is one of relaxed, internalized but unmistakable confidence.  We stand straight, but not locked or rigid.  We imagine that a string is holding up our head at the topmost point, and at the same time we are rooting ourselves to the ground and tucking our behind to stretch and straighten our lower back.

T'ai Chi is also about following the Tao of Nature, and that way is naturally centering and calming and, yes, positive.

Do Confidence, Build Confidence

Go where everybody else isn't

So exercise this muscle!

After a while, very little will scare you

T'ai Chi Weaves Itself into What We Do

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Whether it be fragrance, fashion or music, we have many avenues through which we build our confidence.  You see, T'ai Chi by its nature is demure and humble.  It doesn't demand of practitioners and would-be practitioners alike that it be the primary focus or activity.  It doesn't demand anything really.  But should we wish, and decide, to study it and practice it, it can serve as the ground, or the complement, or simply the spirit, with which we build our confidence.  T'ai Chi can weave itself into whatever profession, art or discipline we pursue.

Experience Fear, Build Confidence

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Fear serves a human function, much as many of us in Western culture may denounce it, diminish it, or otherwise dismiss it.  Instead of doing all of this, let's experience our fear as it is.  Sit with it, and feel it.  In the process, we may understand it better and learn from it.  

We practice T'ai Chi, we meditate quietly, we study and reflect on what we experience.  Neither inviting nor resisting distracting thoughts and disturbing feelings.  We see what we need to do vis-a-vis our fear, which may be nothing at all but which may also be something important.

In time, that fear works in our favor, it serves our purpose.  In time, it dissipates.  

  

T'ai Chi Builds and Internalizes Confidence

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T'ai Chi abides by Taoism, and Taoism demures when it comes to showing others what we can do.  We build confidence through daily practice and study, but we keep it internalized.  We keep the fire well under control inside our belly, so to speak.  

Instead of saying "Watch me," then, we may simply go about our tasks, or routine, or responsibilities, with the mindset of always learning and improving what we can do.  Other will see what they will see of us, and in time it will not matter all that much what they see of us.  

That we are growing, and growing stronger, and abiding by the Tao, this is what matters.

T'ai Chi Builds Your Inner Superhero

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