There is duality in everything..
Dark, light
Feminine, masculine
Yin, yang
Positive, negative
Summer, winter
Giving, receiving
Anabolic, catabolic
If you’ve taken a moment to observe the
yin/yang symbol, you’ll notice the dynamic of this duality and, as well, within
the yin there is some yang and within the yang there is some yin.
When it comes to kung fu training, the
method my instructor encourages is to go soft, sink more, exaggerate body
movements, take things slower.
On the surface, it contradicts the essence
of fighting. Fighting should be aggressive, fast, strong, crushing and indeed
it is.
And to a very good extent, such training is
needed. However, that is only half of the equation..and is usually the
type of training our body is more familiar with. Perhaps maybe too much..too
much yang.
So, training at a slower pace, over
emphasizing certain moves, exaggerating sinking and yielding..is more yang..it’s
more feminine. But it comes with the purpose of fulfilling the other half of
the equation.
Your training and your fighting skill
should be both yin and yang..it cannot be one or the other.
And in every moment of yang, you must
maintain some yin and in every moment of yin, you must maintain some yang.
You can be flexible or soft, but not weak.
You can be strong and hit hard, but not
tense.
It’s about getting out of your comfort
zone, about getting out of what you’re used to so that you can progress to the
next level.
One step back, two steps forward.
For the majority of people studying the
fighting arts, aggression and tension is easy to come by. But there are certain
people are by nature not aggressive, strong or tense and in their case they must
train more yang.
I realize this is common sense and can
easily be overlooked. Instead, I would consider this a reminder to reflect in
yourself and your training to see if there’s an opportunity here to add more
yin or yang to your training.
There is duality in everything. Make sure
you cover both grounds.
Until then.
