My favorite move for this is rollback, I am still working on getting it down better on my left, but on my right can do it with momentum, or without force or forcing it, and achieve all the power I could ever want in the blow. It is a very soft move so the energy in it is crisp and sharp. I have a hard time getting the motion soft enough through my left hand but am working on fixing that.

But then my use of soft and gentle energies, as much as it fits my expectation of not using force, still employs forces, so to speak, despite being nothing like external art. It also employs muscles, and despite the soft easy methods involved the training of the torso to be able to do these moves properly can be very physically demanding, even though the key to the whole thing is utter softness.

However, not forcing it does apply in many situations. The key is knowing when to force it.

Context is the real definer…what is hot? Depends on the context: temperature or sexiness?!

In internal arts both context and intent get difficult to pin down when we talk, use words, and try to teach the inner stuff. It’s tough because inner stuff is difficult to see and define.

Context & Intent. Words will be words, meaning they can only do so much. It’s okay for me to tell someone not to force it if they are using a jackhammer where a scalpel would be better. Or if they hire an army to take on a little spider. I exaggerate to prove my point.

I think analyzing the words we use habitually is good if we realize the reason we do so. “Force” is very broad, and has so many possible meanings that it does beg the question of the motives behind it. Force with selfish intent or force of habit tends to inspire me less than forces of nature or forces of goodwill.

Also I don’t think it behooves us to take words out of context. We can make each other into aliens if our intent is to misunderstand. But if our intent is to find a way to go deeper, or to get better, then “more power” to that.

Thanks,
Josh

As a licensed bodyworker (LMT) since 1996, I’ve helped lots of folks escape pain and find freedom, function, and fun with movement.

Erle Montaigue’s WTBA system continually impresses me with its anatomical precision and articulate, physical foundations for long-term physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual development.

While I am a WTBA Instructor, please don’t interpret my words as WTBA words. Though I think our thinking is parallel, I cannot speak for the Montaigues or the WTBA….

The ideas and concepts at RealTaiji.com, while based on many sources and systems, are my own integrated visions of the Supreme-Ultimate Wake-Up.

It also illustrates for some of us one of the fundamental differences in the WTBA approach in terms of how they define terms and employ them.

For example the concept of force is one that seems to have several connotative definitions that are socially accepted. In our own transmissions the concept of force is defined clearly and takes upon itself a different meaning than the force you define and refer to. The idea of not forcing the breath, one of our key transmissions, is an excellent example. The concept in the transmission is not that energy, ergo force, is not used, the concept is that strain is contraindicated and causes physical changes in terms of making the body tight, this type of taut muscular tightness is entirely antithetical to the transmission and the term force gets applied to it. Ergo we when it is said we don’t use force the concept is that there is no strain, there are several reasons for this but the most important is that strain is nothing other than incomplete transmission of kinetic energy, it is wasted motion and energy.

However at the same time our transmission focuses upon stances and movements that cannot initially be done without some strain or extra force, because the body initially is not conditioned to be able to do them properly. This conditioning, which is nothing like that of weight training, causes muscles to get heavier and denser but softer to the touch when they are relaxed. It takes about 3 years to reach the right level of conditioning for the system.

In terms of forcing the breath, forced breath results in strain in the abdominal cavity, this tightness interferes with the transmission of energy in our system, since the wave of force is led by the waist from the ground to the hands or where ever it is transmitted, it must pass through the abdominal cavity including the area around the lungs, any excess tension or strain (sometimes called force) causes the energy to not transmit or flow completely. I do not know how this relates to WTBA transmissions but it is essentially part of the transmission of my favorite taijiquan.

I hope that I have been tactful enough to be able to share. I apologize for the lack of poetic form and the lack of brevity, I made this as concise as I knew how.

Thanks,
Josh Young
Joshuahyoung [at] gmail [dot] com for anyone who wishes to contact and speak with me to share notes.