“Life in a valley
doesn’t die, for here is like the womb of a mother. Continuously replenishing
itself, never depleting itself.”
A valley can harbour all kinds of plants and
animals, as well as chi, because it
is empty and silent, welcoming everything that enters and lives in its space.
Like for the rest of Mother Earth’s creation, generations follow each other,
one generation giving birth to the next.
The neutralization skill of pushing hands in
Taichi can be compared to the void of a valley. Body, mind and spirit are relaxed;
true capabilities remain hidden. When practicing and unceasingly yielding to our
partners’ attacks, over time the range of the neutralization skill broadens, the
skill of tingjing (listening to the
opponent) becomes more acute. Eventually, even brute force can be rendered void
and the art of “softness overcoming hardness” can be reached.