Peace

Principle:  Emptiness:  Reducing Physical Tension: Negative Positive

At the beginning stages of Taiji, Sifu Chen taught emotional and psychological self-defense. His point was that the mind could not empty if the student was emotionally or psychologically stressed. It was under attack from negative energy. He recommended employing the basic principles to change negative situations to positive ones. His process utilized the unconscious.

He could not tell students what to do in a given negative situation. Still, he exposed them to the antidote for negativity. He gave them the principles to address their circumstances if they were willing to apply the second principle, get out of their own way by relaxing, and the third principle, "lose to win."

He used this diagram to explain his point: Standing still was equal to being inflexible and stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or choose a different course of action. Those who remain obstinate will encounter negativity as a natural course since circumstances change. However, flexible, compliant behavior allowed students to maintain their connection to positivity and had the added benefit of emptying the mind.

Furthermore, unknown to the student, Sifu's recommendation to use the second and third principles was not only to empty the mind but to provide access to emotional, psychological, and physical armor against negativity, the first energy of the Thirteen Methods, Peng; more on this later.