Some (but not all) practitioners want to develop a higher level of skill in Tai Chi. In order to do this, one must develop Listening Energy, known as Tin Jin (aka Ting Jing, or Teng Jin) . Listening Energy is more than just using our ears to hear sounds. One needs to be able to interpret cognitively what has been, or is being said. You must also pay attention to, and respond (not necessarily verbally) to, the message.
Speaking of messages, you more than likely have heard your instructor(s) repeatedly say to relax! Easier said than done, right? Did you ever wonder why relaxation is important in Tai Chi and/or Qigong? When you relax, your attention increases, and it leads to better listening. You also need to eliminate (or at least reduce) your tension. Bottom line: you need to be relaxed in order to listen.
So, how do we improve our listening? There are several ways and/or methods, actually. We can listen with our eyes and with all of our other senses.
One method is through Static Qigong postures, where we feel, instead of think. We feel the earth, our skin, our environment, our organs, and we become aware of any tension in our bodies. We examine our feelings, without just thinking about them. When we think too much, our mind is not still, and we become easily distracted. When we are distracted, we are not listening. Thinking about other things and “random chatter” will have a negative effect on your Tai Chi as well. Simply put, we can’t listen and think at the same time.
We need to accept any emotions that arise without labeling and, without trying to solve or resolve them. Just feel and acknowledge the emotions and sensations. Relax and they will pass! Your listening energy will increase as you become calmer, your Qi will remain settled, and you will become more alert. You will also become ”less reactive” and able to cope with difficult situations, both emotionally and physically, when you encounter them. This will be beneficial whether you encounter an opponent, a friend, acquaintance, or a family member, etc.
A hands-on method to develop and improve our listening skills, is through Push-Hands. Push-Hands requires your full concentration and attention to the movements. Practice will also calm your reactions, unless you want to end up on your butt! Areas that you need to focus on: your point of contact, any change in pressure exerted, the smoothness of the movements (or lack thereof), as well as, the force, weakness or “structural errors” of your opponent. As you focus, your goal is to sense where they are going to move next.
Let’s talk about Jin:
Jin is often defined as Qi that is directed by the mind intention. Jin is also feedback for your mind, that helps you to be aware of your senses and/or feelings. Listening Energy is usually practiced when you have an opponent (or just are in contact with another person) that you are attempting to hear (read or feel). You want to know what they are thinking about doing, or attempting to do, and their direction. This is an impossible task (or skill) without development of Listening Energy. In this blog, I will use the skill “Listening Energy” or “Listening”, instead of Jin (or Jing).
You can practice Listening on yourself in order to check and/or correct your own posture or balance. It can also be used to improve your breathing, flow of Qi, relaxation, or to provide a way to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses. Unless we understand ourselves, how can we understand and listen to our another person. Those other, non-opponent people may include your spouse, children, friends, boss, etc. This is a very handy skill to have in your daily life!
Listening importance in martial arts!
When Tai Chi is used as a “martial art”, there is a strong emphasis on listening energy. “Listening” is our way of “hearing” our opponent’s energy, intentions, and movements. In turn, we can then adapt our actions in order to neutralize their attack effectively and efficiently. If a situation arises where you must truly defend yourself, you must continue to listen and feel, without becoming distracted. Staying relaxed, calm, and centered improves your ability to “hear” all the important information, so that you can respond in an integrated and appropriate fashion.
Our sense of touch, through any contact point on our opponent’s body, is one of the important ways that we “listen'‘. Developing Listening Energy is done with our sense of touch, not with our ears. You must make contact with your opponent before you can use Listening Energy to determine how much strength is being used, and in which direction it is moving. Without contact, you need to depend on your senses of sight and/or hearing to know when he or she is attacking.
In order to listen, we must move slowly, stick, and follow. We’ve discussed sticking in a past blog and I will address it again in a blog in the near future. When practicing sticking (or even Push-Hands), it can help if you close your eyes in order to sense where your opponent is going, before you follow. If you choose (or must) open your eyes, be sure to focus on your opponent’s upper chest. This will enable you to watch their shoulders and body, without looking around or moving your head. Remember, your aim is to “listen” not watch!
In order to improve our listening skill, we must move slowly, stay soft, and still. As your listening energy improves, you can make the most efficient use of your opponent’s force, while at the same time using as little of yours as possible.
Many new students are skeptical when told that they can “feel or hear” another person. Clear Tai Chi Chuan provides a very good listening practice, (just below) that is really quite simple, but effective.
Person 1 closes their eyes and holds onto the outside of Person 2’s arm. Person 2 tries to strike Person 1 with his or her other arm. The job of Person 1 is to feel and to move once they feel any movement of Person 2’s arm. Person 1 should be able to “feel” this easily. Person 2 should have difficulty hiding their movement and be unable to strike Person 1.
Why we practice:
The more you practice, the more you will refine your “listening energy”, and your ability to “hear” the other person think about moving, before they move. You may eventually be able feel, any and all of the following: their center of gravity, strengths, weaknesses, speed,“structural errors”, any tension, and any vulnerabilities. The information you receive is obviously a great advantage during practice, self-defense, or combat because you want to feel your opponent’s intent in time to “adjust, adapt, and neutralize” any attack. If your skill in listening is weak, your information will be poor and your timing will suffer. You will then become vulnerable to attack.
According to Ken Gullette, there is an old saying in Taiji -- "When my opponent moves, I move faster. When my opponent arrives, I am already there."
That is truly “Listening Energy” at its finest!
PS - Parents of toddlers: wouldn’t it be great to “hear” when they are going to run off and to get there before them?
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