In Enter the Dragon, when asked what style he practised Bruce Lee responded with the title of this piece. His reference being SunZi who stated that the ultimate skill in battle was the ability to win without actually having to fight. Gengiz Khan was a master of this having created an aura of invincibility and terror that reduced any opposition to abject fear and thus would surrender without a fight.
The interesting point is that the Khan had to demonstrate his fighting supremacy and utter ruthlessness first before he was able to win without fighting. He wasn't bluffing and everybody knew he wasn't bluffing.
Not being graced with the reputation of the redoubtable Khan, or any other invincible warrior, I have nevertheless attempted to follow this path. Although I can fight I really have no desire to do so , which is the antithesis of my position when I was in the flush of my youth.
There is a tale of a lowly Japanese Tea Maker who had the unfortunate mishappenstance of insulting a Samurai. The Samurai demanded satisfaction for this offence and told the Tea Maker to meet him at dawn the next day for a duel to settle the issue. The Tea Maker was terrified but he knew that he had better turn up otherwise there could be dreadful consequences for his entire family. He had never held a sword before so went to a local school and explained his predicament saying that if he was to die he would at least like to hold the sword properly. The swordmaster gave him a sword but quickly realised that it would not be possible to even get him up to the basic proficiency in the time available. He asked the Tea Maker if he could perform the Tea Ceremony for him. Once The Tea maker had finished the Swordmaster told him that he should arrive for the duel just before dawn and perform the Tea Ceremony with the sword by his side so that he could face death calmly and without fear. The Tea Maker did as instructed. When the Samurai arrived he saw the Tea Make performing the Ceremony , considered the situation then turned around and walked away.
The reason the Samurai walked away was that he could see that the Tea Maker had entered that state of being where he was one with the moment and was unconcerned with living and dying. An opponent like this is one to be respected and not to be taken on lightly.
Our aim in Taijiquan is to attain this state where we are at one with the moment so that we can act without thought in accordance with the situation.
It is a truism that if you are afraid of being hit you will be hit. This is caused by your fear getting the better of you , making you tense up and not perform to the best of your ability. Fear of failure makes you worried whether your techniques will work so you either don't use them or don't do them properly.
The only way to have confidence in your ability to use your techniques is to continuously practise them in a variety of situations so that they can be used without thought. The mind has also to be trained to remain calm and unruffled under stress conditions and this is aided by the knowledge that your skills and abilities are up to the task in hand.
Thus to be able to win without fighting you must have excellent Kung Fu.