Combat Tai Chi Chuan

Here are some excerpts from Peter Lim copied below. The point is responding appropriately to the situation. These fighting principles can also be applied to rhetoric, which is preferred to avoid a physical confrontation. But again, the appropriate level of fighting words depends on the level of your opponent's skill. Thus per the principles below there are times when attack is necessary. The wisdom is in in knowing from long practice when that is and how to use it appropriately.

On a personal note, after long Tai Chi training most of my physical and verbal confrontations in life have been resolved using defensive maneuvers that redirected and neutralized the attack. I have never had to use strongly harmful attacks physically, though on a few occasions with highly skilled fighters I did have to use strikes and throws that caused minor injury. 

Rhetorically I am now in a fight with fascists that requires stronger language and tactics in order to move a wider audience to understand the nature of the situation, as well as to motivate us to verbally fight and vote against them to decrease their power in government and business. Following Tai Chi morality and principles, the aim is to prevent a physical war. Lesser rhetorical tactics have proven ineffective. The case as it is now demands much stronger narrative tactics given the level of fascism, and their highly skilled and well-funded propaganda machine, that is threatening our very democracy and well being.

From Lim:

"Above all, Taijiquan exponents are encouraged to be moral people. A sense of righteousness, chivalry, kindness, compassion, nobility and being a benefit to society should always be the code of conduct for a Taijiquan practitioner."

"The aim of Taijiquan as a martial art is to stop violence conclusively without recourse to more violence, most of the time the violence is redirected against itself or rendered ineffectual. Hence Taijiquan exponents usually just overpower their opponents by turning their own violence against themselves, educating them rather than hurting them."

"Can Taijiquan be used as an attacking art? Yes, but violence should only be the last recourse, never the first. [...] There are situations where the skills and principles above require some augmentation to make them even more effective. This is usually where the opponent's skill level is high enough so that an effective counter is not possible using less injurious means. With such situations stronger discouragement is required and to cater for such eventualities."