Your opponent senses what you want and resists you with all his might.
You push harder, he pushes back just as hard. If it keeps going, you'll both live out the absurd Chinese parable: the unstoppable spear finally meets the unbreakable shield.
By the way, did you know that the Chinese word for “contradiction” (矛盾, máodùn) literally means “spear–shield”? Stunning, isn't it?
From here on, further force makes no sense. The only question is which of you will realize this first. You are both too absorbed in the fight. Each of you fiercely believes: “Just a little more, and he will crack.”
Sadly, chance now rules. Maybe he backs off. Maybe you do. In the wild, there is another outcome: when both are exhausted, a new predator appears and, without effort, takes double prey.
The exit is simple: provoke your opponent into desperate resistance, and then suddenly switch the direction of force to the opposite one. If you were pushing him hard, sharply pull him toward you. And vice versa.
So stupid. And so clever. That’s why it works.
There is one nuance: you cannot fake the first phase. He must believe that, like Cortés, you have burned your ships.
In other words, you must first create the "spear-shield" contradiction inside yourself, not just endure it, but dose and direct it.
Jiu-jitsu is precious because this insight enters convincingly through the body.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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