In my last post, I veered into the territory of FromSoft games as I was talking about Taiji because it was a comparison to something that I loved that did not love me in return. It’s also a reason as to why I love FromSoft games, I do not like most soulslikes. So many soulslikes think that being hard and grueling is all that makes a FromSoft game. Oh, and the current meta for soulslikes is to have the parry/deflect be king. I mentioned that yesterday as well, but I had to restate it because I hate it so much.
What I realized with From games was that I put up with the difficulty and the bullshit because I love the games so much. And what I loved about the games was the exploration, the level design, and the lore (which had to be dug up). I remember in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC (Elden Ring), I was going for ages without finding another bonfire (site of grace). I was out of estus, and I had been dying over and over again. This was only the first section of the DLC, and it was already kicking my ass repeatedly. When I found a door and recognized that it was a shortcut, I actually teared up.
I opneed it with a sense of relief and elation. This was what I lived for in these games, and this was the high point of that session to me. The boss was soon thereafter, and while it was a great boss by design, it did not move me the way finding that shortcut did.
Back to Taiji. The one thing I would say about it is that it’s hard to get into from the start. At least it was for me, and my teacher says that’s not unusual. Especially in America where we are pushed to ‘give 110%’ all the time*. We’re supposed to go hard, and you’re called lazy, a failure, or not trying if you fall slack at any time.
One of the things my teacher emphasizes repeatedly is that Taiji is the lazy person’s martial art. To be honest, that’s why I chose Taiji in the first place as the martial art I wnanted to study. I am not big on exercising or exerting that much energy. There are several reasons for that, including the fact that I have difficulty calibrating when enough is too much.
I tend to be an all-or-nothing kind of person, anyway. Taiji has helped mellow that out, but it’s still something I struggle against. It’s a very American way of thinking, and it’s my mother’s anxiety talking as well.