22/02/2026
Tai chi & driving.
Recently I've been focussing on the philosophy underlying tai chi practice, & I want to say something today about what we can bring into daily life from tai chi & other disciplines.
Around twenty years ago, for a couple of years, I studied the Japanese martial art of aikido. It was around the time my joints were beginning to rebel, which led to my having to give up aikido, iaijutsu (‘ee-eye-jutsu’, Japanese sword art) & flamenco dance, then tai chi, leading to my discovery of Dr Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Arthritis, which is what I now teach.
One of the things I brought with me from studying aikido was a renewed interest in & sensitivity to ki (‘kee’), or the life-energy. It is equivalent to qi (‘chee’) that we cultivate in the practices of tai chi & qi gong (‘chee-gong’). During my aikido study, I read “Ki in Aikido” by CM Shifflet. It’s a book of exercises to enable us to experience ki, to generate & channel it. In the context of a martial art, sensitivity to ki, the ability to sense another’s energy & its direction, step out of a line of attack, blend with their force & redirect it, are central. It’s similar in tai chi when practised as a martial art.
CM Shifflett introduced me to “aikido driving”. In this art, not just principles but also values from aikido are applied to driving a car. The principle of doing all movements with relaxed concentration, so that I can better judge the movement of other cars & vary my speed & direction in response. “Awase” (‘a-wa-say’) or blending as I join & leave flows of traffic, so that I can reach my destination while playing my part in safely keeping traffic moving.
Driving a car is inherently hazardous. Negotiating traffic, even at moderate speed requires split-second, confident decision-making & fluid, skilled actions with the controls. Even in good conditions, when driving we’re out of contact from the environment in which we evolved so a degree of anxiety is inevitable. Add in the weather, unpredictable, selfish & even aggressive behaviour of many drivers & the emotional response is often fear & anger, which undermine our perceptual ability & our decision-making.
Part of aikido driving is to bring the soft, relaxed, mindful concentration from aikido to the road. When you see someone who has been thrown by an aikido technique spiralling into the air, it has nothing whatever to do with strength. It’s all in the precision of the technique, & a calm, non-emotional, non-aggressive demeanour. If I train myself to base my responses on the conditions on the road, not on emotional reactions, I’m a more skilled & safe driver.
Aikido driving also includes the values of aikido. If another driver is struggling to emerge from a side-turning because of heavy traffic, I have the option of taking them under my protection by stopping & allowing them to go before me, rather than forging ahead. Every time I’m respectful or express generosity while driving, I’m avoiding causing anxiety or frustration in others
This is an example of taking what we learn “on the mat” as we would say in aikido, into real life. It’s the same with tai chi. In tai chi we learn from principles of Taoism (‘dowism’):
“The rigid & stiff will be broken
The soft & yielding will overcome”
Lao Tzu
In tai chi, by making soft curved shapes with the body & by softening our joints, we create a better flow of qi, or life energy. I try to think of this as I drive. Practice during tai chi gives me the ability to concentrate intensely while staying relaxed but alert, & I try to take this into my driving. Staying soft & relaxed helps me make smoother movements with the controls. The enhanced concentration helps me scan the road.
In tai chi we say the mind directs the body’s movements. In other words we practise making every movement conscious, intentional, thought through & planned, even while fluid & relaxed. This habit helps me in the car to think ahead & anticipate the movements of other vehicles at the same time as responding to the current situation. It improves my awase. It also actually increases the pleasure of driving, giving a sense of mastery in a very ordinary activity.
Aikido driving is an alternative way of thinking about being a road-user. Imagine how it could be if every driver thought of driving as a collaboration in which everyone works together to both keep traffic flowing, & to keep everyone safe. What would it be like if every driver treated everyone else with respect. Suppose every driver slowed, paused, protected, when driving among pedestrians. What if everyone had the habit of taking someone else under their protection.
Watch Christian Tissier exert immense force with calm, fluid, blending movement & intent, sometimes barely touching his partner.
Christian Tissier Aikido Bercy 2004
