The Tao of TI: Doing by Not Doing

By Terry Laughlin


Julie Friedeberger posted this excerpt from the Tao Te Ching on the Discussion Forum:”Practise non-action. Work without doing. See simplicity in the complicated. Achieve
greatness in little things. In the universe the difficult things are done as if they are
easy; In the universe great acts are made up of small deeds.”

My curiosity piqued, I googled the phrase “Tao and Doing by Not Doing” and found this on Wikipedia (emphasis mine):

Wu wei is an important tenet of Taoism that involves knowing when to act and when not to act. Another perspective to this is that “Wu Wei” means natural action – as planets revolve around the sun, they “do” this revolving, but without “doing” it; Or as trees grow, they “do,” but without “doing.” Thus knowing when (and how) to act is not knowledge in the sense that one would think “now” is the right time to do “this,” but rather just doing it, doing the natural thing.

The literal meaning of Wu Wei is “without action” and is often included in the paradox wei wu wei: “action without action” or “effortless doing.” The aim of wu wei is to achieve a state of perfect equilibrium, or alignment with the Tao, and as a result, obtain an irresistible form of soft and invisible power.

It’s clear that TI has progressed inexorably over the years to where it is now an aquatic expression of Tao or Wu Wei. When one considers the nature of water – elusive, unstable and uncooperative; both resisting and yielding – it’s obvious how essential Wu Wei is to swimming well. And then there are the recent revelations (from DARPA engineers conducting research for a swim foil for the Navy Seals) that “typical” human swimmers are only 3% energy efficient. When 97% of your energy is diverted into creating drag, waves and turbulence, with only 3% converted into forward movement, the case for wu wei swimming becomes utterly compelling.

I decided to inventory our catalog of freestyle focal points – working from leading to trailing edge of the swimming body – and list those that have clear links to wu wei – doing by not doing. Here goes:

• “Hang” your hand – relaxed not stiff.

• Hold – don’t pull – the water. (Also “sample” the water; “gather moonbeams.”)

• Minimize pressure of hand and forearm on the water.

• Hang-Release-Relax your Head – rather than “position it.”

• Cooperate with gravity (sink into balance) rather than fight it.

• Take the path of least resistance, rather than power through the water.

• Alternate streamlined-right and streamlined-left body positions, rather than pull and kick.

• Propel with gravity and body mass (weight shifts) – rather than muscular effort.

• Release from the armstroke with an “elbow circle,” rather than “push past your hips.”

• Recover with a “marionette arm.”

• Think of the kick as “active streamlining.”

And moving from TI technique focal points to TI training philosophy:

• Decrease energy waste, instead of increasing energy supply.

• Practice! Don’t “work out.”

• Let conditioning “happen” while you practice efficient swimming.

• Pursue Flow States instead of “Pushing through Pain Barriers.”

• What feels good, is good.

• Swim fast rather than hard.

• Speed is a product of higher level coordination, not swimming hard.

I’ve probably missed as many TI-Tao connections as I’ve listed (not even considering focal points for the other three strokes); What are examples of wu wei in your practice or thinking?

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