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excerts from the book ( Learning Tai Chi )
If, like me, your skill and emotional maturity don't guarantee that you can live up to such lofty levels, I recommend the t'ai chi tactic of attacking as you defend.
As a martial art, t'ai chi is difficult to learn because it demands the ability to start after your opponent but still get there first in terms of redirecting his or her energy while adding your own ten ounces" to it.
Unfortunately, anxiety over doing things correctly, especially when it affects one's ability to stop aggression, often leads to trying to guess what the other person's moves will be. Trying to second-guess an opponent's moves will play into the hands (and feet) of an experienced brawler or sophisticated fighter who can change his rhythm and intensity as necessary.
While it seems aggressive, this is a lesser manifestation of not getting hit. By causing pain or inflicting a justifiable amount of damage as you neutralize an attack, you increase your own margin of safety by encouraging the attacker to decide-immediately-that he's better off going elsewhere with his aggression.