So it has come to pass. On Friday July 18th, I went with three students to Newport at the invitation of Paul Brewer to encounter his master, Dr. Shen Hong-xun. We arrived when the course had already started. We entered an upstairs hall where Dr. Shen was seated on a podium behind a table, facing his audience; also seated there on his right was a Caucasian gentleman and on his left, Jan Willem Van Overdam, from Holland.
I approached the podium and the room fell silent. I said who I was and indicated that I had the money for the course in my moneybelt (£312 per person i.e. almost £1250). I then spoke in Mandarin to Dr. Shen saying that he had said he had empty force, I told him to use it, because I was coming, again I told him to use it. I then slowly advanced and climbed up on the podium, standing over Dr. Shen. I then poured a bit more than 1 litre of Evian water over his head and shoulders, drenching him. He and Jan Willem raised their hands to try to stop me but were unsuccessful. When the bottle was empty I left with my students. I heard some people hurl imprecations at me. We drove off immediately to avoid any possible conflict.
I know some people were upset at what happened. I know Paul Brewer and others like Jan Willem and I have respect for their Tai Chi Chuan knowledge, to the extent that my actions upset them, I regret it. Dr. Shen, however, has made many claims directly and through his students about his ability to use empty force:-
"Without physical contact, and up to a distance of some metres, a person can feel and receive force created by my movements. This force can push them, make them roll on the ground - - even out of the hall's exit."
Dr. Shen has said people practice Push Hands and San Shou thinking these are Tai Chi fighting methods and goes on:-
"Whether or not the above is correct I do not want to discuss in this article. However, people do understand that everything is constantly evolving, that there is always a development from a basic to a high level and from a high level to an even higher level."
I discussed Dr. Shen's claims with experienced instructors from different schools, we were sceptical as to his ability to use empty force on someone who was not a true believer, we also were somewhat offended by the tone of the claims which seemed to suggest that people like us who didn't employ empty force were at a lower level than those who do. I wrote in to TCC magazine making what I hoped were mildly humorous remarks about the art of Ty-phoo in relation to empty force.
The response to the letter was an invitation from Paul Brewer to me and Rob Morton to attend Dr. Shen's course in Newport. The invitation was accompanied with an article by the Doctor which contained photos of him using empty force to roll a man out of a hall.
I resolved to go to Newport to see if Dr. Shen could do the things he said to me personally. Rob Morton accompanied me with two other students, one of whom is a trained para medic, we brought medical supplies with us in case someone was hurt.
My own position on empty force is that I am sceptical. It is impossible to prove that it doesn't exist. The most that can be done is to show that at a specific time and place in a specific set of circumstances empty force was not used effectively. How to do it ?
I did not want to hit or attack Dr. Shen as he is both older and much smaller than me, but he claimed higher powers than I possess. I looked at the Tao Te Ching; it says:-
"Under Heaven nothing is as soft and submissive as water, yet to attack what is hard and strong, nothing can beat it. For there is nothing with which you can replace it.
The weak overcoming the strong,
the soft overcoming the hard.
Under Heaven there is no-one who does not know of this,
but no-one can do it."
So I did it.
It was evident from Dr Shen's reaction that he did not enjoy being soaked in public and it is possible therefore to infer that if he could have prevented it, he would have. Like God, like many things empty force exists if you believe in it - it exists for you and other true believers not for pagans. I did not feel any empty force from Dr. Shen or anyone else, perhaps I will one day, if I become sensitive enough. I believe that Dr. Shen has a wealth of knowledge and experience in Tai Chi Chuan and other aspects of Chinese culture which he is able and willing to impart to others. I don't believe that he can use empty force on me. I am a pagan.