Being a Jaguar

"If the opponent's movement is quick,
then quickly respond;
if his movement is slow,
then follow slowly."

"It is said if the opponent does not move, then I do not move.
At the opponent's slightest move, I move first."
--Wu Yu-hsiang

These quotes comes from the book The Art of Learning and relates to the ideas behind Tai Chi. Do not waste energy or movement, but still remain in control.

With these quotes comes a story about José from the Amazon. The jaguar is a stealth hunter in the Amazon, who few people ever see (if you do it's probably too late). One night José was walking through the woods and Jaguar came down from the trees. Knowing that if he ran the beast would kill him, he threw his bags forward and held his machete in front of him. The cat paced back and forth in front of José for 15 minutes keeping its yellow eyes fixated. José started sweating and then crying. Finally, no longer able to handle the wait, he began to back up. The jaguar saw an opening and attacked. José was mauled, but his life was saved by two villagers who heard the noise of the attack. They did not get a clean shot on the cat as it slipped back into the darkness. After the incident, José went mad. They say his spirit was broken.