I really like this example. It is a perfect example of how Yin and Yang work in a fight.
In this episode, Goku is fighting Tien Shinhan. At the beginning of the video clip included with this blog entry, Goku and Tien face off.
Goku and Tien then begin fighting. They exchange blows in the middle of the ring for the first two thirds of the video.
Then the interesting part begins. Goku takes control of the fight and pushes Tien all the way to the other side of the ring. Tien is right up against the boundaries of the ring, with Goku beating on him trying to knock him out of the ring.
Goku punches and kicks and kicks and punches, but Tien does not go out of the ring. Goku attacks Tien on the edge of the ring for a long time, then Tien counterattacks.
After counterattacking, Tien then begins chasing Goku. Tien chases Goku, who continually flips away, all over the ring.
This entire sequence is an example of Yin and Yang in fighting.
Goku attacks Tien and pushes him back to the edge of the platform. Goku is Yang. Goku is hard and he is on the offensive. Tien is Yin, because he is softer than Goku, and Tien is retreating.
At the edge of the platform, when Goku is trying to knock Tien off of the platform, Tien is using the Yin part of his body, to absorb the hard Yang attacks of Goku. The reason they fight so long at the edge of the platform, is to demonstrate how strong the Yin part of Tien Shinhan’s body is. The Yin part of his body is so strong, he can take a full on attack for what seems like minutes without moving.
What happens when Tien counterattacks is that the energy changes. Goku has used up so much Yang energy that he must rest. Tien has absorbed so much Yang energy from Goku, he is now able to counterattack. Tien is like a spring that Goku pushes on, then the spring bounces back, or Tien bounces back and counterattacks.
The reason it is significant that Tien chases Goku all over the ring with Goku flipping away and not fighting, is to demonstrate that Goku’s Yang power is depleted, and he is using his Yin power to run away. After he run’s away long enough, his Yang power will regenerate so he can defend himself or counterattack.
Tien is able to chase Goku all over the ring, basically because he is using Goku’s energy. Tien sucked the energy out of Goku when Goku attacked him at the edge of the platform. Tien then used the energy he sucked out of Goku, to chase Goku all over the ring.
This really is a good example if you sit and think about it, and think about how you would teach Yin and Yang to children. It is an excellent example for people learning about Yin and Yang.