Like a doctor who cures his patients before they get sick. In the Thomas Cleary version of the art of war. A physician in ancient china told a lord who asked him, who is the greatest healer in his family. He said that his eldest brother can  see the “spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape”. And his name never left the house, then there is his elder brother who cures his patients when the sickness is minute, and his name does not leave the neighbourhood. Then there was him who punctures veins, prescribes medicine, and massages skin, his name gets out and his name is heard amongst the lords.

Martial arts in its true sense of combat or self-defence, at its highest level, is when the exponent can apply it without lifting a fist, ideally speaking. Realistically speaking, if you can neutralise your opponent without hurting yourself or the opponent badly, that is a high level. Yang Lu Chan, the founder of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan, was able to neutralise his opponents without hurting them at the highest level of his skill.