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Wu-wei is the Chinese terms used to describe this sub-principle. The concept of non-action, wu wei, has been around the Asian martial disciples amounting to thousands of years. When defining such a term one first looks at the obvious, the characters/ideograms used to write the term, i.e., The characters/ideograms mean "idleness; inactivity." The first character means, "Nothingness, none; ain't; nothing; nil; not," the second character means, "do; change; make; benefit; welfare; be of use; reach to; try; practice; cost; serve as; good; advantage; as a result of."
The mind of wu wei provides a means by which martial systems train the mind. The training results in a mind, wu wei, that "flows like water," "reflects like a mirror," and "responds like an echo." The Japanese term for these characters/ideograms is "mui," meaning idleness; inactivity.
Wu wei means "without action," "without effort," or "without control." The full phrase in martial systems is wei wu wei or action without action or effortless doing. We would be best served in martial systems by observing ourselves and our behaviors with full acceptance of ourselves for who we are and therefore release any conscious control over our lives. In martial systems this means, to me, practicing and training to where one's instincts control actions in all beliefs taking the process of thinking and removing it from the actions taken in martial arts, etc. It is making the training and applications as natural to human action as can be achieved. It is the ability achieved to take appropriate actions in any situation with natural action. This makes it even more important that martial systems training be such that it either matches or relates closely to natural action or movement.
Wu wei in martial arts culminates in one catch phrase, “The ideal of perfected action.” Like many aspects of such concepts it defies description or describes as best as possible considering the undefinable meaning attributed to such things as derived from the Ancient Chinese Classics.
Quotes on Wu Wei (authors unknown):
"Knowledge should be seen in terms of the mastery of a set of practices that restructure both one's perceptions and values." - Edward Slingerland, Effortless Action
"An ideal of perfectly skilled action rather than of perfected theoretical knowledge."
"A culmination of knowledge that is represented by an ability to move through the world and human society in a manner that is completely spontaneous and yet still fully in harmony with the normative order of the natural and human worlds - The Dao or "Way." This state of perfection is what will be referred to as "wu-wei [無為]."
"Wu-wei is the technical term the Chinese themselves eventually chose to denote the, "ideal of perfected action."
"Acting effortlessly and spontaneously in perfect harmony with a normative standard and thereby acquiring an almost magical efficaciousness in moving through the world and attracting people to oneself."
"Wu-wei" literally means "in the absence of/without doing" and is often translated as "doing nothing" or "non-action." Wu-wei properly refers not to what is actually happening (or not happening) in the realm of observable action bur rather to the state of mind of the actor. Not to what is or is not being done but to the phenomenological state of the doer."
"Not a basic form of action, but the mental state of the actor - the spiritual state that obtains at the very moment of action. A state of personal harmony in which actions flow freely and instantly from one's spontaneous inclinations - without the need for extended deliberation or inner struggle - and yet none the less perfectly accord with the dictates of the situation at hand, display an almost supernatural efficacy, and harmonize with the demands of conventional morality."
"Perfect knowledge of the reality of the situation, perfect efficaciousness (capacity or power to produce a desired effect) and the realization of a perfect economy of energy."
"Unlike instinctual or merely habitual forms of actions, wu-wei calls for a high degree of concentration on the part of the agent and allows for a considerable amount of flexibility of response."
Another Perspective on Dao:
The way is wu-wei is the way or the Dao. An enigmatic way of thinking that came from ancient Chinese way of thinking. My recent studies has emboldened my thoughts on wu-wei and the way as we may speak of it in the practice of martial systems. In my attempts to further my understanding of the cultural belief systems that caused such martial disciplined practices it has come to my mind that our perceptions of the "Way" may be misaligned much like many factions of ancient Chinese thought conflicted in their beliefs and understandings to the Way and wu-wei.
I quote, "A model of skill-mastery in any form provides one access to a type of realism that differs significantly from - and lacks some of the weaknesses of - the sort of realism found in Cartesian representational theories of knowledge. The realism that governs the skill of martial systems, for instanced, is thus reflected in the fact that techniques (tactics and strategies) can be applied well or poorly, and the difference between these two types of techniques is observable in the material realm. When a technique cannot fulfill its intended use because its fundamentals do not apply properly or because it fails to fulfill its purpose when used can be said to have been applied by a bad martial artist. One's embodied mind becoming adequate in martial fundamentals to apply technique with fundamental principles is thought to be evinced by an apparent ease of action (wu-wei) and the possession of a sort of spiritual power with observable effects."
This quote as a stand alone does not adequately convey the connections of wu-wei with the way/dao and with martial systems, i.e., a physical discipline used to provide access to a type of realism that connects through patterns, rhythms, and realism with nature and its patterns, rhythms and realism that is called Heaven (another term that is perceived to mean nature itself).
In martial systems we strive to reach an ideal level of mastery and by this we can achieve wu-wei but the Way and wu-wei encompass more than mere physical master for it requires a spiritual master as well that speaks to nature's human virtue. If the proper cultural belief system is not understood and applied then the martial system in question is often practiced by one who may not be of moral spirit. This context is taught by the Way and wu-wei so that the entire martial system or any discipline can be a representation of the perfection that already resides in nature, or heaven, thus through perfection of skill you become a fully realized human being who embodies the way in all the actions and deeds done in living as a human connected to nature or Heaven.
Nature (Heaven), the Way, Wu-wei, and virtue are intimately linked with one another to form the way of wu-wei or the wu-wei of the way. This is a complex context that warrants further study so that one can achieve the full spectrum of wu-wei, the way and master of a physical discipline. The order of which is irrelevant since it is the holistic wholehearted one that teaches us wu-wei-the-way-the-dao.
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