Point of Force

I once read somewhere that practising taiji is a method to allow you to train yourself to refine the strength and power of your whole body such that it is released in single explosive attacks, as opposed to the strength of only one part e.g are(biceps). It is said that when fighting an experienced martial artist, you can feel that the power of an attack is concentrated while that of a novice is dispersed.

Recently, i started learning the Yang Knife/Sabre Routine. Usually, I use a wooden knife to train and it is rather heavy so some of the cutting motions are a little straining to the wrist. However, i realised that the secret to using the sabre is to know very clearly where you want to project your force to. If you just swing without thinking, you would surely injure the wrist as the force is dispersed and you have to tighten your wrist to grip the knife well to stop the momentum of the knife.But if you swing thinking where exactly you want the power to be, you just have to grip normally. There is almost no strain on the wrist.

I was thinking, since taiji is about refining this force, the power transferred to the knife can actually be regulated and controlled by you. The position of the power through the knife is also determined by you. Thus, this opens many doors to the methods of using the knife.

In the Singapore Zhu Tian Zai Chen Style Competition i saw recently, some guy broke his knife in his routine. My teacher was saying that looking at how he handles his knife, it was obvious that his knife would break. I think it was because of the wrong emphasis of force on the knife that caused the knife to be on the receiving end of the force that caused it to break. The knife has to be a tool that is used to project the force out . It is not the target of the force and power. If the force is not refined enough, the blade of the knife or the whole knife or your hand or your wrist would take the brunt of the force and would shake vigourously or get injured.

In normal barehand routines, this is also important. There is a video clip on Melissa Ng's website where she shows how a punch is used to put out a candle from a distance. I think that may be one of the things that the routines are used for: to learn how to project a force correctly, the taichi way. I wonder what the other things may be hidden in the routines........I am still unable to pick out from the routine the things i learnt from the push hands and vice-versa. It seems i have to work harder......

Tui Shou(Push Hands)

After one year and 2 months of Yang Style Routine practice, i have started learning the art of tui shou (push hands)!

First lesson was full of being pushed around and locked in position by my teacher and classmates. However, it was an enlightening experience! Everyone's hand had a different weight and style. It seems to me that everyone in my class had a different method of shifting back and forth. Quite confusing here, not knowing who to follow....Nevertheless, it was great fun but was also very tiring for the hands and legs. After some time, i ended up moving only my hands.
When i concentrated on listening using the hands, i forget to move my legs and waist. When i concentrated on my waist and legs, i forgot about my hands! Seems like i have some psychomotor problem.

Second lesson: more pushing, pulling and being thrown, less locking. My coordination improved and i could start to feel some of the people's lax in defense and intent of attack. Very fun! Haha! I even managed to lock one guy down twice after feeling for his lax in defense. However, to all the other classmates, most i could find no break. Strange, how does teacher always manage to have them in his grasp????
It is also interesting how different people neutralise or peng. It is only after i chanced upon a video clip of Erle's a few days ago that i realised that some of them are using the yang push hands techniques while others are using yin push hands techniques.

According to Cheng Man Ching, we should invest in loss first and then learn to attack. However, i find this a little selfish. As the people in my class are rather new, some of them are really investing in loss and neglect to push or press when it is their turn to do so. If they don't do that, how is their opponent going to learn neutralisation skills? Thus i feel, when it is time to attack, learn to attack well, when it is time to defend and neutralise, learn to defend and neutralise well. Only then can there be a good exchange of knowledge.

Rounded postures: Full of Chi

It worked! After trying to do the routine with emphasis on qi, i am starting to feel the qi in my arms and hands. Looking closely at the pictures of Cloud Hands in Mastering the Yang Style Taijiquan, i also found some errors in my movements.
The Cloud hands should be rounded and have the idea of Peng(Ward off). This is very important. It should not be done with hands like a car wiper, or with the forearms almost 90 degrees straight. The forearms should be about 30 to 40 degrees from horizontal. I also realised that doing it this way enhances the feeling of the qi running through your hands! Thus giving you a better Peng.
This made me try out the positions and i found out that doing rounded postures create better qi flow.