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......