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It is a God given ability from when we are born we can move stepping jumping , running and the thousands of variations of these. In Tai Chi Chuan we learn to take a closer look at movement and try to control and enrich movement allowing us to among other things interact with others. It starts with the basic drills, hand form pushing hands etc learning to absorb energy and root it to the ground and then return in back to your opponent.

A student  asked me “how can I move smoothly”, my answer: some people have a natural ability to do this and others like myself have to train this. First we need to train the ability to be able to take all our weight on one leg so we are able to move easily from posture to posture. We need to make our steps efficient, when stepping sinking (rooting)  and transferring root from one leg to the other . In this way we can move smoothly and because we have the ability to carry all our weight on one leg our movement will not need to be hurried.

We learn this movement in our hand forms and drills and transfer it to our weapon forms and applications, the concept of this type of movement means we are efficient in both time and energy, giving us the ability to move quickly and efficiently when stepping, turning and delivering force.

Once we understand what is need we are able to go about our work the right way to achieve it.

Not all that shines is gold but sometimes there is a golden Nugget in the strangest of places.

I am a firm believer that to do something well you need to practice and be diligent. I also believe that what we need sometimes comes from sources that seem very different from our own art. In pushing hands I have felt my teacher counter my technique before I had initiated it. This level of sensitivity is what I am trying to achieve through Tango.

Tango lives in the embrace, relaxed you can feel the essence of the movement. Every movement is made up of hundreds of small ones I want to feel them all. Will I be a great Tango Dancer? perhaps not but I will enjoy the journey. http://the-room.org.uk/events/tango-tai-chi-discovery/

I once had a conversation with Dan Docherty  due a to question that someone asked or during a seminar not sure which. What was said by Dan stuck in my mind and has stayed with me ever since moulding the way I think about applications and pushing hands. To remember exactly what he said word for word I can not, so I will not pretend these are his exact words  but my interpretation and the closest recollection of what was said. ‘WHEN I APPLY MY TECHNIQUES I WANT TO USE AS MANY DIFFERENT FORCES AS POSSIBLE”.
At the time my knowledge of Tai Chi was not as it is now and I remember pondering on this statement for many months ,  it had planted a seed that has developed into a greater understanding of movement.
Realising now that  in every movement there are many more smaller movements that contribute to the whole.

I have looked at many applications and found and practice many ways of implementing this; some techniques both in pushing hands and self defence require one movement with several different forces used simultaneously. However the ones that seem most effective are more like a continuous string of forces bonded together by the opponent’s reactions.

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Wudang Tai Chi Chuan Short form will captivate and consume your mind: with movements stimulating and relaxing your body through this demanding moving mediation. The Hand form is considered one of  the corner
stones  and is the foundation of  which to build a healthy life style and greater understanding of your body.

 

Sometimes, I feel students believe that application and pushing hands are somehow separate, something to be regarded as different. This is not the case, they are the same. It’s just that one is more obviously evident than the other. All our pushing hands drills teach important aspects of the techniques required to develop a good understanding of pushing hands and application.

In applications (some more than others), when you counter, it will require a prolonged contact, eg: while stroking. This is in fact in the realm of push hands because sensitivity is a big part of pushing hands development. Push hands gives us the ability to change. This is more important than the counter as it determines what comes next.

In the system I practice we have a technique called “Beginning  Style” where both our hands are raised. An example for the use of this technique is when an opponent tries to grab for your neck with both hands. Here we can use a pang upward diversion done in a circular motion, with perhaps a backward step to change the distance between you and your opponent. We then immediately strike, usually in and around the chest area in practice, but in a real situation we can strike anywhere we choose.

Where is the sensitivity in this?
First there is the Pang adhesion in an upward and circular motion, which will divert an attack and draw the opponent on to your counter attack. Then there is the strike with a flat hand. With this strike, it is not so easy to deliver “full body force” to the opponent, as the exact distance is not known. (It would be nice if they just stood still!) 😉 However, this can be overcome if you lead a little with your fingers, thus knowing the exact distance to your opponent. This allows you to deliver your technique more effectively. If your technique is done correctly, the opponent will be moving into your counter attack (which is difficult for them to counter) and your strike will be added to their body weight for maximum effect.

Strategy
Sometimes we may decide use a slight delay (while in Peng Adhesion) before delivering our counter, allowing our opponent to start to correct themselves from a forward motion to a backward motion. This then allows us to change from a strike to a push, if we desire this effect.
In this case we must now be mindful that once we are striking or pushing, our opponent may also have the opportunity to counter.[fvplayer src=’http://tigerguardingthegate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Peng-Adhesion.m4v’ width=480 height=272]

Here is an example of the beginning stye, in this attack we are trying to strike the opponent as he is still moving towards us, maximising our counter. This gives the opponent little chance of countering and no real chance of preparing his body to receive our strike.

 

[fvplayer src=’http://tigerguardingthegate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/striking.m4v’ width=480 height=272]Here, I am demonstrating 3 striking methods. The first, I believe is the least effective, as deep strike penetration is not so easy to achieve. Attacks to the face would be more effective with this striking method and would make it easier for multiple strikes. The second is a push and will always be most effective when the push is done in the same direction as the opponent is moving, this is often the most dramatic looking. The third strike method is my personal favourite, the most effective but also the hardest to achieve. The force needs to penetrate through the person rather than cause movement. From a distance it can look quite tame, but when delivered correctly, this strike can devastate as most of your force will be absorbed by the opponent.