Silk Reeling in Yang Tai Chi: Instantly Control Opponent's Balance and Transform Their Resistance

[@nvisblfist1]

Again a great illustration. I tell my students that everyone of my opponents are stronger and faster than I am, even a child. This helps me avoid using external strength. I was working with a 300 pound guy today and he was surprised at how I could move him with light touch. Watching you lets me know that I am on a good path at learning how these energies work.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Awesome! Moving someone that big with a light touch is a great way to help him open his mind to the possibilities beyond size and external force! You are definitely on a nice path. ☯️🙌

[@nvisblfist1]

@@phoenixmountaintaichi His eyes were really opened as I was also able to take the weight behind his punches with light touch.

[@nathanielbrundige5982]

I can't wait for the next video. Thank you!

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

The next video in this series will discuss silk reeling and Fajin, in application and in push hands. It should be pretty interesting! It should come out in a week or two. 🙌

[@congamike1]

This and a bunch of these videos are exciting demonstrations. Now I am looking for the tutorials; got any?

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Totally! I have tutorial videos from really beginner to really advanced. Where would you like to start? 😃

[@gregcrandell8325]

Another great video! Exercises for developing An and seizing please.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Yes! That topic will be explored in great depth in the near future. 😃

[@AK_UK_]

Just another question 🙋... When connecting someone's center - how is it done? Again I seen this on other martial arts but they can never explain how - it just seems that you visualise it, and the body followed automatically!...?

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

When using the fascia, it's like feeling how the skin and fascia is connected through the body, like a fishing line when you feel the weight and movement of the fish. When using Yi awareness, it's like an empathy, a caring about the opponent, like "I wonder if my friend is sad?" "I wonder what their feet feels?"

[@AK_UK_]

I've seen this practice in aikido and even BJJ - they say it is not a heavy touch, but just a light one. But why this philosophy - why can't a child pull your arm with ease? Secondly, Have physios discoverer this? What's the science behind this ability to move someone with their fascia? Any articles you could refer me to? Another brilliant demonstration

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Yes you can find aikidokas and skilled grapplers using this method. A child can indeed pull your arm with ease if their intent is in the right place. Instinctively, one tends to pull on another person's mass, try to lever their weight somehow, or crank and rotate their joints. To perform this silk reeling, your intent is instead directed to glide the superficial fascia layer. It takes practice to make this mindset shift. Famous master and military general Li Jingling said "to master Tai Chi you must not use even the slightest bit of brute force, and invest in loss until you succeed." This method can indeed be seen in physio, in the method called Neurodevelopmental Technique by Bertha Bobath. They talk about how loading and unloading the body, facilitating body awareness with gentle pressure, and guiding the body's muscles activity with light touch, can produce benefits to help people learn, grow strong, and overcome pathologies such as cerebral palsy. You can read about this easily online. Interestingly, research trials sometimes find NDT to be ineffective. But with our experience with Tai Chi training, you can imagine how the skill of the healer would matter a lot for the outcome just like it does in Tai Chi, and that the skill may not have been well taught to the people in the studies. If we have time it would be wonderful to collaborate with healers to share each other's insights and raise each other's skill. Thanks for your questions! They really led to some interesting topics of discussion! Keep them coming 😄.

[@AK_UK_]

@@phoenixmountaintaichi I'm honoured to have your reply. Brilliant. I'll check the above mentioned out!

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

@@AK_UK_ awesome! The most related parts from NDT is what they call facilitation, in which light touch leads the desired movement or muscle activity. The other part is PNF, where you provide resistance in a direction so they can easily use their muscles to resist you. That's like anti-taichi, where you draw out their strength and resistance!