Tai Chi Fighting Application: The Art of Breaking Structure

[@gregoryfromcali]

The interesting thing about the "snap down" to ankle pick is that a lot of push hands players will stay front weight which you never want to do against a wrestler and of course it makes not getting pushed easy but when push hands becomes competitive you lose the essence. Good on you for allowing your students to do applications on you. I have seen teachers (in the US) too proud for that which is very unfortunate because the students don't learn.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Really good point about Tai Chi push hand competition vs what you would want strategically in a real wrestling match or fight! I quite enjoy my students catching me successfully with their applications especially in sparring and push hands. It makes me happy as a teacher to see their growth, and it makes me happy as a practitioner to discover new openings or weaknesses that I can address! How would I ever improve if no one ever pointed out my flaws ha ha. 😃🙏

[@bradleycuster7735]

Really liked the subtitle comments. Added information as well as thoughtful and contemplative. Thank you so much for this.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Yes aside from anything I’m sharing, I think all of you have your own experience and valuable wisdom, that when we ask certain questions, can totally come out. And that’s what makes all of us grow together right? 😃🙏

[@nathanielbrundige5982]

Fantastic information, looking forward to incorporating these techniques.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Have fun trying it out! 😃

[@kingofaikido]

Yes, you're right on Chester. Up-down, use the back of the neck to connect with his back. You can use both hands circling the same side or 'wave hands like clouds' too. Mo might need to gauge distances a bit better. He nearly got his groin crushed..! Luckily not, but just a little closer...it would have been 'oops!' Totally loved the Jenga analogy. You're such a great teacher, Brother..! So quick, so clear. Anybody with a strong interest in taichi would progress rapidly under your care. I keep saying this but I'm jealous of your ability to teach so well. Nice application, useful for other sports people, wrestlers included. And the link with aikido was also correct. I see you're a diligent student in that sense, mindfully interested in the mechanics and histories of the other related arts as well. Like always, great video..!

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Haha thank you for the kind comment. Me being a “diligent student” might be a nice way of saying “total martial arts fanatic” haha. Cheers! 😃🙌

[@petertuongnguyen7999]

❤ Super awesome! Thank you.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Thank you for your kind comment! 😃🙏

[@ziggydog5091]

The key to application in Yang style is stepping, that is why teachers always talk about the eight energies, they never talk about the five steps.

[@ziggydog5091]

Always appreciate your content, you show many things my teachers demonstrated when I was a young man. Thank you.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

That is super true and important! There are so many things that can be dealt with simply with stepping, and so many techniques that are more effective with the right stepping energy. What are your favorite insights about them? 😃🙏

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

@@ziggydog5091I’m glad that these videos can rekindle the fond memories of your teacher. I have many fond memories of teachers that sometimes pop up as you guys say things or ask questions, reminding me of moments in my training. 😃🙏

[@ziggydog5091]

My teachers were all extremely pragmatic men, they simply wanted to practice and teach what was true honestly. I aspire to follow them in this, traditional Chinese martial organizations are like families, and so seeing these things again is like opening an old family album and seeing the pictures and feeling the memories. I do Yang style, but my teacher practiced Chen and Wu style as well as Yang style, much of his “applied” lessons seemed to combine and transcend the individual family systems much like yours.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

@@ziggydog5091Yes! Totally like opening up family photo albums. 😃 In teaching I think we are often pulled between passing on the established art, which is like the cultural heritage, and sharing our personal experience and expression of it, which is the artistic part of the art. Because it’s only art when it comes from within you. Otherwise it’s a representation, a copy. So your teachers shared their culture and their own art with you. And what will be your art that you pass down, that becomes a part of the culture in its own unique way? Something fun to consider. 😃🙏

[@bajuszpal172]

Anyway, Master, having shown us the three circles applied either single or double or even tripple actions are realy excellent. My appreciation. Best regards. Paul, 69

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Thank you for your kind words Paul! 😃🙏

[@lsporter88]

It was good that you mentioned using these techniques on someone wearing armor. That is indeed what Aiki-Jitsu was used for on the battlefield. I'm pretty positive that those techniques were influenced by Arts like Tai Chi. I often though that the Two Arts of Aikido and Tai Chi should be paired for greater effect. Great video.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

I have definitely learned some valuable lessons things watching and studying Aikido and Aikijutsu! 😃🙏

[@highdefinitionarchitecture8208]

Another great video in which I’m sure everyone found something to learn from and something new to be excited by. For me is was the siking part. From what I can understand you can only bring him to the ground only of you distort his structure. Did I understand it right? Thank you for another gem 🙏🏼

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

You’re right! If his structure is flawless our down force will go right through it to the ground, harmlessly. You’re probably very familiar with that idea professionally. 😃🙏

[@LightsOnMultiMediaMindArts]

I wish I'd known this years ago when I used to do push hands quite a bit. I was pretty good at not getting pushed, but not terribly good at uprooting my partner.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Yes I think a lot of people have that experience where through Tai Chi they learned how to be steady and connected and soft to receive force effectively, and received instruction regarding how to issue force or affect the other person in a less complete way. One of the elements of our foundation training is to first focus on how to affect the other person so you learn how to apply yourself and experience how skilled persons can apply their force on you, and then learning to defend that while being relaxed and stable. I think that leads to a good balance of outcomes for everyone. Does that make sense to you? 😃🙏

[@kingofaikido]

@@phoenixmountaintaichi Your attention to detail and your well rounded knowledge of realistic and possible scenarios would be invaluable to any taichi teacher or student used to only a limited set of responses and drills. Students taught in the traditional old school taichi schools would benefit the most from being able to ask questions and get them answered..! Thanks for starting this channel..!

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

@@kingofaikidothank you for being a part of our channel! 😃🙏

[@LightsOnMultiMediaMindArts]

@@phoenixmountaintaichi It does. Another issue with some teachers is that they learned only the appearance of the form and endlessly drill their students on the particulars of a given posture because they know nothing else to teach. Or they have learned some of the higher levels but use terms ambiguously either to appear superior or because they really don't understand the terms themselves. What I find so useful is your systemizing of the concepts and terms. You put it together and take pains to explain it without ambiguity.

[@robertjordon1984]

Very nice demo Sifu. That was a nice move you did at the 3.50 mark when Moe tried pulling you into himself but instead he ended up being pulled into you or was forced to leap foward. What technique did you do there? I was just wondering is it possible to float someone up if opponent has firmly planted their feet in the same way you need to put someone on tiptoe in order to sink them?

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Thank you! That is still the same technique. When they plant and pull they have a line of force through their body. When you recognize that and pull that through their fascia, their force is used against them to cause them to essentially pull themselves toward you! This is the foundation of Fascia Mastery. It’s very useful when people get stubborn and committed to a path of force. Does that make sense? 😃🙏

[@robertjordon1984]

@@phoenixmountaintaichi Thank you Sifu, I understand it theoretically but not sure I really do so I will have to take your advice onboard and try it out out in practice. So will have to get back to you to determine whether or not I could pull it off (no pun intended). It looks like such cool technique.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

@robertjordon1984haha yes! Try it! That is the process through which information becomes knowledge, and then skill. 😃🙌

[@robertjordon1984]

@@phoenixmountaintaichi Ok I tried it on somebody who was shorter than me and less heavier, my nephew, and I was song enough such that he could pull me quite a lot if I allowed him to, just to make sure I was neutral enough not to use Li. So what I did was when he pulled me of my balance I felt the pull on my body and when it felt like his strength of pull was close to its zenith I simply put my intent back and he says he was forced to to go into me, I even managed to do it somewhat with a small amount of his pressure to pull me into him after a while. After a while he could sense what I was doing so he ended up trying to go in a circle to direct his line of force at a different angle to my body. What I did to combat this was I had to move my back foot and reposition my body so I maintained enough integrity of connection for the chi, I guess, to be able to mobiise with my intent to put it back and pull him into me instead of him pulling me.off balance. I dont know if I was using facial mastery techniques because I was simply relying on feeling his force on my body but wasn't really feeling his fascial network except for his pull on my arm. Also I I had to sink my kua on the front foot and grip the ground lightly with my toes, when I didnt do this the technique didn't work so I'd be interested on your thoughts on why this is. I think this means my front foot was Heavy and my root was in this foot? whereas the back was not heavy but light so yi qi can flow freely through it.. Actually thinking about it now I probably could have utilized a scenario, which I didn't try before but will in future, whereby as I keep the front kua sunk and pull him into me using intent I can then straighten the back foot which will then launch into ward-off as I believe the force is borrowed cross-body wise or diagnoally and then comes back the same root to butt them away.

[@cplim4842]

Can you kindly explain what you mean by fascia??????

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Good question! Fascia is the connective tissue that connects our whole body together from head to toe. When I say use the fascia, I am feeling a pull from one end to the other. By pulling on this connection you can misalign their force and their response, while affecting their balance. Check out this video that focuses on explaining this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpOle6uKdsiUkLMsi=3gHBarhw_IvAhJQ3 Thank you for your effort to understand the terminology. 😃🙏

[@cplim4842]

Please kindly comment on my following explanation on how people become disoriented by me. "When a person initiates a movement. From the very moment they start to the end of the intended movement, they have no control from start to finish. Some physiology textbooks describe this as a ballistic movement. Just like someone starts to throw a ball. The whole movement of throwing the ball from start to finish is a ballistic movement. I interrupted their movement as soon as they triggered their ballistic movement. They feel disoriented because their end point is no longer where it should be." I suppose I am sensing their 'ballistic movement' by connecting to their 'fascia'. Please note that I continue to disorient them when they are continuously trying to recover from the first disorientation.

[@TerriHetrick-vu5tb]

So the fascia is what? The balance? Or is it his weight or is it his stance or some such, im new to all this but the video was very well explained and executed several times to where i understand the necessary points and all, im just slightly confused about the terminology at this point. Thanks!

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Good question! Fascia is the connective tissue that connects our whole body together from head to toe. When I say use the fascia, I am feeling a pull from one end to the other. By pulling on this connection you can misalign their force and their response, while affecting their balance. Check out this video that focuses on explaining this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpOle6uKdsiUkLMsi=3gHBarhw_IvAhJQ3 Thank you for your open mind and effort to understand the terminology. 😃🙏

[@gregoryfromcali]

Taijiquan is not a competitive sport but with training & understanding can be used for self-defense. I knew a small lady in NYC who was taught to hold the ball where you make a frame with your arms extended but your elbow are bent like holding a beach ball. A man tried to kidnap her by forcing her into a car she "held the ball," made a frame & screamed. The man gave up & drove away. I have done all kinds of martial arts and all have their own unique skill set. In the end it is the person & not the style you are fighting.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Great points! It is indeed about the person. And with the martial art that you chose, what will you do, what will you express? That expression, unique to you, is what makes this a Martial ART. Thank you for sharing the story! I am glad for her success and wellbeing. 😃🙏

[@gregoryfromcali]

​​​I am so happy to hear this! My Wu style teacher in Shanghai is the same. I trained for a couple years there and was surprised how different things were in the US at the time. In the US (decades ago) you rarely saw a student sparring or doing applications on the instructor the casual way you do. I enjoy your videos & am happy to see an instructor that truly wants to pass on their knowledge & continue to learn. @@phoenixmountaintaichi

[@outerlast]

ah it didn't post again :/ let me try once more: since you mentioned aikijujutsu, i have a question. there was a video about aikido teacher shaking hand, and when his hand moved down, the opponent just dropped and fell. there are attempts to explain the mechanism of it, for example in the video titled "I tried to thoroughly dissect Gouki Shibukawa's handshake technique", but it still difficult to replicate. if you have the time to watch the videos (or if you already knew it), can you help with more explanation of how it is, maybe from taiji perspective?

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

I happen to quite enjoy that Manga that Gouki Shibukawa comes from! And the good news is I filmed the video for you yesterday! I'll post it some time soon. Thank you for the idea!! 😃🙏

[@outerlast]

@@phoenixmountaintaichi glad to see another manga lover :D

[@Gabrielstaichi]

pulling the head is something every wrestler does

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

You’re totally right and I show a clip of wrestlers doing it really well at 5:38. There’s a lot of wisdom in wrestling techniques! 😃🙏

[@Jenjak]

Wrestling is the mother of all martial arts.

[@taichilung1725]

Sorry, it's David again. I think you've answered my question at the later part of the video. So, the contact does not have to be the neck. It can be any part of your opponent's body so long as you can connect with his fascia. Am I right?

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

You are right that any fascia connection can give you certain influence over their body. To be efficient, neck is easiest, shoulders and arms work great. Torso and hips you can use to setup certain throws. Legs you probably will want to do different techniques and different directions of fascia manipulation. Does that make sense? 😃🙏

[@avidorus]

Don't you use the fascia when your blocking? And do you use the opponents fascia or your own soft tissue to make the connection? If you connect with bone tissue, you can switch to make the connection wirh your own soft tissue.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Yes you cash use fascia when you block. You can make use of yours and connect completely through theirs. And yes you can make the switch from bone to fascia, sometimes by yielding a little. Good questions and observations. 😃🙌

[@bajuszpal172]

Excellent, yet in 3.45 or so, with all respects, force is used against force! Against the principles aforesaid. So far so good, anyway. Paul.69 ,

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

Good eye! You can seem to see a force on force technique, and as you look closely at the geometry you can begin to see how the force is shifted and sheared more than it is being opposed. In the method in which he is leaning and sitting back, and you pluck him forward and up, you avoid force on force by the following: 1. Recognizing the line of his force, which passes through the center of his arms and mine 2. Discovering a new line of connection in the fascia, in the moment you highlighted around 3:50 or so, passes along the upper surface of his arms and along his back down to his heel. 3. Plucking along the new fascia line which shears with his original force. That’s what causes him to pop up and out. If you imagine him pulling back along the center of a ball, and I pull the upper part of the ball forward, what happens is the ball begins to have a forward spin. As Moe is not actually shaped like a ball, the forward spins topples him out of his feet. It’s like pushing a rolling ball a little bit off center to cause it to roll. If it’s a bit off center it may look like you’re going force on force, and when you look closely and really feel what happens to the ball, it is a redirection that borrows the existing force and momentum. Thanks for pointing out a potential source of confusion! 😃🙏

[@bigzu1792]

Bullshido

[@gregoryfromcali]

Taijiquan is not a competitive sport but with training & understanding can be used for some self-defense. I knew a small lady in NYC who was taught to hold the ball where you make a frame with your arms extended but your elbow are bent like holding a beach ball. A man tried to kidnap her by forcing her into a car she "held the ball," made a frame & screamed. The man gave up & drove away. I have done all kinds of martial arts and all have their own unique skill set. In the end it is the person & not the style you are fighting.

[@phoenixmountaintaichi]

You are right to think that this looks unrealistic. And as you look at what initially looks like it is outside of your expectation, to begin to see what is inside of that experience that is like what you understand that is relevant in any way, you may begin to discover something that is of use just for you. Because we often experience things in life that seem improbable at first, and then turns out to be pleasantly possible as you put your mind and body to it, do you not? So in your life, I hope you enjoy many experiences and journeys like that. 😃🙏