Tai Chi is basic wrestling

[@wchart]

Some time in the mid 90s I discovered Shuai Chiao. It was a revelation. Suddenly, all the fantastical and dubious movements I was learning in forms became practical grappling skills. Completely changed my point of view on traditional arts and made me see the real value in them.

[@Endru85x]

I thought the same about a lot of forms in traditional wushu, karate also. It seems knowledge about throws, locks etc. have been lost through generations and a lot people interpret forms in absurd ways, like they try to put a square peg in a round hole. One of my favorite sources of information was manga "Kenji", about japanese teen who travels through China and learns a lot of traditional styles. You can laugh at small kid beating the adults, but it improved my knowledge and made me realise how much real wushu differs from olympic stuff made for exhibition.

[@cahallo5964]

@@Endru85x I learnt throws and locks in karate like 10 years ago so it is not really lost, unlike wushu which is just dancing nowadays.

[@Endru85x]

@@cahallo5964 It is nice to hear, i seen a lot of karate guys who basically make kickboxing in uniforms. Savate, even boxing had some grappling back in the old days, at least sanda guys know how to use both strikes and throws. In my town i seen one traditional wushu club where people were taught throws etc. and they were sparring, using the pads, not swing in the air for most of the time.

[@Alexander-rd7bi]

Yeah lotta TCMA "masters" are just hobbyists and have very little clue on what skills in Kata actually do so once you do Shuai Chiao or Sanda, there is Eureka

[@vincentlee7359]

You mean Shuai Jiao??

[@newaccount3743]

This transmits more actual tai chi than 90% of most tai chi videos out there. And this actually works!

[@gnicevids]

Humm if you say so

[@SussurroKshatriya]

Not at all, he’s just so bad

[@therealchristophernomiddle376]

Not at all. This guy is way off. Tai Chi is a striking art. It can be used as a grappling art actually it can be used for anything it needs to be used for. It's flat out false though to try and rebrand Tai Chi as a wrestling art. It's just not true.

[@KelGhu]

Then you don't understand Taichi.

[@KelGhu]

​@@therealchristophernomiddle376Taichi is not exactly a striking art. You have like very, very few punches in any Taichi forms. But it's not exactly a wrestling style either. The fighting distance of Taichi is exactly in between striking and grappling. It's the push-hands distance. It's a touching and controlling style, if that makes any sense.

[@sullyb23511]

Just reinforces my theory that it isn'tvtechnique that's lacking in TMA, it's training and sparring. Great video, Ramsey.

[@MartialistKS]

and failure to correctly transmit information at some point in the chain

[@UnexpectedWonder]

But of course! I've used some Aikido Techniques in actually live situations on the street to help subdue some Individuals.

[@Mr440c]

Proper teachnig as well. Many amateurs pick traditional styles to make money off people who're not ready for real hardships and are easily fooled by esoteric stuff.

[@TeacherDoug7]

@@UnexpectedWonder Aikido did kind of start out as a cult though. Look it up. I think Aiki-jujitsu, which Aikido took the moves from originally, is more of a martial art.

[@UnexpectedWonder]

@@TeacherDoug7 It's just a separate School of Thought.

[@jaederferreiradeoliveira6496]

I always thought debates over modern martial arts vs traditional martial arts seemed quite simplistic. Ramsey Dewey, as showed on the video, always has some interesting points to make on the subject.

[@peterwang5660]

It’s ridiculous, this mindset seems to teach people that before the modern era East Asians just fucking danced and kowtowed to older men and somehow passed it off as fighting for hundreds of years. I also hate it when people say that TMA makes “good supplementary material”. It’s SUPPOSED TO BE THE WHOLE MATERIAL ITSELF.

[@dacedebeer2697]

It's not that simplistic, the main complaint is that most TMA styles are not good at fighting. There are certainly other aspects that are valuable in them, and no one questions that. The fact is if your art actually spars or puts your style under stress against actively resistant opponents then it will be usefull in a fight. If not it won't. It can be good for your health, mental and physical. But if you never actually traded punches you won't be great at trading punches. If you never had to wrestle/throw a resisting opponent to the ground, you won't be good at wrestling/throwing people to the ground. I trained a traditional style of Karate called Uechi Ryu, and we sparred hard every class. I still had gaps that I filled up with boxing, Muay Thai and jiu jitsu. I still have gaps, lots when it come to grappling, several when it come to striking. What real fighters don't like is how the traditional folks seem to think they have no gaps. We're not insulting your styles, we're insulting your arrogance thinking you can get all you need for fighting in one place or thinking you can fight when what you do is combat themed yoga.

[@jaederferreiradeoliveira6496]

@@dacedebeer2697 Similarly to what the commenter above pointed out, the main problem I'd have with your argument is the supposition that people in ancient times could go their entire lifes bullshiting their way through fights. The problem with "traditional styles" is not necessarily the "tradition" part. I genuinely think is more reasonable to believe that tradition has, in many cases, been corrupted (as Ramsey Dewey often seems to suggest). But, anyway, that's just my guess!

[@dacedebeer2697]

@@jaederferreiradeoliveira6496 what happened is that tradition ended up focusing around the training and not what you were training for. The old masters would fight. And they developed interesting ways to train aspects around fighting to make them better at fighting. Those methods got repeated over and over and became the martial arts we know of today, but the actual fighting was put aside because actual fighting is hard and most people don't want to fight for fun. Like I said I trained a traditional style of Karate, one of the three original schools (Goju, Uechi and Shorin) and this is the difference I see between someone that trains actual contact combat sports and someone that trains forms only os point sparring only. It's great, you get to know you body better and all that. Butnof you don't fight then you can't fight. The judgement in only on that aspect of the thing.

[@peterwang5660]

@@dacedebeer2697 And you know this because? I mean, I believe what I believe through actually going out and exploring the Kung Fu community, but what the hell, “modern” martial arts practitioners know the truth

[@jonathanshafter1800]

After 15 years of internal martial arts I started BJJ a few years ago. There are certainly direct martial applications of tai chi moves as you demonstrate here. I’d say the training time to be effective with them is quite lengthy compared to say Muay Thai or BJJ and there are maybe a handful of people left in the world who really know martial tai chi. That said, the internalized body motions, silk reeling strength, etc… are almost like “superpowers” when combined with more direct forms of combat training. Moreover the type of speed, movement capabilities, and strength you develop are of a type that is much more sustainable past your 20s/30s than conventional conditioning such as heavy weight training. People laugh at the speed with which forms are practiced but moving precisely and correctly at a slow speed builds much more strength and control than using momentum to rush through and cognitively it somehow allows you to slow perceived time and see your opponent in slow motion during an applied scenario. Thanks for the cool content.

[@russmitchellmovement]

:100: I'm in my early fifties with a hilarious list of injuries, and can still give your average grappler a mutually-entertaining surprise. Also can vouch on the slo-mo'ing effect, which can be doubly freaky when you're actually moving more *slowly* than your partner. There's nothing mystical about it, it's just really high level awareness and learning how your core *actually* works so that your whole self is moving in ways that feels like you're doppler'ing your opponent's movements if they leave their torso stable while firing the limbs.

[@TheTaiChiDude]

Very well said... What a great video!

[@Shmicah1235]

This is deeply fascinating, thanks for sharing!

[@xuxuang8574]

There is a concept in learning to play guitar fast, which is to play fast, play slower. What prevents you from moving fast is poor form, and that can only be corrected by slowing right down and ironing out the errors that are slowing you down.

[@YamamotoKazuo]

The creator of Tai Chi Chen Wang Ting was a retried military general so it makes sense to think he created Tai Chi to supplement military Shuai Jiao and not for it to become it's own styles.

[@minipai]

Yes, most strange forms of Taichi and most Chinese TMA is actually shadow grappling, and the grappling application of the forms was kept as a secret and only taught to only a few close "apprentices" while forms were taught to the general students. And you have to earn your master's appreciation to become "apprentices" to have access to the secret. The "secret" has no value today but while there is no internet, knowing how to grapple probably makes a huge difference in terms of whether you can win or not.

[@swampee2346]

I love this kind of content from your channel. There are very few martial arts channels analyzing the movements from "traditional" martial arts in a realistic way. I've done Karate for a little over ten years and learned quite a lot from your videos about Karate "chops" that has inspired me to learn grappling (BJJ) to see what I can apply to Kata. Thank you Ramsey keep up the great work.

[@7771Java]

Iain Abernethy has really good videos about kata applications too

[@swampee2346]

@@7771Java Yes! I have seen his videos and enjoy them a lot. Same with Jesse Enkamp.

[@asengeorgiev7848]

I also went to BJJ after I realized that about traditional martial arts. I met quite a few past and present TMA practitioners in the gym. I'm wondering whether the other grappling arts are seeing the same influx.

[@michaelwozniak3129]

Saw this in my google feed. Very cool break-down. Enjoyed watching.

[@roccodefrancesco1778]

You have always been a breath of fresh air on the internet. Unlike lots of MA youtuber or, worse, keyboard warriors, your take on traditional martial arts is always 200% spot on. Unlike the simplistic dismissal of a style, your explanation is as articulate and informative as someone who has devoted his life to studying fighting. Striking, grappling and even weaponry... Your videos are always a wealth of knowledge. Thank you for all you do.

[@MCSPARTAN501]

Xu Xiaodong is convinced that Tai Chi is utterly useless in a fight. Maybe Ramsey Dewey should spar with him?

[@bookknight]

@@MCSPARTAN501 he did not. He only says a lot of "masters" are fake which is true

[@maduroholdings]

Wow I literally just learned snake creeps down last month and wondered about its application and you did it perfectly thanks Ramsey

[@LibertyJefferson]

I had this insight when the owner of my old Judo school pointed out to me what was essentially a shoulder crunch to a straight arm lock from standing from their kata system. I didn't look much further into it then but I did learn to appreciate it more.

[@epramberg]

I love it! It is nice to see an application where the guy teaching it is not just dialing it in.

[@XarkoCZ]

Jourdan casting spells in the background

[@adim00lah]

All "soft" styles are grappling based. Jiu-jitsu means soft art for those who don't know. Just like how boxers do shadow boxing, tai chi forms are shadow wresteling.

[@gregorysmith6697]

Love the video. I teach tai chi here in the states and there are some boxing and kicking elements in tai chi but you’re right that most of it is wrestling. You can you apply the principal of tai chi to striking arts. Before I started tai chi I used to teach tae Kwon do and karate and one of the best ways my Sifu related the teachings back to me was telling me that Mike Tyson was the best tai chi player he ever saw. This never made sense to me right away but years down the road I was able to comprehend and digest that information. When I watch Tyson fight now I’m able to see the principles he implements when fighting are the same we were trying to achieve when practicing the form or fighting ourselves. It made me really rethink and retrain some of practice that I personally do. I personally incorporate more boxing into my own practice using the technique from our form.

[@deanbaird3559]

Do you think adding tai chi would help with judo & Bjj??

[@gregorysmith6697]

@@deanbaird3559 I do. As a matter of fact I practice judo as well to better understand the Shuai jiao in the form. Tai chi is one of those art that you really need to train with other styles to unlock the information in the form. When I was training the striking aspect, I went and sparred with guys at a Thai school to get honest and real feed back. Plus when you end up seeing movement in the form in the practiced in a practical by other style the tai chi form make so much more sense.

[@taoliu3949]

@@deanbaird3559 Definitely. The core Taichi techniques/priniciples basically plays hand in hand with stand up grappling/wrestling. Taichi is however lacking in the ground game as do most CMAs because the fight is largely considered a loss if you go to the ground.

[@DomesticatedGoth]

I used to a go to a Chen Taijiquan class. Mostly, elderly people came for gentle exercise, but the people who wanted to learn what it's FOR got to stay after the class and we did stuff like this :D Once the flowery terms got to reduced to concepts of direction of force, it made loads more sense. There are a good few forms with multiple purposes, too - just a few tweaks and they're adaptable. I do remember some things that worked as strikes, but even then there was an amount of dragging people into the strikes! It's been a decade or so... Makes me wish I could go back!

[@taoliu3949]

Taichi has a lot of strikes. Chen Erlu forms has a lot of strikes, kicks, elbows etc.

[@reflexflow9088]

Great Video, Ramsey! Tai Chi has a lot of grappling, but few Instructors teach, practice or even realize what the form movements are for! Like any Martial Art, you have to spar, and pressure test the techniques to make them practical.

[@Braindazzled]

YES! I once studied with a classical tai chi guy who had also won some full contact competitions in Asia. He could be really fast when he wanted to be, and would enter really aggressively, and once in close, that's where Tai Chi really shines, because so much if it is about attacking the opponent's balance. And all those low, kungfu-looking stances work really well in close. If you check out one of those short Tai Chi forms like the 24 or 42 form, you'll probably get a kick out of it.

[@arturoclavijo4763]

I think this a simple explanation about simple principles. As in the Kung Fu Panda Movie, "the secret is that there in no secret". Taichi fighting is wrestling, no magic required.

[@Sanggane369]

whoa I'm amazed how you have similar thoughts with mine. a newbie who went to the gym I work at last Dec30 asked if stuff like aikido, capoeira, and taichi would be good for fighting... I basically expounded on how I think their concepts, movements, and techniques work best when used or done to wrestle. a ton of people just get stuck with having their minds revolving around striking, small joint manipulation, and all those hubbub and forget about just overall body control and mechanics

[@blockmasterscott]

Being someone that practices combat Tai Chi, I can and do verify everything Ramsey said is spot on. Tai Chi is basically the Chinese version of college wrestling, especially the dropping of your weight when grabbing.

[@peterwang5660]

If that’s it, then it has no value, I should just find an old high school wrestling coach.

[@bartfart3847]

LOL, Combat Tai Chi... did you make that up?

[@blockmasterscott]

@@peterwang5660 Untrue. The techniques are the same, but the methods of training are different. For example, Tai Chi is taught through forms while college wrestling is taught through drills. Some people learn faster through forms while others learn faster through drills. For example, I’m a forms man while other people hate forms and prefer drills. I hate drills. They bore me to tears.

[@wolfcorpse]

​@@peterwang5660 maybe no value to you, but it does to me and while it is grappling heavy art it's also includes strikes which college wrestling doesn't

[@peterwang5660]

@@bartfart3847 Did you watch the video?

[@aiyahuntacheimumbi236]

George Foreman said he was surprised that he does Tai Chi in his Boxing style like this😂 I've studied him and his trainers Sandy Saddler and Archie Moore who also applied these principles in Boxing, and so I used them heavily in my own sparring with great success😂 I also shadowbox/wrestle the Boxing clinch heavily and find that so far I am always the more comfortable person there in sparring, but I also cross train Sumo with my Brother and that has also helped tremendously lol

[@erykkai]

Thanks for sharing form application and creating a bridge to common misconceptions of martial content and demonstrating context.

[@JoLoSpeaks]

I do not care about the naysayers. This video is fantastic. I never looked at Tai Chi in this way before. It looks like alot of fun when you put the forms into practice!

[@jackalofalltrades8705]

Taiji is stand up grappling and controlling but as in all complete martials art it has kicking and striking as well.. It's a no brainer

[@taichiworld]

Great video. Something to add as a long term Taiji practitioner, the style you e seen might be 90% grappling, but there are lots of different styles of Taiji. The style I do it more striking based, maybe 70/30. Meaning the forms and traditional training methods. Obviously one could focus more on one area then it would seem Taijiquan or a more one thing than another.

[@winddragonmma]

The Chen is my favorite internal combat art. If you, if you just really know how to use and apply it's techniques and power, you'll be one bad mofo. It's never let me down!!! Great video brother.

[@dr.wusinstituteofmartialar2154]

Appreciate the break-down and insight. A practioner I met once, of Ba Gua Zhang, Taiji Quan, and grappling arts said to think of Taiji as wrestling.

[@ShorelineTaiChi]

Most popular Tai Chi forms are clearly full of punches and kicks.

[@nickcarroll8565]

Lord of shin kicks in my style. Buddha palm strikes too. Eye gauges. An internal TaiChi strike feels pretty interesting too when it gets you in the gut.

[@bosbanon3452]

I think we need to punch and kick before grapp our opponent, that kick and punches also will be usefull if our opponent want to strike us before we can grapp him

[@patrickh9937]

If you learn a little a little shuai chiao it becomes clear that those movements are clearly not just punches and kicks.

[@ShorelineTaiChi]

Two good examples from Yang style Tai Chi would be "Cross Kick" (十字腿) and "Parry Block Punch" (搬拦锤).

[@patrickh9937]

@@ShorelineTaiChi are you saying that those movements can be reduced down to just those techniques? Why limit yourself like that?

[@thejodyjourney219]

Good confirmation! Since I've had some BJJ/NMA training, it's helping me to better interpret my kungfu and tai chi. The arm drag is holding ball. Wish I could jump in and demo Battle oh th Precious Chickens. It's an undertook, controlling the upper arm w a neck tie to the inside. You crank the arm back dragging the head down. We had a seminar at SBG for law enforcement and was taught this as one of the take downs. I'm taking a break. But when I get back, I realize I need to learn more about wrestling. Not only is it some of the most primitive. It is also the most fundamental to our training . Tai chi, on the other hand, is a product of mastery. People who train for 80 years end up looking like that!

[@Vengeance888]

Tai chi also have striking, standing jiu jitsu, and various weapons. Not just basic wrestling

[@josephjoe4133]

I'm looking forward to learn these awesome grappling skills, I'm coming from shotokan karate to learn taichi I enjoy them both

[@rolandotillit2867]

Single whip is a punch but backwards. Brush knee is a palm strike. Cloud hands is very deep in its application, and the move is very difficult to do properly.

[@ehisey]

Brush knee is also a throw, single whip can be both a throw and set of strikes of the lead arm. You cant exactly punch backwards, so I assume you are seeing goose neck as a back fist.

[@BWater-yq3jx]

If your point is that Taiji has striking, yes obviously it does. But almost always in conjunction with grappling.

[@rolandotillit2867]

@@BWater-yq3jx Probably. The correct body mechanics will always make your training more effective. That has been the greatest benefit I got from Chen style Tai Chi.

[@iNightTiger]

Love these type of videos showcasing the true meaning behind forms ! Keep up the good work !

[@mattgoodmangoodmanlawnmowi2454]

Excellent presentation linking tai chi forms with practical applications. Thanks for your content. -Matt’s dad Dan

[@jeremyday9195]

In BJJ, you can find numerous concepts borrowed from traditional martial arts. Turning the toes in, straightening the curve of the spine by tucking the hips, tucking the chin, keeping tall posture, etc.

[@lethn2929]

Oh this video is fantastic Ramsey, so many times westerners have woefully misinterpreted traditional styles this way, they think the slow movements and the katas do nothing but like you point out you are doing the equivalent of shadow boxing and it's also helping to develop muscle memory they also don't know individual styles have their own ways of developing power in the techniques. One of the reasons the standards can be garbage in dojos that practice traditional martial arts is sadly the instructors haven't learned any of this and are just making it up as they go along which then leads to an overall drop in the standards as I'm sure a lot of us who practice traditional know. It would be really great if you took a look at Shotokan katas because I think these kinds of videos will really help MMA people especially understand what's going on.

[@paolosmaldone8347]

As a 40 plus years taichi chuan practitioner and former amateur kickboxer,you are right!!

[@pyronicdesign]

You are absolutely correct about Tai Qi. Another thing it focuses on (at least what I learned was breathing. I had 5 forms of qigong I learned (earth air fire water, and a form that included switching between all 4) In qigong I just learned the breathing. The Tai chi I learned is where the forms came from and they were all wrestling techniques with a focus on using the correct breathing techniques for the correct wrestling technique. For example, catching a kick to the chest we world use earth breathing, the leg throw would use fire. There are striking techniques in the Tai qi I learned, mostly in the fire forms. But it was not a focus.

[@ShadowParalyzer]

I noticed you spelled it as "Tai Qi" instead of Tai Chi or Taiji. Are you aware that "Chi" in Tai Chi is a completely different character than "Qi Energy"? Ramsey Dewey made a video to clarify this common confusion. Qi in "Qigong" does actually refer to Qi energy, but Chi in Tai Chi does not.

[@pyronicdesign]

Yes I am aware. The Kung Fu (Gong Fu) i learned was based on Three principles. Iron body (Physical condition, strength training, etc) Qigong (Qi Kung anglicized): Breathing. Literally Air Skill. Qin Na: technique. As afr as i know Qin Na is the oldest form of Chinese Martial art, existing before Indian Breathing techniques came to china. My striking comes from a southern form of long fist. Not Chang Quan, but simular, and i have not been able to find it's origin. Little Red Fist, and changquan are simular and so i learned Changquan when i could not find it. Anyway, the Tai Chi i was taight meant Tai (Suprime, or Divine, or Masterful) Qi (breath) and focussed on breathing techniques from Qigong. To this day if you look up Qigong, it is associated with Tai Chi. Google "Define Qigong " So to this day anytime hear "Chi" I associate it with "Qi" (for air, breath, etc) I do the same thing With Wing Tsun (Wing Chun) Chin Na )(Qin Na) and Chang Quan. Thi are many ways to write Tai Chi and there are are several qualifiers to the term. Tai Chi Quan, Taiji Tian Tiji, etc. If you google "Tai Qi", you will get Taichi. By spelling it the way i do i specify that i am focusing on the Qigong. not the fighting fo0rms, or the wrestling. (all of that comes form my study of Qin Na and long Fist, and boxing, and wrestling. Hope that helps.

[@hoegild1]

Thank you Ramsey! I finally understand, what it was that I trained for a few years, a long time ago. I was allways confused of, how my coach could throw me around with no effort at all, with these "magical" energies of his...

[@SINdaBlock411]

I will be adding taijiquan to my own personal style from now on ... never would've thought I'd live to see this day yet here we are

[@Berengier817]

I think most martial arts that have forms or kata are wrestling or grappling that people don't realize it's there. Unless it's specifically sports like boxing and Muay Thai (I know they don't have forms but just for the purpose of argument, combinations).

[@UnexpectedWonder]

Very interesting. You've applied Tai Chi to Grappling. I personally view the katas applied to Striking. They also help with Footwork, Blocking, Parrying, and more. I guess Tai Chi is a Hybrid Martial Art that's very versatile. I've considered some of the Grappling applications naturally, but these Techniques make so much since similar to much of Aikido and Wing Chun.

[@relativelybasic]

That front teep catch and ankle hook sweep thingy was what Gabriel Varga shared during his trip with the hard2hurt gym. Interesting to see it again.

[@RamseyDewey]

No wonder- Gabriel has fought sanda fighters in China. When you fight those guys, they’ll catch your kicks and throw you all over the place and then you’ll want to learn all of it. I have a made a number of videos on the subject over the years.

[@tx7140]

Some of the big wide shapes are probably ways to escape/break clinches.

[@SINdaBlock411]

damn, I dunno how you did it, but somehow this video changed everything for me ... I guess I should like and subscribe now, the least I can do, you can't even begin to imagine how much of an impact this had on me

[@MichaelSmith-ze3iv]

Nice video with some good content. I have been a martial artist for 35 years and a tai chi player for about 25 of those years. I agree it is mostly useful for upright grappling with the addition of very close-range striking power using chest, shoulders, hips, and elbows that very few people get to a level that they can pull off. It is very structure oriented, and underneath the mysticism are solid biomechancis. There are strikes, but I think it shines the best at a certain range of grappling. I believe the striking misconception came from people not understanding the Supreme ultimate boxing method did not mean what they thought it meant, but was rather a boxing method based off of the Chinese Supreme Ultimate philosophical belief of taiji being the differentiation of the void state giving birth to Ying and yang. It is martial art that tries to associate itself with and emulate that state. It does not mean the Supreme ultimate boxing method in the way we would naturally think of those words in the English language. I have trained with many great martial artists and there are quite a few who can apply tai chi practically, but almost all have to use some other martial art or skill with their tai chi to make it work. I have only met one true master who could actually practically apply tai chi by itself as an effective martial art. I am lucky enough to have him as my primary teacher now. It is a wonderful art that will make everything else you do better, but I would never recommend it as a first choice for someone who just wants to get good at fighting within a reasonable amount of time.

[@peterwang5660]

You hit the nail on the head Michael, a lot of the best exported elements Chinese culture is wrapped up in esotericism that is too easy to pass off as superstition, and often times requires a lot of dedicated practice that is made unreasonable for a modern person because they have to decipher the esotericism first. It’s absolutely pathetic that this is the state of our most successful cultural exports, and Chinese martial arts have it the worst. Chinese Medicine at least has scientific literature backing it (that is ignored and poorly understood by the mainstream medical community but whatever).

[@joh_kun5530]

@@peterwang5660 Most people don't really bother going past that esotericism, only really appealing to those who are either academically minded or are receptive to it but are rational enough to decipher it. A lot of people who are into fighting only want to get straight to the point, especially westerners with how their civilization and culture is set up. Which is why I see Tai Chi either being lost in translation to become it's woo woo magic healing exercise form (this use is still entirely valid tbf, as the slow methodical movements and breathing exercises massively improve overall health and mind-muscle connection) or is completely dismissed as bullshido/completely ineffective. Socioeconomic conditions in China might've also been at fault here, as many people end up simply wishing to exploit that esotericism in Tai Chi, with fake masters being in bed with the government to try and grift weak, vulnerable and esoterically minded people outta their cash. Real fighting and combat sports (MMA especially) is often seen as too violent and barbaric in... well, most East Asian cultures for that matter (Basically "fight clean and like a gentleman" but cranked to max, and broken faces or cauliflower ears aren't socially acceptable) and past governments (The Qing Dynasty in particular) used to effectively ban martial arts as a fighting form for hundreds of years, leaving it to decay or buried in mysticism to hide the actual techniques else the masters face brutal punishment.

[@primafacie5029]

I love that Tai Chi is rediscovered time and time again, sure it's seen as just movements these days but a deeper look shows the Martial applications are many

[@dmills5755]

Interesting the deeper and more sophisticated striking arts get like karate, capoeira, Kung fu, fencing, even boxing and kick boxing end up in how to grapple.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

Yes, you can with many fights without throwing punches but chances are that you will not win that many without grabbing, pushing and throwing your opponent.

[@ChangingMan2023]

Thank you for your video, very informative. Sadly, no Tai Chi going in my compound these days due to COVID19.

[@snatchX626]

another good video. Great to see you've recovered from covid

[@RamseyDewey]

This was recorded months ago. I’m still coughing up my lungs.

[@jadenng7569]

I watched some Zhaobao Taiji (one of, if not the oldest branches of Taiji along with Chen family) applications from an older practitioner named Wang Qingsheng and his students about a year ago and many of the movements have directly translated into my BJJ training, especially in no-gi where I try to spend more time in grappling and trapping range. Zhaobao Taiji has this concept called "San He Yi (三合一, Three Into One)" which means that the movements in the forms translates to how you use it in tuishou and then directly into combat. Of course you have to consider that real combat is much, much more chaotic and spontaneous than in tuishou, but knowing how to use the specific movement and how to control both your opponents' position and your own helps greatly.

[@mountaingoattaichi]

The is for taking time to explore this topic and be open to different styles. People are so often quick to judge without any knowledge or depth on the topic.

[@tjsho417]

Awesome video as always Coach! If you’re interested, I would love to hear your thoughts on the grappling match between Gordon Ryan and world strongman athlete Hafthor Bjornson. Is this one of those situations where skill trumps strength? Thank you again for your videos, you are awesome!

[@grigoreureche345]

Good to see you healthy again,Ramsey.

[@RamseyDewey]

I still have COVID. This video was recorded months ago.

[@grigoreureche345]

Sorry to hear that.

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

Taiji has done wonders for my health. Super lovely and peaceful way to train. That’s all I’m looking for anyway. 💙☯️🙏

[@elnombredelarosa3167]

I remember the video when he described the little old man kicking his ass but I don’t think he mentioned he did through wrestling; it makes more sense now

[@mg6641]

Good point.

[@adamaldabbagh8396]

If it has not happened yet do you think there will be a time when the actual function of movements and techniques will be lost to history? I put the " if not yet" part cause I honestly don't know if it has happened yet. Also I am mainly talking about the styles, techniques, forms that we currently know about in the world today, such as karate, tai chi, etc.. follow up, what do you think of the possible application of using VR to preserve martial arts especially the more obscure ones? What I mean is do you think it would be useful, and could it be an efficient tool to learn things like that especially if you don't have the means to travel some where like china for what ever reason. I'm sure nothing will beat an actual physical instructor but I do wonder if it could be like a kind of supplemental learning tool that could give the student at the very least an idea of a particular martial art. This is open to every one to give their thoughts and answer, its just a thought I had pop in my head while watching this video. thanks again for the content. Happy new year every one, its new years eve at the time I am writing this.

[@ARAFGRACIE999]

Hi mr. ramsay, my name is rafsan, iam a 15 y old student from Bangladesh (a small country right besides india).i was wondering if you could make a series of videos of setups for striking +grappling for mma?? Plzzz

[@sunofpeter2]

Love the video, the presentation is awesome.

[@Das_Pepe]

Thanks that are some nice interpretations. I don’t know all the tai chi moves but some similar and I’ll try them out with my students This weekend. If anyone got more of these kind of takes on how to realistically applicate tai chi techniques please refer me to them because I really want to make tai chi a functional martial art again and need to get my hands on everything I can get. Thanks

[@KeytoKungFu]

At 3:44 its a double trap, one of 4 main door openings in chinese kung fu. It´s a contact building / bridging tehcnique. (So like you explained it in the video)

[@Emcron]

thanks for showing this! practical demonstrations of tai chi are a thing I didn't know I wanted until now!

[@bravelilspidey]

Your training partner is phenomenal 👏 👍 Also, glad to see you're back at the gym. Happy Holidays!

[@prastagus3]

great explanation. I see a lot of joint attack potentials as well

[@HeartlessKnave]

This is well timed, as i'm looking into Tai Chi therapy, and Yang Style Tai Chi, as well as books on Combat applications of Tai Chi once I get more into those first two things.

[@Ed7501]

Have you ever seen any Push Hands tournaments where chin-na is allowed? I think that would be very interesting.

[@bingsoo9559]

I have a question for everyone, I was sparring under Kickboxing rules and well... my partner kept clinching me so I did a frame on his wrist into a light shoulder strike to his face. He then suddenly called off the spar and said that was illegal, I am very confused whether if it’s actually illegal or not

[@ChristopherCarpenter]

Super insightful, most people don't take the time to try and understand the orgins of this stuff.

[@witchkid66]

Unrelated, but i’d love to hear your thoughts on Naoya Inoue

[@obi501]

I can not do the golf swing, there must be something I'm missing on the technique but I don't know what it is

[@damienmussard1821]

I already knew about this since I've been a practitionners of traditionnal martial art and currently of muay thay but the way you put it into perspectives make it even more interesting. I would love to find some legit sources about tai chi (or other traditionnal martial arts) and their real world applications.

[@taoliu3949]

Adam Hsu is a great source of information.

[@RobertAgarHutton]

"Yes, yes we do" :) :) :) Good video Ramsey - I like your interpretation of those moves, they are definitely valid. However I do think that Tai Chi incorporates pretty much all the techniques that most any martial art does i.e. Locks, Throws, Punches, Strikes, Trips, Kicks, Weapons, and etc, etc... Of course not having a time machine, (and not speaking whatever dialect of Chinese was spoken then) I can't go back and ask whoever the creator(s) of the art were, 'Hey guys, what's this move for' - so whatever interpretations people can apply is fine by me - of course there will be some applications that wouldn't work 'On The Street' but again, that's the same for every martial art. So as you always say "Get out there and train" :)

[@halalclubber]

try baguazhang bro. tonnes of wrestling as well.

[@donnydonkey9708]

Thank you for teaching us!

[@ulrichenry4881]

Tai Chi has chin na techniques which are grappling techniques. Yes there is some striking but the striking is performed off of the grappling techniques

[@thibautklinger5178]

In my second grappling class we learned a takedown. It goes a little like this: get to his back and hold him in a bodylock. Then push forward making him resist your push. Then quickly pull back and down while steping to the side. All I could think is:"that looks like tai chi"

[@JunJun-pm4vy]

Hey Coach! I have a question that I realize may sound dumb but I have been having trouble deciding for a long time now. I have 2 gyms that I am trying to decide between. One gym is closer with a schedule that wouldn't allow me to do MMA for about 9 months due to scheduling conflicts while the other has a much more agreeable schedule while also being twice as far. I'm having trouble deciding because I fear that the 40 min - 1 hour drive to the gym may deter me from going to class. But I also see how pointless it may be to go to a close gym if it doesn't offer what I am looking for. Thank you for your time and happy new year coach!

[@nacktheslayer9882]

There's a lot of tai chi and wushu movements in the hapkido system I practice. Obv they're hidden in the techniques, but my instructor points them out to help us remember.

[@davidyoung745]

I had a friend once who was big into Tai Chi, and he went so far as to travel to the birthplace the Chen family village in China to study for several weeks. He said he was shocked to see the way they did their push hands exercises looked so much like Greco-Roman wrestling.

[@punteroism]

Don't know if I should wait for another Q+A but I was wondering your opinion on rest/deload frequency. Particularly with regard for amateur fighters having bouts once a month. I've heard variations of 5, 6, and 8 weeks but I was wondering if you could still maintain or even put on size with 3 weeks of bulking and heavy lifting with one week off. Would weight cut during that week off have an impact since it would be only a span of 2 or 3 days? Or even outside of fighting as someone doing extended fasts and backpacking once a month. Could repeating 3 on 1 off over a year still put on size?

[@laperrablanca1]

Also karate katas have lots of grappling applications. Watch Iain Abernathy channel, and also John Burke

[@dxmakina]

xu xiaodong vs Ramsey dewey when???

[@ehukai2003]

Tai Chi Chuan as is is definitely mostly grappling. The history behind it is fascinating. The story I read is that there was a guy who was a famous martial artist who was known to have the best martial art in the land. Then the emperor (I can’t remember which dynasty/period it was) wanted to learn it so he had this guy teach him. However, the Tai Chi he practiced had many difficult and athletic movements, like any other martial art in the East at the time, like jumping stuff and all that, especially like what one would expect any high-level practitioner of other Wu Tang art to be able to do. So, he had to simplify it, otherwise it would be off with his head because the emperor wouldn’t be able to learn it quickly enough. Soon enough, it either became popular or was made law/standardized that everyone in China started doing it. So the simple forms we see most people doing today are really just the basics, and usually grappling in any martial art is crucial and is, therefore, part of the basics. I’ve seen more advanced forms of Tai Chi and it is much more dynamic and fascinating than we’re all used to seeing, but like many other high-flying and dynamic traditional arts, looks like mostly fancy striking that may be powerful, but probably impractical, except maybe for developing athleticism.

[@ShadowParalyzer]

It sounds like you're referring to Yang Luchan, the founder of Yang Family Taijiquan. He was the first outsider to learn from the Chen Family, making him essentially a Chen Style Taijiquan practitioner. But, it's not just jumping, athletic stuff, he removed any movements that involved forming two fists with your hands. A lot of striking applications got removed as well. As such, Yang Taijiquan is a fraction of Chen Taijiquan's curriculum.

[@ehukai2003]

@@ShadowParalyzer That’s the one! I committed that story to memory years ago but could never remember Yang’s name 😂 thank you!

[@MrMattias87]

It's the same with kata, it's essentially stand up grappling.

[@shangchi828]

in movies it is shown with Joint locks and take downs.

[@tommytaylor2799]

Good information and helpful for me when I train with little space.

[@peterreist5489]

I was always taught that Taiji Quan is very much a style of stand up grappling. There are punches and kicks but the grappling is very often at the forefront.

[@ShadowParalyzer]

If we a draw a distinction between Chen Taijiquan (the origin of Taijiquan) and everything else, then.... You could say that striking is largely removed from other families of Taijiquan. Chen Style has two forms: Yi Lu - focuses more on softness, yielding, trapping methods, structure manipulation, etc... Er Lu - focuses more on hardness, striking, more athletic movements. It is built on top of the foundation of Yi Lu. However... Yang Style, Wu Style, etc... have their forms based on Yi Lu. And even with Yi Lu, they removed any sequence that involved forming two fists with your hands. So... the degree of which Taijiquan has striking or not depends on which style and lineage you refer to. I suspect Ramsey met someone who practiced either Yang or Wu Style.

[@Nowheremt]

Great video! How would you use Tai chi’s single whip motion?

[@RamseyDewey]

What do you mean by “single whip motion”?

[@Edwinlicomedy]

This is so cool - I had no idea how in-depth Tai-Chi is - fascinating

[@Wiinajamizzi]

What about Yoga? Is there some kind of commonality with Yoga poses and movements to martial arts principles?

[@HamasPringles]

This and close range striking, yeah. The internal stuff is really good once you understand it.

[@nickolasdesouza3610]

Ramsey I suffer from insomnia and your voice and wisdom helps me sleep at night. Can't believe people call your voice fake. They are jealous as am I. Anyways on to the ⁉️! question! How does one who had a lightweight (155) ideal fight weight but has to fight at 145, walks around at 180-170 and cuts several pounds over.months and only 8 pounds of water weight to make weight deal with the fact that these 145s are still substantially bigger than me and I have decent muscle/ body composition but yet small hands and feet, general bone size in general get over this? I feel like I have to train way fn harder and there is no ideal weight class.for me! I am 5'8, in an awkward positions for height because I feel I am stuck between the size of 130s and 140s and 145 is the lowest I can go if I do everything right. Also 135s and below are generally fast as F ! THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME MASTER

[@mauriceportiche2386]

Sympathique presentation de techniques de lutte dans le taichi. Bon travail et bon esprit. Bravo.

[@ShorelineTaiChi]

I get these challenges every week. I always have the same response. I accept your offer, and I'll see you at the next tournament. They never show.

[@gersonpaz7501]

I'm been practicing sanda and tai chi for a while you have a point Kung Fu has alot of wrestling elements tai chi to me is more like slow motion kung fu but I see the wrestling elements in there when I'm practicing it I see Chinese kickboxing elements as well but what you say is true could tai chi make me a even better wrestler than I already am especially in the defensive wrestling area if I fully focused on tai chi ? If so how long do you think it would take to make my defensive wrestling better ? I' practice mostly sanda but if I where too focused on tai chi to improve my defense would you say it would help if I have alot of skills as well ?

[@taoliu3949]

Taichi has both offensive and defensive applications. It will mainly improve your grappling and wrestling game but can be applicable to striking as well. At its core Taichi is about maintaining your center of gravity while finding and disrupting your opponents. Find a school that does tuishou sparring (actual throws, not just the exercises, though they would work too if nothing else).

[@Itsjustavy]

Great video. was a bit quiet tho.

[@RamseyDewey]

Yep. The audio absolutely sucks because my microphone died. This video has been sitting on my phone for months because of that. I didn't think anyone would want to watch it- but here we are.

[@YTPrule]

Chen village does wrestling demonstrations too. There's huge wrestling in all of it. There's almost this other video of a Tai Chu guy wrestling with a famous BJJ guy somewhere.

[@taoliu3949]

Chen still teaches the applications, and I believe they are trying to bring back full contact Taichi.

[@jeffmaesar]

when i practiced some forms of Tai Chi a very long time ago, our teacher mentionned it was wrestling and parying more than striking.

[@jasonbalavram2833]

Hello Ramsey. Question: Who wins in a fight T800 Terminator vs. Robocop?

[@RamseyDewey]

I don't know enough about Terminators or Robocop to answer that question, sorry. Sounds like an epic fight though!