What is your favourite Taiji fighting technique?

Discussion in 'Tai chi' started by jkzorya, May 11, 2007.

  1. Libraquan

    Libraquan Tenacious Member

    Hi TQ,

    According to a website I found, he visits Philadelphia once a month.

    Unfortunately, he seems to be offering the opposite of what I'm working hard to develop (that is, martial skills). I went to his website and youtube, and was extremely disappointed with both.As usual, it's all about health, fitness, relaxation, fluid movement and so forth, all of the aforementioned "based on the martial art of tai chi". It all looks wayyyyyyyyyy too theatrical and showbusiness-like for me. As I said, very disappointed.

    But if you're ever in Jersey (or I in CO), it would be cool to hook up :)

    Cheers,
    LQ
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2007
  2. El Medico

    El Medico Valued Member

    Nice description j.

    For Tq, I would also add that that the force you're expressing is also related to what else you are doing mechanically.A very simplified description, in which I'll describe only some of the components involved-

    Assuming we're not stepping at this point-you open up the forward hip joint coming up out of it as you expand the back tissues-you're doing chi/ji, whether the direction you're shooting is straight ahead,up, or down.If you close/sink into the hip joint as you expand your back you're doing p'eng. So what you do in you're aforementioned drill is...whatever appropriate way(s) there are to do it.

    And don't they all have 1000's of possibilities?One motion means many motions, as they say in Silat.
     
  3. middleway

    middleway Valued Member

    here is some footage of ji from the seminar this weekend.

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aazj0sj9HhA"]YouTube[/ame]

    this is just showing a few of the things we covered, Mainly this is the trangulation to a central point idea and the importance of the structure behind the method.

    I will put up a more comprhensive clip with sound etc when i have some more time on my hands.

    Enjoy.

    Cheers
    Chris

    * thought i would post it here as we have discussed Ji alot on this thread :D *
     
  4. Taoquan

    Taoquan Valued Member

    JK and El,

    Thanks for the reply, though I am curious. Say you were performing clound hands, which using what JK mentioned is:
    Which I can understand, but say you move the arm down at more of an angle (still moving sideways) does this mean you just combined:
    Maybe Peng for moving down? Or would this still be considered Lu? is Lu then considered a combination of these two? Or what if you keep moving sideways but then add a forward movement or with these terms Ji? Does any sideway diversion = Lu? Irregardless of if it is forward or backward as well?

    LQ,
    This is odd, when my teacher learned the Chen short form from he, he always mentioned about how much Master Ren would love to throw students around and teach the martial side. My teacher used to say he was amazed at how people would line up for Master Ren "To throw them onto their heads" :D

    He must of changed his approach? Seems odd, b/c the Chen short form I learned is very quick and combat oriented even for chen style. I would get out of breath going through just it's short 19 postures. Well I will have to look at the website now too.

    Yeah, if you make it my way that would be cool too. In CO. we also have access to the National (maybe international??) Push hands champ! Chris Luth.
     
  5. jkzorya

    jkzorya Moved on by request

    Hi TQ,
    I don't totally understand all bits of your question, but lu can indeed go forwards or backwards, just as you can do any other method forwards or backwards - there it is about the purpose of the movement. I can advance around a point of contact, say on an attacker's punching arm - "yielding" my body forwards if that makes sense, providing I don't try to move the incoming arm - this is a very soft lu that maximises your counterstrike potential. In other words - you are like a river moving around a rock - the rock doesn't move, the water does.

    Peng doesn't move down, An moves down, by my reckoning. I'd say, all that matters is that your system for understanding the methods is not constrained by too many specifics and that your system can encompass all possible martial movements. That is why I find a direction based system to be the most user friendly. In the steps we have forwards, back, left, right and centre; in the methods we have up (peng), down (an), forwards (ji), back / sideways defense (lu), sideways attack (lie), hand / sharp grab (cai), elbow (zhou) and torso (barge) - the last 3 also corresponding to long, medium and short range respectively. An oblique line simply combines two directions or methods from the outset, an arc consists of one metamorphosising into another. It's a simple and nifty system. You could as easily say North West for an oblique line or initially heading North then veering West for an arc etc.
     
  6. Taoquan

    Taoquan Valued Member

    Sorry JK I will try to simplify,

    Say you are performing clound hands with predominant sideways movement. Now you are to apply some forward/backward movement. Is this then considered Lu? Or is it a combination of techniques?
     
  7. jkzorya

    jkzorya Moved on by request

    :confused:

    I tend to do cloud hands as forwards movement - I think some Yang Banhou lineage people do it that way - so you turn to face fully forwards to your right, then turn to face fully forwards to your left. When you obey Yang Banhou's principle of "the 3 forwards' you kind of have to do it that way. It starts sideways but finishes forwards, so I'd think of it chiefly as forwards as the defining movement is forwards.

    Hope this helps.

    If not, the film I mentioned on the "tai chi works?" thread might.
     
  8. El Medico

    El Medico Valued Member

    good explanations,j.

    So. as you see Tq, in her speaking of lu when going forward, it doesn't necessarily matter what direction your body is going, it's what your doing with it in your expression of power, energy, or whatever you wanna call it.

    j- I agree with your explanations of arm going up= p'eng, etc,. and use those same descriptions with students until they reach a certain level of body knowledge.But as I learned it, via the one Malaysian branch of Cheng's I told you of,the energies(or whatever) are defined by the mechanics.So you can p'eng down,for an example, tho' you probably won't very often.But it will feel different than an, due to the mechanics.

    A question to j, doesn't lie refer to splitting, meaning you're issuing in (somewhat) opposite directions?A basic example, an elementary apllication of diagonal flying, with the one arm issuing up, forward and sideway as the other
    goes down,back, and (again somewhat) sideways?Not disagreeing with the sideways concept you mention above, just saying this is the standard description, including in the old writings, force going in somewhat opposite directions.
     
  9. jkzorya

    jkzorya Moved on by request

    Hi EM,
    Well as lie was explained to me by my Chen style teacher, it refers to "any sideways movement" and gets its name from sweeping grain from side to side with a broom (his explanation) to seperate the husk from the edible portion. So it doesn't have to refer to both arms spreading apart according to him - that would be a simulatneous double lie, in much the same way as one or both arms can perform any of the other methods.

    I'm intrigued by the idea of peng being expressed down - I suppose I can imagine how the "spherical aspect" of peng (for want of a better term) can go in any direction - that is the quality of omnidirectional expansiveness, as peng is considered important throughout Taijiquan, but I'd have thought peng as an action had to go upwards. If it went downwards it would be an etc. By that reckoning, someone I read way back commented that all the methods could carry a peng prefix - peng peng, peng lu, peng ji etc. but that makes the peng prefix unnecessary - the quality can be assumed in the ther methods.

    Could you possibly explain what you mean in more detail for me or show me a clip or something? Thank you :)
     
  10. Taoquan

    Taoquan Valued Member

    Thanks all,

    *Bows* :D
     
  11. Dan Bian

    Dan Bian Neither Dan, nor Brian

    Slight thread necromancy...

    (One of) My favourite technique is the transition from "play the lute" to "brush knee".
    Intercept and pull down an opponents punch with 'lute', roll the opponents elbow over and apply an arm lock with 'brush'.
     
  12. unfetteredmind

    unfetteredmind Valued Member

    Shoulder stroke. Ilike to get up close and personal :)
     
  13. cheesypeas

    cheesypeas Moved on

    I like folding...but my bosoms do tend to get in the way... :confused:


    Edit....For some reason I always default to roll back...then again I suck at An....
     
  14. unfetteredmind

    unfetteredmind Valued Member

    It's not so much a Taiji technique as a strategy but I have found that closing the distance fast and without hesitation works well. I have faced two attackers, one with a stanley knife and one with a 6 foot piece of wood with nails sticking out of it, and found that this approach served me well, disarming them and emerging unscathed on both occassions. However, just so no-one gets the flawed impression that I am some kind of invincible warrior I have also received a right royal kicking. It was going so well until he picked me up, dropped me on the ground and started stamping on my head. Ouch. Anyone know where I can learn Iron helmet technique? :)
     
  15. lieqi fan

    lieqi fan Valued Member

  16. unfetteredmind

    unfetteredmind Valued Member

  17. Dan Bian

    Dan Bian Neither Dan, nor Brian

    Another technique I'm fond of is 'Swing Punch'. Nice and simple, nice and effective. :cool:

    My other favourites in no particular order:

    Single Whip
    High Pat on Horse
    Chop like Axe
    Dive like Swallow
    Repulse Monkey
    Play the Lute
    Palm Under Elbow
    Ward Off
     
  18. cloudz

    cloudz Valued Member

    What's 'dive like swallow'?
     
  19. Dan Bian

    Dan Bian Neither Dan, nor Brian

    Oops, sorry :eek:

    Thats the name my teacher gives to the low single whip movement.
     
  20. cheesypeas

    cheesypeas Moved on


    Is this also known as snake creeps down, by any chance? :confused:
     

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