Saturday, June 02, 2012

Inkling on Pushing... Again

I don't know the science behind this, but somehow, when I push, if my opponent resists, all I need to do is relax, then push again, and I will be able to push him. I can't seem to figure out the science behind this, since it doesn't make logical sense. After all, if he is resisting, once you relax, shouldn't he be the one moving in towards you? But instead, once you relax, you can move in towards him even more.

Well, I may not understand the science, but I guess taiji is about faith as well. Have faith in doing what you have been taught, have faith that it works. You will eventually get there.

3 comments:

Levi M. said...

In our school, instead of calling it relaxing, we call it settling.
Too many students collapse their structure when we tell them to relax. Instead, we tell them to settle the structure. It usually has the desired effect.

I focus on the force that builds between a push and a static resistance, and think of settling that energy into a good structure, almost like it bounces off my root and upsets my partner, giving me the opening to push again.

Press, settle, press. Unless your partner is very good or wise to the trick, it will almost always break their defense.

Thanks for the great blog. I've been following for a long time. If you ever find yourself in Minneapolis, I'd love to push with you for a while.

Tai Chi Nomad said...

I'll hazard a guess at the science. When you relax, you effectively diffuse the force towards you. Your opponent, having felt his disappearing force will instinctively be on guard, thus retreating his force. You are then actually borrowing his retreating force and amplifying it with your own force.

Teck said...

Thanks Levi and Nomad for adding to the depth of this post. If I ever go to Minneapolis, I will be sure to leave a note here to see if we can link up. If you guys ever come to Singapore and want to say hi, just let me know.