Relax relax relax! (Part 2)

I know I have written many times about relaxing. Well, it is one of the most important thing about taiji, so do bear with me.

Last night, my teacher was telling me that when my opponent is stiff and using brute force, the more I need to relax. This stems from my last pushing hands session, in which my opponent was using a lot of brute force, and I had to use force at times (which is wrong). And my teacher demonstrate what he meant.

He relaxed. He became like jelly, like cotton. There was no point where I could apply force on, it was like trying to push an endless depth of cotton. You will just sink in further and further without really pushing anything. And when I used brute force, my own force caused me to lose my own balance and I just fell (because my force was moving in one direction, and with nothing to counter it, my centre of gravity ended up following my force, causing me to lose my balance).

And when I put my hands on his chest trying to push him, he relaxed and I ended up supporting his whole weight on my two badly positioned hands. That caused my arms to become stiff, and once that happens, he simply shifted his weight forward, and I just moved back because my whole body is now just like a big stiff log.

Relax and Enjoy

Usually, I practise my sets very slowly, so when it comes to practising taijijian, I have a problem. A set must be completed within 4 minutes (competition rules), but I am not used to practising my sets at that kind of speed. So in the end, whenever I try to make it within the stipulated time, it seems like I am rushing through my movements, and sometimes my movements are not clear at all.

The key here is not to rush through the set, but rather to firstly get used to the movements. Get the memory factor out of the equation first. When you are not struggling to remember the next movement, you have time for other things. So what are the "other things"?

First is to relax, even when speed is needed. In fact, the best way to hasten your movements is to relax. If you are stiff, your movements are always somewhat slower than if you can relax and let your whole body move together. When you relax, you are able to use your whole body to hasten your movement, rather than try to use just the strength of your arms.

Next is to enjoy the practice. When you enjoy the practice, you won't be tensed up and will also automatically relax. And your movements are smoother because you are not rushing to achieve things, you are letting nature takes it course. And you look better too. After all, the best performers (in performing arts, such as drums) always seem to be enjoying themselves when they perform. That is how you differentiate the master from the novice. The one that seems to be enjoying himself, the one that has the capacity to enjoy his own performance, that is the master.

Sit and Sink/Relax

My teacher pointed out to me a mistake that I have been making, but did not realise. I had thought that having a low stance would help me in relaxing and sinking my kua, but obviously, I was wrong. While I was sitting on my kua, I was not relaxing it, I was not sinking it.

So having a low stance and sitting on your kua is not enough. You must still put in that extra effort to relax your kua, and to sink it down. Otherwise, if your kua is not relaxed and sinking down, you will still not be able to use your kua to turn and direct your force properly.

Ever Ready

My teacher was relating to me an incident that happened in the past, when he used to train our national representatives for taiji.

During one of the competitions, it was about time for one of his students to compete. But his student told him that he hasn't warmed up enough yet. My teacher told him that as a sportsman, as a martial artist, he cannot say that he cannot compete because he hasn't warmed up.

A martial artist that needs to warm up first before he can use his skills isn't going to be able to defend himself from a sudden assault.

Calligraphy and Taiji

I was writing another piece of calligraphy today, and came to realise that calligraphy has similarities to taiji.

What similarity can there be between a martial art, and the fine arts?

The answer is simple. Both of them are art forms, and thus both have similar mental and emotional requirements. For example, you will not write anything good, or be able to practise your taiji movements properly, whenever you are frustrated. Your frustration will show in your moves and your works.

In taiji, you constantly practise to perfect your moves, to make sure that every moves attain the requirements of taijiquan, conform to the principles of taijiquan. In calligraphy, you constantly practise so that each stroke conforms to the principles of the writing style that you are using. Your taiji movements as a whole will look beautiful if they have spirit behind them. Each word you write will look beautiful if you have the same spirit behind them. 和 (peace) must look peaceful, 勇 (brave) must look brave, just like each taiji move must look like how it can be used.

In taiji, your greatest opponent is yourself. Each time you practise, you try to be better than the last, to not make the same mistakes as the last practice. In calligraphy, you are constantly trying to write better each time compared to the last. In both, you learn determination and perseverance even as you strive for perfection.

So are martial arts similar to fine arts? Only in the mind.

Why Study Weapons?

In this day and age, with guns, bombs and missiles, the age of swords and spears as weapons is long over. So why do we still learn them? After all, while learning taiji pushing hands can be a skill for self-defence, no one is going to be walking around carrying a sword or spear anymore, so skills with them seems less practical.

Well, as a means for self-defence, you would be better off learning pushing hands than trying to get something out of taiji sword. But that does not mean taiji sword is useless in this day and age.

Learning weapons is a good way to see how far you have progressed in your taiji skills. After all, weapons or not, the same principles apply, which is to avoid using brute force, that strength comes from the legs, to relax the body, to keep yourself upright, etc. If your application of strength is wrong, you will see it all the more clearly when using weapons, as you will find that you cannot channel your strength to the requirements for each movement. For example, if your wrist is not relaxed enough, the tassel will start to wrap around your wrist when you practise taiji sword.

So the biggest reward from learning weapons is not in the self-defence skills that you may pick up, but in the self-understanding that you will gain about your own strength and its application.

"Your moves are too right" part 2

My teacher brought this up again today, and so I tried to get some clarification on what he meant.

My moves are too orthodox, too "by the book". Especially when practising Yang style, my movements mostly follow a single speed (slow), which is not necessarily bad (it trains up leg muscles) but just doesn't seem good. My teacher told me that in order to improve, I need to drop that single slow speed, and be able to speed up and slow down when needed.

Practising my movements in a single monotonous speed makes it a chore to watch. Taiji, if done correctly, should look nice. While movements that look nice may not necessarily have meaning to them, movements that have meaning to them will definitely look nice. And how to add meaning to your movements? You must know when to speed up and when to slow down, be able to show the application of each movement without being too obvious.

Protecting Your Opponent

There was a recent article on the Straits Times, in which Janice Tay wrote about her experience at an aikido lesson. I happened to notice some similarities between what she wrote, and my experience with taiji pushing hands.

The locks in aikido are designed to cause pain, so much so that an opponent gives up any intention of continuing his attack. Instead of breaking his arm or ribs, aikido deters by careful and precise application of pain. There is no permanent, or temporary, damage done to the opponent.

Taiji pushing hands is similar too. The aim is not to break your opponent's arms, or to break his ribcage or break his back against the wall. No, the aim is to let your opponent know that he has been bested, through the careful and precise application of force to neutralise his attacks and redirect his force back against him. Similarly, done correctly, there is no temporary or permanent damage to your opponent.

Ultimately, if you can win without causing harm, you are one notch against those who need to cause harm before they can win.

Bouncing Off

When you try to push a rubber ball, first, with a little strength, you cause a small dent. To make a bigger dent, you need to use even more force. All the while, for every force, there is a reaction force. Thus, there is a force from the rubber ball acting on you, even as you try to push it. Eventually, you will reach a point in which you have used as much strength as you can to cause as big a dent on the surface of the rubber ball as you can. If you try to push anymore, that is when the reaction force is actually bigger than what you can take, and you bounce off from your own force.

I guess the same principle applies in taiji, when you are pushing. If your opponent peng correctly, what is going to happen is that you will eventually reach a point in which the reaction force generated by your own force is greater than you can take and you get "bounced" back by the force. And it is your own force, not your opponent's, that actually cause you to "bounce" off.

And that also says a lot about peng. You must be able to peng like a rubber ball, absorbing your opponent's force, letting him come in until he cannot push anymore and bounces off on his own.

Returning the Force

How do you actually return your opponent's force back to him?

When pushing with both hands, it is easier to understand this concept. His force from one side can be redirected back at him from the other. That's because there are two points of contact. Much like a wheel. When you push at one point of a wheel, the force turns the wheel, acting on it and in the end, you get an equal force in the opposite direction on the other edge of the wheel.

But when pushing with only one hand, with only a single point of contact, how does one redirect his opponent's force back at him? Each time I resist, my teacher not only doesn't need to move back to absorb my force, he is able to stop me from gaining ground, and at the same time return my force to me, slowly inching towards me if he so chooses. If he wants, he can let me exert all my strength trying to push him, until my arms get so tired that I cannot push anymore. It is like pushing a wall, yet he is very relaxed and doesn't seem to be resisting at all.

So how do you peng without resisting?

"You are your greatest opponent"

What does this statement actually mean?

The key to winning, is actually to be ready to lose. But that is so against our own nature.

When we are young, we are strong and rash, we think the world of ourselves, we don't think we will lose. We feel that we need to win to prove ourselves to the world, to show that world what we can do. We are thus obsessed with victory, and tell ourselves to avoid defeat at all costs.

As we age, having proved ourselves, we build up a reputation. Now, we become afraid of losing that reputation. We become afraid of losing.

Yet to win, we must be ready to lose. So in the end, it is this nature of ours that we must be able to overcome, before we can truly be ready to win. Only when we have overcame our own weakness (being afraid of losing), clearing the clouds of obsession, can we see the key to winning.

Sliding Your Feet

A recent comment by wushu_kid led me to write this post.

"Why does the chen slide their feet? And if I wear a rubber shoes the friction would not allow me to slid easily. DO u get that feeling?"

Okay, let's answer the technical question first, on how to slide your feet.

No matter what shoes you wear, if you do it properly, friction doesn't get in the way. Sliding your feet does not mean rubbing the sole of your feet along the floor. Instead, you shift your weight to one leg. You relax your kua. Then, you slide out the other leg, with the sole barely touching the floor. And because all your weight is on one leg, you can control the other leg fully.

If you don't distribute your weight correctly, you end up having some weight on the leg that you are trying to slide out, and that is when friction will work against you and you will have difficulties trying to slide out your feet.

As to why you slide your feet? When you slide your feet, that feet is near to the ground. If need be, you can straight away transfer weight over to that leg, without having to abruptly step down. That way, you are able to keep your balance. When you abruptly step down, there is a sudden shift in weight, causing a slight imbalance in your centre of gravity, which can then be used against you when pushing hands.

You can try this when pushing hands. When you want to move in closer to push your opponent, if you lift up your leg to move in, he will seize the opportunity to counter attack when you are standing on just one leg. But if you slide your leg in, he has no chance to counter attack, since in a way, you still have both legs on the ground.

Another use of sliding is to sweep at your opponent's leg. The outer edge of your feet then becomes like a shovel which can be aimed at an opponent's ankle. When you slide your feet in, the inner side of your feet becomes a hook that can be used to hook in an opponent's heel.

"Your moves are too right"

That was what my teacher told me. What he was trying to say is that my moves follow so closely to what he says, to the basic principles of taiji. While it looks good if I am going to demonstrate in front of a class, my moves lack style.

In a way, I look like I am following moves from a textbook, rather than practising taiji.

In the first stage, when still learning the basics, it is good to actually spend more time trying to look like the picture in the textbook, so that you know that your back is straight, your stance is correct, you are putting your weight on the right leg, you are sinking your shoulders and elbows, etc. The longer you spend in this stage practising in this manner, the better your foundation is. But that doesn't make you a taiji master. It makes you a good instructor.

The next stage is to add in the application part of taiji into your practices. You need to start thinking about how to apply each move, and show that application when you practise. This shows your understanding of taiji, and brings in your individual style into your moves. I guess this is what I still lack. I am still focusing on getting the basics correct, that I am missing out on showing the application part.

This actually hinders during pushing hands. My own experience is that because I am so used to the basics, my responses are all very standard, very simple, very basic. In the end, I don't really apply what I learn when I practise sets. I guess it is time to start thinking about application when I practise my sets, so that I will be able to apply them during pushing hands and make my responses more varied than now.

Drums and Taiji

I have written about Japanese drums and taiji before, so this should not be new.

I went to watch the movie The Drummer today. While the plot and acting wasn't that great, it is also not the purpose for this post, so I won't talk about those. Instead, let's focus on the drums. This time, it is not Japanese drums, but Chinese drums. But they are still drums.

Just like taiji, in the first stage, drums are drums, and drumming is drumming. This is the initial stage when you learn the basic moves, and emphasis is on getting the moves correct. A good foundation in this stage will only serve to make you progress further in the future.

The second stage, drums are no longer just drums, and drumming is no longer just drumming. You start to enjoy drumming, and it allows you to start learning about yourself. You find that you are able to concentrate and focus better.

In the third stage, you come to realise that a drum is still just a drum, and drumming is still just drumming. You have moved beyond needing to drum to know yourself. You have moved beyond the fixed routines. Given any drum, you can beat a tune.

And just as with taiji, power comes from the legs. See those drummers playing their drums, and you can see how they move their legs and bodies to transfer that force to their arms, so that they can beat their drums with the correct force for the correct impact. Drumming is not about moving the arms, it is about moving the whole body, to move the body with the rhythm, and at the same time, use that rhythm to generate force.

I guess the three stages are similar for all arts. Even an painter needs to start from learning the basics of painting and picture composition, before he can innovate and create. Just like how a martial artist or taiji practitioner must know the basics, before he can add flavour to his style.

Kenjutsu and Taiji 2

In a previous post, I had talked about the similarities between kenjutsu and taiji. After watching the movie The Hidden Blade (隠し剣 鬼の爪, Kakushi Ken Oni no Tsume), I found some more similarities.

In the movie, the lead character is a samurai who was tasked to kill another highly skilled swordsman. He went to seek the advice of his kenjutsu teacher, who told him that the way to win is to give in to the opponent in action but not in spirit. In spirit, he should always be attacking. But in his actions, he should be giving way to his opponent, making him more frustrated, making him angry. And then finally, bait him with an opening, let him come in, and in his rage, he will attack carelessly, and that is when you should strike. However, it is a very dangerous move, as giving your opponent an opening means you are taking a risk. His attack could be successful. But in order to win, you must be ready to die.

It reminded me of a previous post of mine on relaxing and letting the opponent frustrate himself. In taiji, it is the same thing, that while you seem to be giving way to your opponent whenever he attacks, you are not giving way in spirit. And when he frustrates himself and attacks in rage, you make use of his carelessness and brute strength to return that force to him. And similarly, in order to win, you must be ready to lose. I guess this is a very basic principle for martial arts in general. When you are afraid of losing, you will never be able to win, for your efforts will always be divided between trying to win, and trying not to lose.

The Difference

After a day of work, I feel so tired, sometimes I almost doze off while driving home.

After a 30-minute job, I feel so tired, I just want to lie down and rest.

After a 30-minute swim, I feel so tired, I just want to sleep.

After 2 hours of taiji, I feel so refreshed, I wonder why I felt so tired while driving home.

Tape It Down

For those of you out there practising on your own, I would advise that you videotape yourself when practising.

When we have a teacher looking at us practising, he will point out our mistakes. Yes, we all make mistakes. Sometimes, even when we think we have done a movement correctly (because it felt correct), there may still be some mistakes that only a person looking at you can tell. And when the teacher is around, he serves that purpose, so that you know your small little mistakes and can work towards improving.

But when none is available? The next best solution is to be our own teacher. That requires a videocam. Videotape your practice session, play it back to see if you can spot your own small little mistakes.

I actually realised that importance of this when I saw a video of myself. It was actually during a performance. I was performing a section of Chen style, and got my wife to videotape it. When I got the chance to look at it, I was able to see the mistakes that I made, even ones that I hadn't realise because I felt that I had been performing those movements "correctly". Guess I was wrong in my feeling.

So for those who practise alone, get a videocam and a tripod. But then, the best is still to get a teacher.

Teaching Taiji

I have been helping my teacher to teach for more than a year now.

He got me to help him teach after I finished learning my first set from him, Chen style old frame first routine. At first, it seems strange for an amateur to be teaching others, but I slowly got to know the reason behind it.

For beginners, the important thing is not to learn the exact details, but just to remember the broad movements. And you don't need a master to teach you that. You just need someone who knows the set, and follow him as he is practising.

And for the person leading the class, that means he must be extra careful, to pay more attention to his movements, because each wrong move will result in many wrong moves (everyone following will follow the wrong thing).

Once you have passed the "remember the broad movements" stage, it is time to move on to the details. Once again, even with explanation, nothing beats practice. You still need a lot of practice to get those movements correct. And having someone in front to follow again helps.

And being the guy in front, being followed, means you cannot afford to get the details wrong, since now, the rest of the class is not looking at your broad movements, but referring to you for details that they may have forgotten. So while in the previous stage, you reinforce your understanding of the broad movements by leading the class, now you are reinforcing your understanding of the details by carefully practising it.

And when you are asked questions, you either know the answer, or you don't know the answer. If you know the answer, it shows that you have a certain understanding. If you don't know the answer, it reveals to you your lack of knowledge in that area, which then becomes an area for you to work on so as to improve.

So while someone may have been practising taiji for 50 years, he or she may not be as good as someone who has been teaching taiji for 20 years. When you practise taiji, you only learn from your teacher and yourself, which is basically two persons. When you teach taiji, besides learning from yourself, you are also learning from all your students. For their mistakes is a reflection of your mistake (they follow you).

But I am not saying that we should all go out now and teach taiji. Just that teaching is one way to improve, and it may be the faster way once you have the proper foundation.

Relax relax relax!

Yes, the key is to relax.

The more brute force your opponent uses, the more you must relax. That way, no matter how hard he tries, he simply cannot push you. It will be like trying to push into an endless depth of cotton. Whenever his force comes, just relax, turn and deflect the force away. And if he becomes frustrated and uses even more brute force to try to push you, then you have already won. Because eventually, his force will be so strong, that when you deflect it away, his force will carry him with it, causing him to lose his balance.

So when your opponent tries to push you with brute force, be so soft that he doesn't have any place to put his force. Just relax and let his force flow past around you. Eventually, when his force is too great, it will carry him with it. The moment you resist, it becomes a contest of strength, and whoever has the bigger muscles will win.

Balloon

My teacher always likes to describe peng as being like a balloon. Your arms should not flatten, they should be round. Yet, taking this to the extreme makes the arms rigid, something which goes against the taiji principle of relaxing.

Balloons are not balls of steel or concrete. They are filled with air, and are thus elastic. When pushed, they do deflate, but then bounce right back into shape. Thus, while the idea is not for our arms to flatten, it doesn't mean that they cannot flatten. Just like a balloon, we must allow it to "deflate" and then bounce back into shape. Otherwise, we are rigid and using brute force, a big contradiction to taiji's basic principles.

Win the Battle, Lose the War

Sometimes, we are so fixated on gaining a certain advantage, attaining a certain objective, that we don't realise that we have lost more than we have gained. Like when pushing hands, sometimes we try to achieve a certain effect, and we become so focused on achieving it, that in the end, when we do achieve it, we don't realise that our opponent actually managed to defeat us in another way. We may think we can win by pushing our opponent away, but actually, even if we do push him away, we have actually lost, because we were so focused in pushing that we ended up using brute strength.

In winning, we have actually lost. That small little gain in ego has resulted in effort lost in trying to master taiji.

The important thing is still not to fear losing, to concentrate on achieving the principles of taiji, to focus on your movements as a whole, to use your opponent's strength against him, and if bested, to learn from your mistakes.

A Good Foundation

A good foundation is very useful. After weeks of not practising, I am picking up my training tempo again. And a good foundation served to make it easier for me to get back to where I was. While the lack of practice has left my legs weaker than before, with constant practice, I am sure my legs will grow strong again. With the good foundation, where I know what are the requirements for each movement, once my legs are strong enough again, I am sure I will have no problems getting back to where I left.

In fact, today's practice made me very glad that I spent time to build a good foundation in the past, when I had time to do so. If I had not, and spent my time trying to learn more styles rather than concentrate on improving one, I probably will have a lot more problems today trying to get back to where I left off.

A Week For A Week

I haven't been practising regularly for some time, due to work. In fact, I had a gap of more than 3 weeks during which I didn't practise at all.

Based on past experience, every week not spent practising requires one week to get back to where I left. I could feel the difference today. I seemed to have forgotten a lot of what I have learnt, my legs are not strong enough to properly practise the whole form. I used to be able to practise my forms two or even three times, but today, I could barely finish the first set without having to stop. The second set was horrible; I was unable to carry out most of the basic requirements like keeping my back straight, or even shifting my weight properly.

I guess this time, it is going to take me a whole month before I can get back to where I left... Unlike computer games in which you can save and come back another day to the very same spot, training gaps set you back.

National Wushu Display 2007

Does anyone know what are the highlights for this year's National Wushu Display? Thinking about whether to go or not...

Respect

As martial artists, ethics is an important part of life. Being skilled in causing harm to people means that we are expected to carry ourselves in a different way, to be more demanding on our own behaviour. We should be pillars of morality. And one of the most important value when dealing with people is respect.

In the past, people have only one teacher. If they want to learn from another, they need to seek their teacher's permission, even if their teacher may not be as skilled as the other. A teacher is like a father, and you had to treat him as such.

Nowadays, this thinking has probably changed. People don't learn from a single teacher anymore. They switch teachers like they switch jobs. When they find someone better, they fly there like bees to honey. They start to forget who was the one who taught them the basics, who was the one who taught them to recognise what is good skill.

Respect your teachers. Respect those who have treated you well. If you don't respect those whom you have benefited from, others will not respect you as well.

Constant Practice

Constant practice is the key to improving.

Due to work commitments, I haven't been diligent in my taiji practices. And it shows. My legs are not as strong as they used to be, so my stance is now not as low when I do Chen style taiji. Couple that with my backside sticking out (because my legs get tired too easily), I would say that I have taken a few steps back instead of going forward.

My teacher sees it, and has been hinting to me that I haven't been practising enough. I guess he is being nice in not telling me straight that my level has dropped. But he also knows that he doesn't have to be too straightforward, that I will get the hint. Guess the only way now is to try to find time to practise on my own even when work seems to be piling up to the sky.

Taiji and Religion

Some people get confused between taiji and religion. Just because the taiji symbol is used as a symbol by Taoism doesn't mean that taiji is part of Taoism. Some Christians that I know decided not to take up taiji because of this. And my teacher was relating an incident about a talk he gave at a mosque. He was talking to the Muslims gathered at the mosque about taiji (they invited him), but at the end of the talk, they asked if there are Muslim teachers. I don't know what that has to do with learning taiji.

Personally, I don't think practising taiji means you are a Taoist. My teacher used to teach at a Catholic church, and he himself is not Catholic. Yet the father there welcomed him and let him used the church grounds to teach taiji to the church goers. If a Catholic father does not see taiji as part of another religion, then why should the rest of the layman?

Yet in another way, taiji is similar to religion. Not any religion, but religions in general. Why? Religion is about faith. No one knows what Heaven is like, yet faith allows people to follow in the teachings of a religion, believing that it will ultimately lead them to where they want to go. In practising taiji, we must have faith too. Right from the start, we are unable to use soft to counter hard. But we must have faith in the teachings of our teachers, and the teachers before them. Follow their teachings and it will ultimately allow you to use soft to counter hard.

National Wushu and Taiji Display 2007

I heard that this year, the National Wushu and Taiji Display will take place on 15 Sep 2007 at the usual venue (Indoor Stadium). Tickets are available from the national wushu federation, as well as community centres. From past years' experience, tickets will be sold on that day itself at the entrance as well, so if you really have no time to get the tickets, you can always try your luck on the actual day itself. If anyone has any more information on this event, do feel free to share!

Stiff Arms or Not

I asked my teacher how is it that the arms can be relaxed, yet the force generated by the legs can manifest itself at the arms and actually flip an opponent away. I would think that in order to transfer the force from the legs to the arm, the arm and torso should be a whole unit, and by shifting the weight and using the kua to turn the waist, the whole torso and arm would turn with the force generated by the legs.

But this means that the arm is stiff. Which obviously is wrong. But if we relax the arm, then when the torso turns, and the arm does not, the force doesn't get to the arms...

I think the answer could be that the arms are relaxed. The force generated at the legs are not used to forcibly flip an opponent away. Rather, listen to the direction of his force, and use the force generated in your legs to gently shift his force in the direction that you want.

Taiji and Kendo

Yesterday, during pushing hands class, we had Japanese visitors. One of them is a kendo practitioner. Having done a little bit of kendo myself, I was trying to explain to him about taiji and pushing hands. While explaining to him, I made a small discovery, that taiji is similar to kendo in that, to win, you must not fear losing. One of the common mistakes in kendo is to always be on the guard, for fear of exposing yourself and letting your opponent land the first blow. While you may not lose if you always keep your guard up, you are not going to win too. And worse, if your opponent is faster or stronger, he can either slip past your defence, or simply plow through it.

The trick to win at kendo is to actually allow your opponent to attack you. When he is attacking, he cannot defend. And that is when you strike. When he attacks, he opens himself to attack. You use that opening to attack. But first, you must be willing to let him attack. You must be ready to lose, should your attack on him fail and he lands the first blow.

I explained this to the Japanese visitor, hopefully he sees the common ground that taiji shares with kendo in terms of thinking. I would think that the way of the warrior is to be ready to lose. Only then are you ready to win.