Missing My Annual Feedback

Due to COVID-19, this summer, I did not return to Singapore for my annual visit. And it made me realise the importance of that annual trip. Because that annual trip is for me to visit my teacher, and to show him how much I have dropped in my skills from the inadequate practice and lack of his guidance.

I try my best to practise in Japan, but compared to being in Singapore under the guidance of my teacher, it is very different. In Singapore, I have a teacher who points out my mistakes. I have regular lessons that I attend, and I attend them because there is some responsibility. For example, I help my teacher to lead some of this classes. There are also occasions when I ferry him to class. This means that I cannot miss lessons for no good reason. It prevents the lazy part of me from taking over.

Leading classes also mean that I cannot practise what I want during those classes. Instead, I have to arrive at class early, before everyone else, and do my own practice (usually in front of my teacher, who also arrives early). It also means I have a lot of practice. It also means that I am constantly being pressured to better myself, as I have to set a good example when leading the class. There is the incentive to improve.

While I don't really lead classes even on my annual trips back to Singapore now, I do attend some of the classes and help when I can. I also visit my teacher for private lessons to let him correct my mistakes and see how bad I have become. In order not to be criticised, I try to keep up my own practice while in Japan. My annual trip is my annual feedback session, and it helps guide me for the next year. On focus areas, as a way to know where I am.

So without this annual feedback this year, I kind of feel a bit of lack of motivation. I still practise, but I don't know if I am heading in the right direction. I don't know if the things I have trying with actually work. But I guess, with the situation being what it is now, things can't be helped. I just have to fight through this low point.

Looking forward to being able to return to Singapore in 2021.

Inkling: Using Experience to Imagine

Pushing hands and routines are both essential to taiji training. And not only do they help to hone different aspects of taiji, I think they help each other too. Practising routines help us to understand how to move our bodies in the taiji way, and to understand the problems we currently have.

Meanwhile, pushing hands helps us to learn how to apply taiji, and experience how the correct application of taiji feels. It is this aspect that I think can then be transferred back into the practice of routines to help us practise in an even better way. Once we have experienced how the application of force in the taiji way feels (through pushing hands), we can keep that image in mind when practising our routines. This "image training" is a way to train our body and mind to move in the taiji way. The image is not just about how each move in the routine is used; it is about how such application of each move will feel, in terms of the contact point(s) and the moving of our own and our opponent's centre of gravity.

For the near future, I will be focusing on this form of image training when I practise my routines.

(Not) Returning to Singapore

Usually, I spend a bit of time during summer in Singapore. This year, though, I am stuck in Japan because of COVID-19. So there will be no trip back home to Singapore. I won't be able to practise with my teacher, Mr Kwek. I won't be able to help out with pushing hands classes (and get some practice out of that).

Still, I am trying to make the best out of this trying situation. I try to keep up my daily practice of taiji routines and basic exercises. It is also a good time to watch some videos and get some fresh ideas. Not just videos on taiji, but other martial arts (and even cultural arts) since there are common principles.

Looking forward to next summer. Hopefully, we will be able to take a trip back to Singapore then (amidst the postponed Tokyo Olympics...)

Using Chen Style as a Basic Exercise

One of the basic exercises my teacher uses is an unending string of Yang style's Grasp Sparrow Tail (拦雀尾). You just keep repeating the same move in all four directions, and you can keep practising it for as many repetitions as you want. It is a very good basic exercise since Grasp Sparrow Tail incorporates 掤 peng, 捋 lyu, 挤 ji, and 按 an.

I was thinking if I can do the same with Chen style, based on Lazily Tying Coat (懒扎衣). And I think I got it, it is basically a repetition of the first 4 moves.

1. Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar (金刚捣碓)
2. Lazily Tying Coat (懒扎衣)
3. Six Sealing and Four Closing (六封四闭)
4. Single Whip (单鞭)
5. Back to 1.

Each repetition of 1 to 4 will make you change your facing to another direction 90 degrees to the left of the previous repetition. Repeat four times, and you end back facing the same direction. Four repetitions form a set, and you can keep doing as many sets as you want. And like the unending repetitions of Grasp Sparrow Tail, this set allows practice that incorporates 掤 peng, 捋 lyu, 挤 ji, and 按 an. I will be incorporating this into my practice routine. I will also experiment with incorporating mirror image practice into this set so that it becomes more like the Grasp Sparrow Tail set (which is actually a set of 8 Grasp Sparrow Tail, 4 of which is the normal, the other 4 mirror images).

The Meaning of the Standard Opening Move

The opening move of both Chen and Yang style taiji is a turn to the right, followed by a step to the left (in the direction of the "forward"). The turn to the right is to deflect a punch to the right, and the moving of the left leg is a trip followed by a kao. While the actual movements are slightly different between the two styles, their broad applications are the same, because Yang style derived from Chen style.

This opening move has a lot more meaning behind it. If you think about it, it is the first move in the routine. And it really deserves that spot, because it is meant to be a response to the most basic of attacks--the right hand lunge punch.

Most people are right-handed. And therefore, the average person, when attacking, will throw a right hand punch. And probably lunge forward with the right leg too. A right hand lunge punch. Therefore, in a street fight with the average person, the most common attack a person would face is the right hand lunge punch. Being able to counter this most common of attacks would mean you can deal with most of the people who comes against you.

And that is why the opening move of both Chen and Yang style taiji is a response to the right hand lunge punch. Deflect the punch to the right. If the opponent overreaches and loses balance, good. If not, he would probably pull back his punch, and his center of gravity, to regain balance. This reduces the weight he places on his front leg, and that is what your left leg is for. A sweep to trip his front leg. If his center of gravity is moving forward, and you sweep his front leg forward, he will topple back. But if he still manages to stand, that is when you shift your weight to the left leg to move your whole body toward him in a kao, which can be an elbow if his body is a bit further.

Deflect his punch to the right, sweep his front leg if he tries to move back, then kao if he continues to stand. This simple series of moves is basic but effective. Most people know how to apply this first set of moves, but I don't think many understand why it is placed at the very start of the routine. The first few moves are usually practised the most, and you probably want to put those that are most likely to be used up front.

Unrelated to Taiji: Online Dojo Unites Kids During Pandemic

Online Dojo Unites Kids During Pandemic

More for archival purposes. Local kendo club got featured on NHK World for using Zoom to continue with practice.

Inkling: The Point of Intention (Focus)

Intention (意) or focus is a critical part in taiji application. However, I think a common misconception is to place focus on the point of contact. While the point of contact is important, it is not what we want to achieve. Our intention, our focus, should be on the effect that we want to achieve. Which means it is directed at our opponent's centre of gravity.

On the surface, the point of contact is where our force seems to be acting. But if we focus on the point of contact, it becomes a point of contest. Contest between our force and that of our opponent. This then becomes resisting, a contest of brute force.

Instead, we want to focus our intention on our opponent's centre of gravity, the source of his force. We want to make our force act at the root of our opponent's force. So while the point of contact may be at the limbs, our force is directed toward our opponent's centre. We therefore need to be able to discern the direction of his force coming from that centre, avoid meeting it head on, and work on his centre from a different direction that will cause him to lose balance.

Martial Art, Martial Skill

Our present-day martial arts have their roots in martial skills of old, when people used to fight with their fists, swords, spears, and other such weapons. But what is the difference?

Here is what I think.

First, martial skills developed for a purpose: to maim or kill an opponent. Whether it was for self-defence in turbulent world, or for armies to win battles, the purpose is the same. And in order to do this, there is a need for both physical and mental training. Physical training to allow the body to execute the moves required to maim or kill. Mental training to hone the mind to be able to overcome fear, because in close combat, being in range to hit an opponent means one is also prone to being hit.

A side effect of physical training is it teaches the mind to overcome hardship, because physical training is tough, it is repetitive. It teaches the mind to focus on perfecting a move. Beyond overcoming fear, it hones to mind to be capable of working hard toward achieving a goal.

With the invention of guns and other long-range weapons, the need for close combat as part of daily life has shrunk significantly, so much so that it is near obsolescence. Yet the mental training part of martial skill training--overcoming fear, teaching focus and perseverance--is still as applicable today as centuries ago. And that is why martial skills came to be practised today, but not as a practical skill, but as an art to hone the mind.

The main difference is the purpose.

The purpose of martial skill is the death or injury of an opponent. Mental training is needed to allow the physical skill to be applied. The mental supports the physical.

The purpose of martial art is the training of one's mind. Physical training is used to train the mind, and a bonus is that the physical skill can be applied should the rare need arise. Here, the physical supports the mental.

Both physical and mental aspects are important. But more importantly, we need to keep in mind which is the main purpose, and which is the supporting role.

Tracking My Training for 2020

Continuing the practice in 2015, carried on till 2019, I have been tracking my training, and will also do so for 2020.

For 2019, I practised:
55 sets of Chen style Old Frame First Routine
55 sets of Yang style 108
92 sets of Sun style taijiquan
(total 202 sets of taijiquan in a year)

129 sets of Chen style taijijian
129 sets of Yang style taijijian
(total 258 sets of taijijian in a year)

215 sets of Yang style taijidao

And also many hours of basic exercises and single moves.

Total number of practice hours in 2019: 279.5 hours

Again, for 2019, I have not been keeping my training log... 😅
Guess it is really a goner.
But the amount of practice (in terms of hours) has increased slightly from 2018.
And I am looking forward to increasing the amount of practice in 2020!