Bajiquan Videos

Here are some more baijiquan 八極拳 videos from Youtube.

A sparring routine used to practise application (and response).


Matsuda Ryuchi 松田隆智 performing bajiquan. He is the author of the comic Kenji 拳児, which is a comic about a person's bajiquan learning journey.




This is the competition form used for wushu competitions nowadays.

Learning to Relax

Just when I thought I had made a bit of headway in learning how to relax, I realised how far away I really am.

When I pushed hands with my teacher, I still feel force, and I know that is brute force coming from me. Yes, it is a bit, very little, but still, it is muscular force that can be used against me when pushing hands. It is muscular force that is preventing me from being able to apply the soft side of taiji properly. It is muscular force that comes about because I still cannot relax.

And I think it is because I am still using a lot of muscular force when I practise my routines. Taiji is about the mind moving the body, but I still end up using my muscles to move the body. While it may sound funny/ridiculous (how else to move if not to use muscles?), the muscles here I am referring to is the muscular force that we are so used to using, the brute force that we are used to using. So, after some thought, I think the way to improve and learn to relax is to go away from the muscular force and work towards using the mind to move the body, to use the mind to make the movements when practising my routines. Once I can do that, maybe I will be able to relax better and not like the muscular force manifest itself when pushing hands.

A Gentle Lock

Just to share an experience I had.

I have previously talked about the hard and soft applications of the same move in taiji. Last night, my teacher was using me to demonstrate a move. When he used lyu 捋 on my arm, placing one hand on my wrist and another at my elbow, I had the strangest kind of feeling. I felt that I couldn't move. I felt that if I tried to move my arm, no matter which direction, the hands being placed at my wrist and elbow would not allow that movement. And all my teacher did was to place his hands on my arm. It was not like he was locking my arm with force. It was what I call a gentle lock. It is because his "listening" is so good, that every small movement that I make, he was able to detect and move in the smallest/slightest way to counter it, while still maintaining his hands at my wrist and elbow.

This is what taiji is about. Winning without having to fight. Just like what Sun Tzu said is the highest form of winning. Without an overt expression of force from my teacher, I (whose arm was being locked) knew exactly what was in store for me should I try to struggle and fight back. And I knew that I had no way out of it.

It will be a long way (if ever) before I get to this stage. But at least it is something to remember, and slowly work towards.

Trimming Your Fingernails

Once thing that I learnt back in the days when I was learning wushu, and have since been practising, is to keep my fingernails short at all times. Because for someone who practises martial arts, it serves practical reasons to have short fingernails.

1. There is less chance of your nails catching onto your opponent's clothes and breaking at the worst possible time and causing you unnecessary pain and distraction.

2. Your nails won't break when you are trying to punch or poke someone, causing you unnecessary pain and distraction.

3. Your nails won't scratch your practice partners, causing them unnecessary pain and injury.

So, for yourself and the people you practise with, I would advise keeping your fingernails short. It will benefit you (or at least prevent a disadvantage for you) and is a courtesy to others.

Videos of a Younger Chen Xiaowang

Found this on Youtube. It is Chen style old frame first routine, but see how different it is from what we are used to seeing nowadays. It is softer, just like what the first routine is all about.



And here is another video of Chen Xiaowang when he was younger. The video is clip of his first and second routines combined.

Taking Comments

An incident at class. An old man (a friend of my teacher) came over to talk to my teacher, and saw us practising. He saw a fellow student, and commented that his moves were too stiff. After the old man left, the student made a rude remark about the old man. My teacher chastised him for not being open to comments.

I know the old man. He is also a practitioner of taiji, and practises daily (except for rainy days). And he probably has been practising taiji even before I was born. I thought about bringing this up to my fellow student, but decided to keep my comments to myself before he thinks I am trying to be smart.

I think that in order for us to improve, we must be open to comments. Not just from our teacher, but from fellow students and even passerbys. When someone makes a comment, we need to reflect to see if that comment is true, because there is no smoke without fire. Usually, an external party can notice things that we would otherwise miss out. We think we are correct, but when someone thinks otherwise, we need to ask ourselves why is it that someone else is perceiving things differently from us.

Be open to comments, because they can only help to improve you. And be thankful that the person giving you a comment actually bothers to spend his time looking at you and telling you what he thinks can help you improve.

Why Practise Taiji Slowly?

Why do we practise taiji slowly? It is, after all, a martial art, and you don't move slowly at all when you are applying taiji. So why not practise it at the speed that you use it?

I think the answer is because we practise taiji slowly so that we make sure that each movement is done correctly. When we move slowly, we are able to check ourselves to ensure that each movement is carried out exactly as is required, so that we move in line with the principles of taiji. With time, each time we practise a movement, it is correct, meeting the requirements. After practising the same movement a few thousand times, the correct way of moving becomes such a part of us, that instinctively, whether moving fast or slow, we are able to carry out the movement in the exact same way, just at different speeds. Then, when we need to apply that movement, we are able to meet the requirements of the movement, but moving at a faster speed.

But slow is not necessarily good. Each time we practise, while we move slowly, we must not have breaks within our movements. Because one of the main principles of taiji is to move continuously (绵绵不断). If we move so slowly that there are breaks in our movement (usually because we take too much time checking ourselves), and it becomes a bad habit, what happens is that when we try to apply that movement (moving at a faster speed), the same break will happen, because we are so used to it. And then we will find that we are unable to properly apply that movement, because the break in it causes the force to be disrupted.

So while practising slowly is good, remember, the movements must be continuous. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of practising slowly, and we might as well practise at the same speed as we expect to apply the movements. And then it becomes like changquan.

Questions on Taiji

Do you have a question on taiji? Do feel free to post them here as comments. It will give me ideas on what to write about, and who knows, maybe someone else can provide you an answer as well.

Hard vs Soft

I was watching a video on Chen style fajing training. It introduced 42 methods of training fajing, which can be stringed together to become a continuous training routine. Below is an example taken from here.



The video I watched showed applications as well (I couldn't find it on YouTube, so you will have to make do with the example above), but watching the video, I started thinking about how the applications seem to stress the hard part of application, without touching on the soft part of application.

I think taiji movements can be applied in two ways, hard and soft. By hard, it means striking. Basically, like a punch, you start without contacting your opponent, and suddenly make contact. The force is usually more explosive. Much like what you will see in Chen style second routine.

By soft, you are already in contact with your opponent, then you listen to his force and redirect it to use against him. The movements are more fluid and is what you will find familiar in Chen style first routine.

For example, the double peng can be used to strike away an opponent's arm when he tried to use both hands to push you. That is the hard method of applying it. It can also be used to turn and lift up his arms, and his whole body with it, when he similarly tries to push you with two hands. That is the soft method of using it.

The hard method requires power, which can be developed via constant practice. What you need to remember is that the movement must be smooth and relaxed. Power comes naturally when your body moves as a whole. There is no need to specifically exert force.

The soft method requires the ability to listen for and redirect your opponent's force. This is achieved through pushing hands training. This may be the harder method to train, since it requires that you have a partner available to train with.

So while it may seem more interesting to train in the hard method of application (after all, the explosive nature of the force exerted makes it look more impressive and more "useable"), let's not forget the soft method of application, which is what allows one to use "four ounces of strength to move a thousand catties" (四两拨千斤).

Taiji Mentality

A lot about taiji comes from the mind. After all, one of the basic principles of taiji is to use the mind to control the body (用意不用力). So the correct mentality towards applying taiji is very important, since the mind controls the body.

A common misunderstanding (I would think) is that taiji is about yielding (see previous post about yielding vs following) to the opponent, so that you don't resist him. I would think the correct mentality is not about yielding. Rather, it is about not resisting. But how not to resist? It does not mean to yield, to let your opponent has his way. Rather, in order not to resist, you listen, then follow, then lead your opponent in the direction that you want. Starting out passive, you end up taking the lead. The correct mentality is to remain passive until your opponent makes a move, but all the time you tell yourself to look for an opening to take the lead. You need to end up like water, flowing into every nook and canny available.

Martial arts is about defeating the opponent. That usually means you have to push forward (not to be taken in the full literal sense). If you need to move back to gain an advantage, by all means go ahead. But you need to press forward (need not be taken literally, it can be a mental kind of thing) at some point in time in order to defeat your opponent. If you keep running away, at best you avoid losing.

So the mental model to adopt is to be like water, be like the sea, flowing into every nook and canny, crushing itself upon the shore, retreating only to strike again.

Learn By Looking

There is a limit to learning by looking at what your teacher is doing. Because when you are looking, you are not able to comprehend what is going on within your teacher's mind/body.

For example, when you look at your teacher pushing hands with someone else, you may notice him moving his hands, his legs, his body in certain ways to neutralise an attack. But when you try to imitate his movements, you find that you are unable to achieve the same effect. Also, everytime you look at him, he seems to be moving in a slightly different way, yet the effect is the same. Why? Because your teacher's movements are a response to his opponent's movements/force. Each situation is a different situation, and thus each response is different from the other. You cannot achieve the same effect imitating him because firstly, you lack his level of skill/understanding of taiji. Secondly, your opponent's movement/force is different. So your situation is different from your teacher's.

It is the same when observing your teacher performing a taiji routine. It is difficult to imitate your teacher because you don't know what is going on inside his mind, what he understands from each movement of the routine and how he visualises applying it. If you try to imitate his movements without knowing how he interprets each movement, you will end up with an empty shell, a form without substance. You are better off performing each movement based on how you yourself understand each movement is applied.

Does that mean there is no value in looking at your teacher? No, there is still value. You look at your teacher is learn the broad movements, after which you must ponder on your own their applications (and ask if you cannot figure it out). You look at your teacher to see what can be achieved, thereby allowing you to set goals for yourself. You look at your teacher to see if you have made any gross mistakes in the movements (usually because when you first learn the routine, due to your lack of understanding, you didn't pick up enough details, and now that you know better, you realise that your hand is too low, your feet too wide apart, etc.)

Pushing Hands For Self-Defence

Is pushing hands a form of self-defence?

If you were to ask me, I would say that strictly speaking, pushing hands is not a form of self-defence. Rather, it is a way to practise taiji skills related to self-defence.

A real attacker is not going to touch hands with you before he continues his attack. So the basic movements (single-hand stationary pushing hands, double-hands stationary pushing hands, etc.) that we use in pushing hands will not be useful when we are really under attack. So if you think you are going to be able to defend yourself just by learning pushing hands, you may need to relook your options.

What pushing hands does is that it trains you in the basics of taiji, which is 掤履挤按採挒肘靠. It teaches you the importance of staying relaxed, and trains you to turn your kua properly to neutralise an opponent's force. You still need to couple this with your taiji routine training (which is a form of shadow boxing), during which you visualise how to apply each movement in your routine. Taiji routine practice allows you to know how to apply each movement; pushing hands training allows you to apply each movement correctly (the correct amount of force, the correct point to make contact, etc.)

So pushing hands alone is not self-defence. Practising taiji routines alone is not self-defence. Only when you put both of them together, can you make taiji a form of self-defence.

Thoughts on Peng

I just wrote about why we need to practise single-hand pushing hands. This post is about additional thoughts on peng related to that article.

As mentioned, the most important thing about single-hand pushing hands is to learn about peng and other basic skills of taiji. So what exactly is peng all about? I think peng is wrongly translated in English when we use "ward off". Because peng is not just about warding off. Rather, the most important thing about peng is learning where to meet an opponent's force. It is about where to make contact, and that is why it is the most important move in taiji. Because only after making contact, can you continue to perform other things, like leading your opponent's force away and thus neutralise it, and then return it to your opponent.

For example, a common mistake is to make contact with your opponent's hand (when he pushes) using the back of your hand. Why? Because when you make contact with the back of your hand, your wrist will become stiff, thus allowing your opponent to make use of your stiff wrist (aka brute force) against you. If instead you make contact with your forearm (near the wrist), your wrist can remain relaxed.

Is peng just about making contact with your hand? No. Any part of your body that makes contact with an opponent can be peng. Peng is about how and where to make contact, and is not limited to the hand/arm. It can be the shoulder that makes contact, or the back, or the shin. Peng is about shifting the point of contact to that which is most advantageous to you, so that you can then make use of your opponent's force against him.

Why Practise Single-Hand Pushing Hands

A fellow student in class today asked me why do we practise single-hand pushing hands. Come to think of it, it is highly unlikely that a real opponent will stand there with you and use only one hand to push you. More likely, he will be moving around and trying to use both hands on you. So what is the value of learning to push with one hand in a stationary position, when it is unlikely to be the case when you really need to apply pushing hands?

I think the value of single-hand stationary pushing hands is learning the most important basics of pushing hands, which is peng, and to turn your kua. Over a prolonged period of single-hand pushing hands, you try your ability to peng and you start to learn how to turn your kua to neutralise your opponent's force, and learn how not to resist. With this good foundation, when you move on to the more advanced forms of pushing hands, and actual application, you will find that peng comes naturally to you, and you are able to turn your kua like second nature, and staying relaxed is easily accomplished without much thought. Once you can do this, you are much better at sensing and neutralising your opponent's force, and returning it becomes easier too.

So the value of single-hand pushing hands is not in its application during a real situation, but because it trains you to become familiar with the most basic movements in taiji which is fundamental for the proper application of taiji in all situations.

Article on Self-Defence Classes in The Sunday Times

An article on self-defence classes was featured in The Sunday Times Lifestyle section on 7 Jun 2009. It started off with an interview of a fellow pushing hands student (the reporter came to visit us during pushing hands class). Below is a scanned image of the article. Those who subscribe to The Straits Times online can view it here.

The side article lists a few self-defence classes available in Singapore. Below is the excerpt from the side article on my teacher's pushing hands class.
Below are two photographs taken by the reporter, but it didn't make it into the print edition. My teacher is the one wearing white, and the one pushing hands with him is the person who was interviewed. The pictures were taken from here.Ever since the article ran, we have seen an increase in the number of students at pushing hands class. Besides the original class at Kreta Ayer CC on Thursday nights 8:30pm to 10pm, there is another class at Kreta Ayer CC on Saturday evenings 5:30pm to 7pm, and at Tampines Changkat CC on Sunday evenings 6pm to 7:30pm.

Taiji and Aiki 合気

In a way, taiji is very similar in principle to the Japanese martial arts of daito-ryu aikijujutsu 大東流合気柔術 (and its better know derivative, aikido 合気道). Taiji is based on neutralising your opponent's force, and so are the other two. Taiji has 化劲 while the other two has 合気. Both are 化劲 and 合気 based on not using the instinctive reaction force (aka resistance) but through giving up on this instinctive reaction force, you gain another type of force (which is 化劲 or 合気).

The means to achieve this force is slightly different, but has similarities as well. Daito-ryu/aikido focuses on partner training, in which two persons will help each other to apply movements. Through the practice of these movements, they seek to understand how to give up on this instinctive reaction force. For taiji, routines are practised by one person alone, yet a partner can also help to train up in the application of the movements (similar to how daito-ryu and aikido do their training), as well as pushing hands to build a foundation in the skills of taiji.

The end result is the same, to gain the ability to use 化劲 or 合気.

Applying Taiji

I have written about the applying taiji before, as well as how to learn the application of taiji via sparring routines.

There are two ways to apply taiji, namely to apply the techniques of taiji (in terms of how to use the different movements that you can find in a routine) and how to apply the skills of taiji (like how to neutralise force and how to return force).

To learn how to apply taiji movements, you need to constantly think about application when practising your routine. That is one method. Another is to have a partner who feeds you with attacks, which you then use a specific taiji movement to counter. You keep practising how to use that movement to counter an attack until it becomes second nature.

To learn how to apply the skills of taiji, it must be done together with gaining those skills. To gain those skills, you practise pushing hands. You feel for your partner's force, and try to discern its direction and magnitude, and then you try to neutralise it and return it to your partner. There is no fixed move, just the basic moves (peng lyu ji an cai lie zhou kao 棚捋挤按采挒肘靠) of taiji.

Both methods are correct in how you apply taiji, yet there is a difference. If you only practise how to apply the movements, you will be able to handle attacks that comes in fixed patterns (those that you have practised with your partner). But when it comes to things outside your usual range of practice, you will be caught off guard without a solution. But if you were to instead be able to apply the skills of taiji, then you will be handle all situations, even if you have never met them before. That is what is meant by "无招胜有招" "No (fixed) movements winning against (fixed) movements".

At the end of the day, in order to master the application of taiji, I think we need to use both methods.

Facial Expressions

In previous posts, I have written about facial expressions and how to add soul and spirit to taiji routines. Today, as I was watching a Japanese drum performance, I once again thought about the importance of facial expressions.

Meaning (意) and spirit (神) is very important in taiji, and practising routines is one of the main ways of learning taiji. So when we are practising our routines, we need to express the meaning and spirit of taiji, else our routines will be empty, and our practice will also be in vain (just actions, aka 摆架子). Watching the Japanese drum performance taught me the importance of facial expressions. When a good drummer plays, his facial expressions matches the rhythm and mode of the piece, because he is fully engrossed in expressing the rhythm and mode of the piece, such that he becomes one with the music. So when the rhythm is fast yet light, his face shows a happy expression, and when the tempo builds up to a thundering roar, his face becomes more serious. When the tempo softens and slows, his facial expression is relaxed.

The same for taiji. You need to match your facial expression with the meaning and spirit of the movement that you are doing. When the movement is smooth and slow, your facial expression should be relaxed, when the movement is small and faster, your facial expression should become more serious. When your facial expression matches your movements, it shows that you understand the movements, and practice becomes meaningful.

Secret Moves (秘伝技)

Is there such a thing as secret moves, that are sure-win moves when used? In aikido and daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu, there are such things as secret moves (秘伝技). But are they sure-win?



I think everyone has his or her own "secret moves". And each of us will have different "secret moves". Just what are these? They are actually movements that we are good at, that we are able to apply properly and thus gain an advantage. We are good at these movements because we have reached a level of training that allows us to apply these movements correctly.

And to round this up, I think the "secret moves" are really the basic moves. These basic moves that we learn right at the beginning are the most fundamental moves, embodying the principles of the system that we are learning. They are simple yet effective, and thus applicable in a wide range of situations.

Xingyiquan (形意拳) Competition Style

A video of the xingyiquan (形意拳) champion in Singapore's 2006 wushu competition.

Sparring Routines

Martial arts is about defeating an opponent. One feature common to Chinese martial arts is the use of routines to train. But one cannot train in the skill of defeating an opponent just fighting empty air. You need an opponent to practise against.

That is where sparring routines (对练套路) come in. These are routines in which one learns how to apply the techniques/movements as well as how to counter/block them. These are practised by two partners. One would practise the movements as found in a normal routine. Another would then use movements from within that routine as well to counter the movements.

An example is the bajiquan sparring routine below.



Once both partners are able to perform the sparring routine smoothly and with proper application of force, they can then move on to free form sparring. Pushing hands is a form of controlled free form sparring, with certain rules, to allow taiji practitioners a controlled environment to slowly build up their skills in applying taiji movements.

Fast But Not Scattered

A common mistake that I keep making when practising my Chen style routine is the habit of flinging my arms about when I try to make my movements fast (in order to have a variation of rhythm within my routine). There is a more pronounced change in speed for Chen style, yet fast doesn't mean swinging my arms around and end up being like changquan. Fast and steady, not fast and scattered (快而稳，不是快而散). To do that, I have to learn to control my movements, to watch this bad habit of mine when practising. The key is in turning using my kua. When I am able to turn with my kua, no matter how fast or slow the movement it, I can control the speed yet not appear scattered. There will be a certain force that can be felt from it.

Back to the drawing board... and more and more practice!

Thoughts on Performances

Don't be surprised, but there are actually many wushu/taiji performances taking place round the year in Singapore. Most of them are events organised by/at community clubs, though SNWF also organises some activities as well.

Of late, my teacher (and his students) has not been taking part in performances. The last major performance we did was a few years back, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Singapore and he was asked to get his students to perform taiji to showcase as one of the activities that goes on in the neighbourhood of Toa Payoh.

While I don't like the idea of public performance of pushing hands, I think it is important to take part in performances of taijiquan. Firstly, preparing for the performance gives the students an objective to work towards, so there is a reason for them to practise hard and to try for certain standards. At the same time, it exposes us to what other people are doing, so that we don't end up living in our own world. After all, taiji is practised in many different ways by many different people, it is always good to know how others are practising taiji (though we don't necessarily need to follow their style/way).

It is the same with competitions. We take part in competitions not for the glory or the recognition by others, but rather to give a goal for us to work towards so as to focus our energy, and at the same time, ascertain our own standards.

How to Peng part 3

I have written about how to peng before (see here, here and here). I have written about relaxing before. I have written about how not to resist, and how relaxing is different from going limp.

Today, I am going to write again about peng, because the most important movement in taiji is peng. Peng is not about resisting, yet it is also not about going limp. If you don't use some force, you cannot peng. Yet if you use too much force, you will not be able to peng as well, because you will not be able to listen to your opponent's force.

Peng is what taiji is about, it is how you can use four ounces of force to divert away a thousand catties of force (四两拨千斤). But 四两拨千斤 is not totally going without force. You still need a bit (four ounces) in order to do anything about the thousand catties of force. What it means is that you are able to use a little bit of force to move a very big force. And how you do that is because, when you are relaxed, you are able to sense (listen) the incoming force, ascertain its direction and magnitude, and thus use a small token force to divert away the incoming force.

Blocks in karate and external martial arts attempt to accomplish the same thing, which is to divert away the incoming force. But because they do not differentiate between the direction and magnitude of the incoming force, the force needed to execute a block is always the same. In taiji, because we listen to the incoming force to ascertain its direction and magnitude, we are able to tailor the force we use to block/peng.

And once you are able to listen to the incoming force and use peng, you can then redirect that force back to your opponent.

Yielding vs Following

The important thing in taiji is not to resist your opponent's force. But that does not mean yielding to his force. There is a difference between yielding (譲) and following (随).

When you yield, you are not resisting, and your opponent's force comes in, and you end up with nowhere else to go.

But taiji is not about yielding. First, you need to be aware of your opponent's force, so you listen/feel for it. Then you need to stick to it, so that it doesn't slip away. Then you follow it to where it is going. And then you lead it towards where you want it to go. The reason why you do not resist your opponent's force is so that you can feel where the force is and where it is going, so that you can then lead it towards where you want it to go.

Slow != Correct

For those who don't do programming, the symbol '!=' means 'not equal to'.

A friend of mine said that when driving a car, "slow doesn't mean safe". That is true, but I also have to add that "fast is inherently dangerous".

In taiji, when practising your routines, slow doesn't mean correct. But similarly, fast is fundamentally wrong.

My teacher takes about 40 minutes to complete a set of Yang style 108. For me, I took about 30 minutes. But the difference is that, when I am doing my set, I move so slowly that I seem to have pauses in between, which is fundamentally wrong. Yet my teacher finishes his set in a longer time, without appearing to have pauses. Why?

I think the answer is that he completes each movement fully, while for me, I sometimes move into the next movement without completing the previous one (because my kua is still not relaxed enough to allow me to turn fully). So the important thing is to complete each movement, and keep moving continuous so that there are no pauses.

Taiji is Cruel 2

I was walking home after taiji class, when it occurred to me why the moves in taiji are so cruel. It takes a long time to be able to correctly apply the principles of taiji, to learn how to listen, understand, neutralise and use force. Once you are able to do so, you are able to control your opponent's and your own force so well that you can choose the exact effect that you want, whether it is to make your opponent lose balance, break his ribs or push him back a few feet. But until then, you are unable to properly use "soft against hard". So if you meet up with trouble and really need to save yourself, you will need to rely on technique rather than skill. That is why the techniques in taiji are designed to be cruel and lethal, so that it is one shot one kill. The underlying rule is that a person learning taiji will be a person of martial morals, and thus will not abuse the cruel techniques, instead using them only in times of dire need.

Martial Morals 武徳

Martial morals (武徳) is an important aspect of training in martial arts. When I was learning wushu, my coach would always finish off each training session by gathering the students and talking to us. My taiji teacher likes to talk too, though he doesn't make it a practice to talk to the students together as a group. While the topics vary, the important thing is to glean a bit of understanding about how my coach or my teacher thinks about life in general, about their principles in life, about how they go about dealing with issues. Although they are not 100% correct (then again, who is to judge right and wrong?) they do serve as examples that we can learn from, to build up our own set of martial morals.

One of the calligraphy pieces that I wrote.

While we may have skills that can subdue the world, it is only through our martial morals that we can make the world submit to us. You can defeat an opponent by skill, but you can only win his heart with your morals.

Moving With Kua

I came to realise something last week while observing my teacher as he was explaining something to another student. It has to do with the evergreen issue of kua.

Sinking/relaxing/turning the kua is more than just that. We need to understand why we are doing it, which will eventually help us in being able to transfer the force from the legs to the hands. When my teacher sinks or turns his kua, the action is translated to his hands, i.e. when his kua moves, his whole body moves together, the hands move as well. He is able to use the turning motion of his kua to move his body, his shoulder, his elbow and his wrist. And because he is able to uniformly distribute the force throughout, there is no one location which is "heavier" than another, and thus there is no "edge" for me to leverage on against him. He is like a spinning sphere, touch him at any point and you get thrown away.

On the contrary, when I move my kua, I am unable to properly translate the force to my body and hands. The force is unevenly distributed along my arm (usually being heavier either at my wrist or my elbow) and thus, my opponent is able to leverage on that to return my force to me. I am like a spinning cube, there are points at which if you apply the force in the correct direction, you will be able to push me away.

So the lesson here is that we need to move using our kua, which helps us to distribute the force generated from our legs uniformly across our entire body so that we can become a spinning sphere. For example, when pushing, we move our body forward by pushing with our back leg. Towards the end of the push, we need to sink/relax our kua, but at the same time use that movement to continue pushing (by relaxing our shoulders, sinking the elbows and sitting down our wrists).

Back to Basics

In order to correct my "Chen style hands, Yang style legs" problem when practising my Chen style old frame first routine, I am going back to the basic of silk reeling exercise, to train up my ability to twist my kua properly so that I can better demonstrate the silk reeling movements that forms the basis of Chen style.