I thought this might be a decent topic to start more discussion. I think it would be interesting to hear what issues people are working on that they are aware of at the present time. Since everyone has different skill levels, it may be interesting to hear what it is you have problems with, and maybe some can help give some perspective on these issues. Anway, like I said in the other thread, my current issue is keeping my energy down and rooted while I am pushing. It seems when I am pushing someone who is more experienced than I (or stronger) my body rises and my front foot tends to get lifted. The only way I know to deal with this is to keep my energy straight and forward with proper intent while sinking my weight, lowering my shoulders, and sinking the chest. Also, while doing form work I assume each weighted foot should be as heavy as possible while keeping the shoulders lowered and chest sunken. I guess I need to become more "bottom" heavy (and I don't mean **** - lol). Anyone else??
Looking at a screen instead of training just that bit more. Dropping my left hand in Muay Thai when I get tired
i need to be working my forms more--especially since i'm doing couple different arts need to sharpen them up
I agree 100%. Too many people talk more than they train. I'm sure I could find a little more time to train, but while I'm at work (like now) I like to read and talk about TCC. Great point though!
I have the same problem, thanks for the advice . Another problem i have is memorizing the energys (p'eng, liu, etc...) and how apply them while doing the form (and my "test" is this week :bang: ), i'm not sure how am i suppose to feel them, should i focus in the part where the energy is? but when i do i forgot to respire in the right way :bang: ... (P.d: sorry about my engrish )
Yeah it's easy to get tense or over-do the peng and get into 'force' over 'will' ime. Also you can get neck ache or a headache that way too. Actually something Steve Rowe said in another thread has helped me a lot with that (thanx Steve ). When I do peng thru the 'ward-off' posture of the frame (form lol) I found that relaxing more and making the inside space between body and arm and also inside the body like a void actually made me more peng on the 'business end' of it! I've since realised that the more sunken and relaxed I am the more I can express a purer peng feeling - it's kind of a yin yang thing I'm guessin... Also really focus on raising the energy from the legs and kwa but remain strongly attached to there as you express the energy out/up/forwards - this kind of anchors it to the root and keeps it under control without resorting to 'force' Try playing with those ideas and let us know how you get on I guess what I'm doing wrong at the moment is I blink my eyes too much in sparring practices and I'm lousy at 'proper' push hands lol I probably don't practice as consistently as I should either To remedy some of these problems, I took a leaf from Alex Kozma's book... In our wednesday sessions I got everyone to name one, two or three training goals/areas that they felt they were weak in, (self included) wrote them down and we all agreed to train exclusively in those areas each week for the rest of the year to see how much we could improve in that time and challenge our comfort zones. My goals were: Confidence in sparring practice, stamina and general fitness and flexibility. So far it's going well... Peace and Happy Training :Angel:
thanks TJB, Interesting ideas on the form posture. I will give them a go. Thanks! . I was refering more to the energetic of peng in every motion and in stillness. No matter what the motion, transition or posture Peng should underly the practice ... it is the steel that is wrapped in the cotton. It is space inside the body that is expanding out. It also relates to 'mind' and the abilities of your mind to expand. A good and simple exersise to see if you have this is just to stand naturally. Get someone to place there hands lightly on you and see if they feel that you are expending into their space. I have met a person that has this quality to such an extent that just standing near him you feel it!! This is what i am training to achive, the power that underpins taiji ... the expansion of mind and of body. Of course to do this you have to let go of the pre-concieved and the intellectulisations and let the power come out. So 'Mind' is a big thing! Happy training mate, Chris
Chris - just to add a little to what I said earlier, in light of what you clarified - I feel that energetically the body has to become softer (sung) so the yi can really get the peng 'out'. I notice when I do this that my feet push into the ground involuntarily as I peng up and outwards... when I do it wrong all the energy masses in my upper body, my muscles tense inside and my feet 'float'... if the body is not sung, the peng is restricted and distorted ime it has to be more natural (wu wei - 'not-doing') and get away from effort (force). Try sinking your weight more by letting go into the root(s) - even tho the body is lifting - as you release peng outwards and up. So, physical is expanding and lifting, but mind is firmly anchored/rooted and energy swelling outward Peace :Angel:
Rooting and deflecting intelligently at the time of feeling the force. I have a habit of rising up, and cause I am an 18 1/2 stone guy, I am easily overbalanced this way. I have been told I am impossible to move when I root well, so I think it is a good thing to strive for. The other one is deflecting an incomming push when I feel it in front of me, rather than collapsing my guard and letting the push onto my body and dealing with it there. As if I am not rooted, and even at times when I am rooted, its a goodnight from me. Another thing is getting onto my legs. I would be floating around the middle, trying to deflect with with my hips yet not weighting the back leg and wondering why I keep getting pushed over! D'oh! I have lots to work on in fixed step, I prefer moving step. That way I can move my bloody legs! Plus doing loads of Judo helps. Means I am getting used to moving about with large fellows who are far better than me! In the judo I am working mainly on sweeping. I feel if I can get my sweeps good, that will translate across well into my Tai Chi, and other things as well. It's going to be a long road this though. Absolutley loving it though, best thing I done. Smaller guys where hitting me with sacrifice throws (when they take themselves to the floor to throw you) One guy kept doing it to me and I was thinking what I could do to counter it. It hit me suddenly, I was floating about high up, and he was taking me over easily with it, back to fixed step problems. Next few times I felt it comming BAM! Sunk and rooted like a champ. Ended up with him on the floor and me on my feet. When I sunk and rooted he took me nowhere! His face was a picture as it was working so well for him 5 seconds ago! The wee buggers attack and wrap the legs now! I have ideas for them too though!
Being 'sung', as folks call it, is at the core if you ask me. No matter what I am doing, that is paramount. Starting to pay off to. Last week at Judo after 6 rounds of 3 min Randori, I was the only one trying to drag all the other folks up for more, and I can't run 100 yards! Relaxation in fighting is the best idea anyone has ever came up with!
Glad my inane ramblings helped someone! We worked hard physically and emotionally and in a lot of extreme pain with various peng pushing exercises to exhaustion and beyond to increase the root and internal connection, I think this helped in that now I look for the lightest connection to the feet so that the foot just 'sticks lightly' or feels like its only made an 'electrical' connection and yet it's rooted fast and powerfully yet feels like nothing.... strange, I also don't feel like I have to make any effort to 'sink' in fact the lighter and easier, the more effective. The connection from foot to hand is always there, powerful and instant. We have been working on the fact that ther are only 5 'hands' in taiji and ensuring that both hands are always in one of those shapes (and mostly there are only 2) helps to shape the body and keep the connections utilising the yin yang switches in the wrists to initiate body shaping and softening. We are also working on directly transferring from one leg to other without any disconnection of upper and lower body and the pumping and pulsing in the feet to keep the energy moving through the connections and to constantly supply the upper body with power. The use of yin to draw the yang and yang to draw the yin increases that power.
Hi All, There is so much that I'm not happy with and that I'm working on I don't know where to start However I have just done something sneaky.... I've joined the TCUGB (Tai Chi Union of Great Britain) and subject to ratification by the Technical Committee (SOUNDS PAINFUL) I will be what they now call an "Advanced" instructor - thus I've got to make sure that I keep developing my game so as to be worthy of the title My cunning plan also involves finding an additional instructor - I enjoy my occasional training with the Longfei Group and Simon Watson is EXCELLENT at what he does... however I'm not quite looking for the same things as Longfei but am concerned that what I actually want is a chimera... I want a style of Tai Chi that is 'traditional' i.e. Pre 1950's innovative styles (that I love and practice and teach and have still a long way to go with...) AND I want a style and school and instructor that teaches Tai Chi in a COMBAT EFFECTIVE way - (Sorry but most people don't) AND I want it to be TAI CHI not freestyle fighting with the name 'Tai Chi' - see, I don't want much at all.... <SIGH> Currently the best fighting style of Tai Chi that I have is a rework of the 24 by Bruce Miller - it's a deadly rework - literally - as most of the applications of the 24 moves end up with your attacker being DEAD - however - I'm not convinced that it's 'TAI CHI' in terms of the classic precepts of Tai Chi - - of course a whole other debate would be is our understanding of those precepts accurate??? Look at the endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless endless arguments we have as to a definition of 'chi'... Oh yes, and because I actually work for a living <BIG SIGH> the class has to be somewhere that I can actually get to... Any suggestions... All the best. Robert.
Well, in the interim I believe I have made some "slight" improvement on my issue. It seems once you are aware of what you are doing wrong, only then can it be worked out. Duh. Anyway, it's funny how sometimes I have to hear something 10, 20, or even 30 times before it sinks in to my thick skull.
