In the first picture , Tai Chee Yong
is about to execute a hip throw.
Swiftly I move my back leg
backwards and lower my stance,
thus thwarting his attempt, as
shown in the second picture.
Following Tai's momentum, I float
his left elbow and simultaneously
pull down his right forearm to
unbalance him. Continuing the movement I fell Tai onto the ground.
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BASIC
SELF-DEFENCE OF TAIJIQUAN
- Part 2 -
How would you use Taijiquan for self-defence
Importance of Skill and Force
One must realize that techniques, like those shown in the previous
section, constitute only one factor towards combat efficiency. Another
more important factor is what the Chinese call "kung"
(spelt as "gong" in Romanized Chinese), from which the
term "kungfu" derives. There is no equivalent term in
English, but may be provisionally translated as "skill and
force".
Merely knowing, and even being able to apply, the techniques are
grossly inadequate; one must be able to apply the techniques skilfully
and forcefully. The pathetic lack of skill and force is probably
the most important reason why most kungfu students (which include
Taijiquan students, of course) cannot spar effectively. Skill and
force need to be developed with a master's supervision, not just
read from a webpage or a book.
Seeing the graceful movements of Taijiquan, many people are surprised
that it can be used for combat. They will probably be more surprised
that these graceful movements are very effective both for countering
as well as for implementing felling and gripping attacks. Space
limitation and downloading time, however, permit an explanation
of only one example each in this webpage.
{left 2} Notice
that initially Tai placed his right leg behind my right leg with
the intention of using it as an anchor to fell me. But by an appropriate
shift of my back leg and a gentle rotation of my waist I turn the
table against him, using the same anchor to fell him instead.
In the picture {left} Tai grips my right wrist
with a tiger-claw. I relax my arm and using my shoulder as pivot,
turn my arm in a clockwise direction, simultaneously rotating my
waist. This turning will cause Tai to release his grip; otherwise
it will dislocate his wrist
This {left} and the previous example illustrate
the Taijiquan tactic of using the oponent's moves against himself.
In the previous example, the opponent locked my leg to fell me.
By means of a skilful manuovre, I used the same leg lock to fell
him instead! In this example, the opponet grips my wrist. With a
skilful turn I use his grip to dislocate his wrist!
{left 2} However I could not dislocate Tai's wrist,
because he released his grip. Continuing my turning momentum, I
place my left leg behind his right leg, guard his right hand with
my right hand, and press my left arm against his left arm pushing
it agaist his upper body. By spreading my left arm I fell Tai to
the ground
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