The Circle of Death Practice for Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua
In our practices in the Quad Cities, we enjoy doing the Circle of Death. Here's how it works.
One person gets in the center of the circle and ha so defend as the people on the rim of the
circle attack one-by-one. Sometimes we do it empty hand and the defender must defend with just Hsing-I, just Tai Chi, or just Bagua techniques.
Sometimes we do it with weapons, as we did tonight. We each took turns in the center (including me) and defended with one weapon as others attacked with different weapons, including staffs, broadswords, straight swords, and elk horn knives.
It's always fun, and it gives you a chance to think on your feet and learn how to respond to different attacks.
It's important for the instructor to watch carefully, and if a student doesn't get a reaction right, they should be asked to do it again. The importance of this drill isn't to humiliate the student -- the importance is to have them internalize the actions that it takes, and the techniques required, to defend against different attacks.
--by Ken Gullette
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Author - Instructor
Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
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