Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

I received an interesting email from a website member in the United Kingdom. It started as a discussion about Hsing-I and the relationship of the Five Fist Postures to the 12 Animals. It went on from there to discuss the evolution of fighting movements into art.

In our 21st Century, MMA-obsessed culture, traditional arts are often criticized or brushed off as ineffective. That's pure B.S. of course, another one of those "my style is better than your style" type of arguments.

These are called martial "arts" for a reason. The styles that I study are internal martial "arts." The movements in Hsing-I, Tai Chi and Bagua can be used for fighting, but the word "art" is part of the name. Over the past 40 years of practicing, the reason has become more clear to me.

Let's look at a movement in the Bagua Swimming Body form called "Black Dragon Slashes Its Tail." It's part of the 3rd section of the form. I just put a long video lesson up on the website last week with detailed instruction. ...

When I first studied Tai Chi, I learned about Ward Off (Peng), Roll Back (Lu), Press (Gi, pronounced "jee"), and Push (An, pronounced "On"). 

We were told there are eight primary "energies" in Tai Chi.

On the rare times we did fighting applications, we thought of Press as a pressing outward type of movement, as in the top photo on the left.

But Press has a different quality. With this "energy," you crowd your opponent. One way this is done in Bagua and Taiji is to deflect incoming force and position yourself close enough to your opponent 

that he is unable to defend. At this point, you are set up to do what you need to do.

In the middle photo, I am doing a movement from the Bagua Swimming Body form called "Black Dragon Slashes Its Tail." My partner has punched and I have moved in as the punch was deflected. I am now close enough to do a palm strike, a shoulder bump, a leg technique, and more.

In Taiji you can do this while pushing hands, too. During the double hand routines...

I have been asked this question many times over the years, in different ways. This morning I received an email and it was worded this way (the email is italicized): 

Firstly, I enjoy your site. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. 

Each of  3 internal arts approaches the problem of self-defence in a different way. By learning all 3 arts does this promote a confusion in response to an attack- a mental freeze caused by having too many options.

I would imagine that the response would be determined by which response has been imprinted on "muscle memory" the most. If this is the case then does learning all 3 arts inhibit a quick response or at least not help.

 On the other hand do all 3 arts feed off each other in some way which helps each one to improve? How do all 3 internal arts work together? Are they independent responses or interdependent? 

 Or do all 3 arts combine in a unique way in each individual so that in a self defence situation the response is tailor made by ...

How many times have you looked at a martial arts book that teaches a form (kata) and find that you are confused about how to get from one movement to the next -- little "transions" are left out of the photos?

And how many times have you been disappointed that the instructions for the movements lack depth? Step out with your left foot is not always helpful when more is supposed to be happening inside your body.

This is why I am putting the forms I teach into ebooks. The new ebook is called Chen Taijiquan 19 Form - Detailed Step-by-Step Reference for the Short Beginner's Form of Chen Tai Chi. It includes more than 200 photos -- almost a frame-by-frame breakdown of the form. In fact, I was flipping through the pages fast on my iPad and it almost looked like a movie.

I also discuss the body mechanics and direction the Dan T'ien is rotating, where the ground path should be felt, and other details that are almost impossible to find.

The Chen 19 Form was created by Grandmaster Chen Xiao...

When I was first learning Tai Chi, the word "transition" was used often. Holding the Ball was a transition into Part the Wild Horse's Mane. Circling the arms was a transition for Brush Knee Step Forward. After changing teachers and styles, I learned a simple truth:

There are no transitions in Tai Chi.

As I later learned, a self-defense application is built into every movement in Tai Chi. Every movement. 

No matter where your hands and feet are, a fighting application is there.

Here is a case in point, one of 108 self-defense applications demonstrated through 259 photos in my new ebook, Yang Tai Chi 24 Form Self Defense. The ebook is only $4.99 through Amazon Kindle -- a great reference for those who practice Yang style Tai Chi, particularly the 24 Form.

Let's say that someone comes up behind you and grabs your shoulder, preparing to punch your lights out. Now, this could even be done from a clinch position or against a punch, but I'm showing this particular set-up as a way to d...

When I began teaching, I was practicing and teaching Yang Tai Chi, Hsing-I, Bagua and Qigong. Questions from students made me study harder and do research, and I found some glaring holes in the curriculum of the style I was teaching. That ended up to be a good thing because it led me to Chen Tai Chi.

As I taught for a while, I realized there are qualities that great students bring to class that make it a lot more enjoyable for the teacher -- qualities that indicate the student is serious about the martial arts and will become a great martial artist. 

Here are my Top 8 Qualities of a Great Martial Arts Student:

1. Empty Your Cup. One thing a teacher does NOT like t...

Chen Huixian gives Ken Gullette hands-on corrections for "Single Whip."

It is a humbling experience, getting corrections on your taiji form by a member of the Chen family. This past weekend, I spent two days at a workshop in Madison, Wisconsin, where Chen Huixian -- a Direct In-Chamber Disciple of her uncle, Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei -- gave corrections on the Laojia Yilu form. Her husband, Michael Chritton -- a Certified Coach of the Chen Village Taiji Training Center of China -- helped provide feedback and corrections. 

Everyone needs a coach to let them know when they need a tweak to get back on track. Training as I do here in the Quad Cities, without an official "teacher" since 2006, I need occasional hands-on corrections by someone at a higher level.

I got it this weekend.

Chen Huixian did not try to take us through the complete form. She asked what we wanted, and the group asked to spend more time on corrections and less time rushing through the choreography. Most of us k...

Yesterday, when my new Silk-Reeling Energy ebook was released through Amazon's Kindle, a couple of friends gave me grief for believing -- they thought -- in an invisible mystical energy that can't be measured by scientific methods.

My partner attempts to do an armbar.

I laughed, because the use of the word "energy" throws off a lot of Westerners. Let me clarify. And as I do, I will show some photos of a self-defense application for one of the exercises that are described in the Silk-Reeling Energy ebook and on the Silk-Reeling DVD.

When the Chinese talk about a certain energy, such as the 8 Energies of Taiji, it is a bad translation when we think of it as a scientifically valid energy. Actually, it is a method or particular skill that helps you strategically handle external force that is applied to you -- a punch, for example.

I begin spiraling the elbow away from his force.

Think of it like a good baseball hitter -- my hero Pete Rose, for example. Pete was not a gifted at...

Silk-reeling energy is one of the unique qualities of the internal arts of Chinese kung-fu, particularly Tai Chi and Bagua, but it is also found in Hsing-I, at least the way I practice it. The Chinese refer to this skill as "Chan Ssu Jin."

Silk-reeling energy is a physical skill. There is nothing metaphysical or mystical about it.

Many people around the world have been fooled by the word "energy," which is a poorly translated way of saying "method" or "power" in Chinese. When we hear the word "energy" being used in this way -- including peng energy or liu energy or any of the "energies" of Tai Chi -- we think that it is referring to a scientifically valid electrical or chemical/physiological energy coursing through our bodies.

If that were the case, Michael Jordan used "slam energy" to dunk a basketball. Babe Ruth was a master of "swat energy" when he hit a home run.

That would be wrong. Silk-reeling "energy" is a physical method of using spiraling movement through the body, conne...

One of my favorite scenes in a Bruce Lee movie is when he lectures a young student about what he perceives as a lack of "emotional content" in the young man's movements.

When I was a younger student, practicing techniques with fellow students, one of my teachers would occasionally warn us to maintain our "spirit." When we received a certificate of rank, the certificate mentioned the "spiritual discipline" involved in achieving the rank.

In Tai Chi, the Chinese term "shen" means spirit. It is not a supernatural spirit -- it is an awareness of your action and a physical fullness that means you are giving it 100%. You are in the moment. 

Shen is also translated to mean "heart," but it is the same thing. You are emotionally connected (the heart is often associated with emotion) to the intent of the movement or activity.

It applies to any martial art and it also applies to other aspects of your life, from relationships to work and other activities and endeavors.

How many times have you...