Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Interactive Video - You Choose the Tai Chi Fighting Application

chen tai chi chen taiji Nov 17, 2021

I am experimenting with interactive videos. Here is my first one. Please watch it and let me know what you think. It allows you to choose which application you will see for the opening movement in a Taiji form.

Don't Rise to the Occasion -- Sink to the Occasion

chen taiji tai chi tai chi training Dec 14, 2019

I have been thinking about something all wrong.

When I prepare for something special, like a demonstration or especially a workshop like I attended a few weeks ago with Chen Huixian, I have approached it with the wrong mental attitude.

I often think that I need to prepare myself, get my body stronger and be able to "rise to the occasion."

But what I need to do is "sink to the occasion."

Let me explain.

I practiced Laojia Yilu two nights ago. Actually, I practiced three movements from Laojia Yilu. And then I isolated my practice to just one move.

I spent a lot of time on Hidden Hand Punch, and the sinking and spiraling -- not in the punch itself, but in the movements leading up to the punch, when your hands sweep low and outward, then spiral inwards as you close into the right kua, one hand flat and one in a fist.

Practicing the internal arts is like practicing the piano, or any musical instrument. My body is my instrument, and sometimes, you have to isolate ...

Chen Bing and the Skill of Relaxing Against Force in Taiji

chen bing chen tai chi chen taiji tai chi training Jun 25, 2007

Chen Bing is the nephew of Chen Xiaowang and Chen Xiaoxing. He has a college degree, and it doesn't take long to realize that he has a different style than his uncles--more involved, more accessible.

I met him in Chicago at a push hands seminar. He put one hand on my left shoulder, and I put my hand on his left shoulder. The object was to push the other person off-balance. Each time I pushed, he relaxed, and before I knew it I was falling off-balance.

It's the same thing that I felt when pushing hands with Chen Xiaoxing. When force comes in, it's met with relaxation and neutralization, not force. It's one of the things that really marks the difference between "external" and internal arts. I've rarely met a karate or TKD person, or even another kung fu person for that matter, who understands the concept of relaxed strength. Force comes in and you relax and deal with it.

This is a skill that I grapple with, trying to ingrain it into my reflexes. One of the most difficult things to do ...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Interactive Video - You Choose the Tai Chi Fighting Application

Don't Rise to the Occasion -- Sink to the Occasion

Chen Bing and the Skill of Relaxing Against Force in Taiji

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