Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

A 4-Step Plan for Defending Yourself with Taijiquan

fighting with tai chi tai chi self-defense taiji self-defense Aug 21, 2014

A simple Taiji self-defense move against a punch.

I was 13 and the bully was 16. He was the sheriff's son and he had terrorized younger kids in Wilmore, Kentucky for years. On this particular Saturday around 1966, I was his target. After some taunts and dares and a shove or two, we walked with our friends, including a couple of my cousins, behind the drugstore where no adults were looking. Our friends circled around and the bully swaggered up and stood in front of me. I was scared.

The bully was bigger and more confident than I was, and I was pretty sure he was going to beat me up. My God, he was 16!! When you are 13, a scrawny kid wearing glasses with tape holding them together, that's a big difference! Since he was the sheriff's son, he used that information to scare other kids, making them afraid to fight back. I took my glasses off and handed them to my cousin Mike.

The bully started punching me and I blocked what I could and moved around. We circed for what seeme...

Fun with Tai Chi Self-Defense - Single Whip

fighting applications fighting with tai chi single whip tai chi self-defense Sep 23, 2009

This is a video I shot in 2008 showing some fighting applications for the Tai Chi movement "Single Whip." It's an example of the kind of instruction you'll find on my website.

Tai Chi Fighting Applications -- When Is A Punch Not A Punch?

fighting with tai chi tai chi self-defense taiji self-defense Dec 10, 2008

I'm editing the third DVD in the series on Laojia Yilu fighting applications. This important Chen tai chi form has 75 movements--many of them repeated more than once--and the DVD series takes a look at each movement (without repeating them) and uncovers around 400 fighting applications.

As I edit this third DVD--the final one in the series on Laojia Yilu--I'm putting each movement and its applications on the online school for members to see first.

The DVD starts with movement 33 in Laojia Yilu -- Punch the Ground. Within the first three movements--Punch the Ground, Turn Body Round and Double Kick, and Protect the Heart Fist--there are 30 fighting applications demonstrated.

The photo here shows my favorite application of Punch the Ground--a throw. When is a punch not a punch? When you snake your arm under your opponent's armpit, turn, and punch the ground.

I'm having a lot of fun with this series. I shot the video before moving from Tampa (I really miss that weather since we have ...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

A 4-Step Plan for Defending Yourself with Taijiquan

Fun with Tai Chi Self-Defense - Single Whip

Tai Chi Fighting Applications -- When Is A Punch Not A Punch?

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