Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Setting Tribalism Aside to Learn with Martial Artists of Other Styles

studying martial arts tai chi grappling Oct 23, 2023

I love it when martial artists of different styles come to my practices. I like to compare notes, concepts and body mechanics with other martial artists. It's also fun to see how Taiji, for example, handles someone from other arts.

Yesterday, my friend and former student Chris Lorenzen came to practice with me, Justin and Colin. Chris is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has been training the art with intensity for the past three years, including some success at BJJ tournaments. He was 16 when he was my student (around 2001 and 2022). He was a natural, and won first-place trophies in almost every competition he entered at regional tournaments. And he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

Before he arrived, we were working on escapes from joint locks. In a self-defense situation, you don't go in with a plan to use chin-na against an opponent, but you should be ready to apply a joint lock when the opportunity arises.

Equally important is to become "sensitive" enough to...

Taiji Grappling and Taking Advantage of Your Opponent's Energy

chen tai chi training chen taiji training tai chi grappling tai chi push hands Nov 10, 2014

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that it is a mistake to interpret the term "energy" in some mystical way. Energy can simply mean "force" when discussing the energy an opponent is directing at you.

Energy can also mean "method" to describe a way of dealing with the force your opponent is directing your way. In other words, Cai Jin (Pluck Energy) describes a method of plucking or jerking to put your opponent off-balance. There is no actual "energy" called Cai in your body.

Many Westerners are inclined to believe things literally -- Adam and Eve, ghosts and psychics, etc. -- and so mythology has developed around the energy of the internal arts. You don't gain skill by increasing chi, your "chi" increases as you work like hell, gain experience, insight, and develop skill as you do in any sport, any physical endeavor, any trade or profession.

I love the grappling skills associated with the body mechanics of Taiji -- how to feel my partner's energy and take advantage of it to...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Setting Tribalism Aside to Learn with Martial Artists of Other Styles

Taiji Grappling and Taking Advantage of Your Opponent's Energy

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