Defend from All Directions - What Does It Mean?
Chen Xiaowang corrected Chen Bing's posture in a video, when Chen Bing was a young man. He stood in a posture from "Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar." After adjusting him a bit, Chen Xiaowang turned to the camera and said, "Now, he can defend from all directions."
Defend from all directions? That sounded intriguing. I began thinking about that concept. After a few years, I honed in on what it means.
The picture at the top of the post shows Chen Xiaowang correcting my posture in 2000.
"Defend from all directions" sums up a core principle of being prepared and being able to adapt in the face of a self-defense situation.
It emphasizes that a Taiji person should not simply focus on defending against a single, anticipated attack from one direction. Instead, it means to cultivate a state of mind and body that can remain aware of everything around you and respond to threats from any angle at any time.
This is why when you practice Zhan Zhuang with Chen Xiaowang, he says, "Calm d...
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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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