Formosa Neijia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wQN6WklIHw

This is a great clip from a great series of push hands videos in the Yang style. I highly recommend all four, especially since you can get them in DVD format with English subtitles. I’ll review the series later.

First, I want to point out some stuff that is shown in the video. For the time signatures to make sense, you might have to view the clip on youtube’s page by double clicking the video above.

o:09 — Notice how they start out by putting wardoff out there to meet the opponent. There’s your main taiji bridging move right there. This is one of the main uses of wardoff (peng). Peng should usually be your initial contact because it’s usually safe and everything else can be set up from there. Peng is NOT at the beginning of grasp the bird’s tail and every push hands sequence by accident!

0:10 - 0:24– This is restricted, not free, step. Notice right away that they don’t yield much with the body; they yield with the stance by moving their feet. This is a major difference between fixed and moving step. Notice they don’t use exaggerated body postures that you sometimes see in fixed step. They don’t need it here. In this sequence, they are working on neutralizing push (an) with rollback (lu) in a horizontal fashion.

0:25 - 0:51– The push and rollback cycle is now played on the vertical plane of motion. Push is a bad translation of AN, which actually means to press — it’s just a different type of press than JI. One side presses/pushes down and the other side neutralizes with rollback. Notice how much this AN motion is like PI from xingyiquan. It’s very similar. This sequence is a natural setup for CAI (plucking), which is exactly what he does to throw his student out at 0:51. This is THE signature application for plucking and everyone should know this one well.

0:57 - 1:33 — This is push countered by wardoff with a hand switch — a basic two hand practice. This series is good for breaking things down, but this one is a little too simple IMO. But it’s very important to notice the DIAGONAL expression of peng. This is SO much more useful than the flat, horizontal “take my elbow please” type of peng usually practiced in Yang forms. Typical Yang style peng (wardoff) as done in the form isn’t all that useful, and can be easily used against you. This diagonal peng combines two planes of motion — horizontal and vertical — to double your power. The teacher then uses rollback to throw the student.

1:34 - 2:18 — This is a two-hand pattern that emphasizes rollback and neutralizing it with wardoff. This is basically the advanced push hands movement drill known as DA LU (big rollback) but done in a linear, back and forth fashion.

2:24 - 2:51 — Now this is interesting. This is DA LU, but done with toe-in and toe-out (koubu and baibu) stepping right out of baguazhang. Thing is, taijiquan has this stepping too, you just don’t usually see it done. This can really change up everything available to you in taiji. Now you can easily move off circle by practicing ALL your taiji moves with this pattern stepping. DA LU (as I learned it) usually uses more angular stepping like the seven star step. But bagua footwork is a nice addition to the mix. BTW, the only person in the West that I’ve seen do this on tape is Dr. Yang. His yin-yang push hands looks well worth doing if this type of movement is new to you.

2:55 - 3:26 — Now they move on to a basic three-step pattern. This builds continuity of movement and long power. I often think of this type of movement as more like baguazhang. The hand movements are long in execution and play out as the feet continuously move. Again, this brings a very different feel to your taiji.

3:27 - the end — Here we go: this is one of the few times I’ve seen VERTICAL energy emphasized on video. Notice that the teacher here RISES UP with the peng. I’ve heard so many times that peng can’t be done this way (moving upwards in your stance) but it can. This peng is a setup for rollback (lu) which is exactly what he uses to throw the student out. ALL taiji has this vertical energy in it, but you won’t find it if you’re constantly training to keep your head level. Seriously, that requirement is just for beginners. You have to come up OUT of your stance and your kua to develop this power. Moving up so you can move down can add power to a lot of taij moves - not just peng and lu as done in the clip.

Many of these clips are showing a lot more than people think they are. It’s just a matter of having the training to see it. It’s my hope that by pointing out this stuff, that we can talk more about it.

Here are some points I’d like to discuss:

1. Do you use peng as a bridge? If not, how do you bridge?
2. Do you yield with the feet in moving step or in some other way?
3. Do you find diagonal peng more useful than horizontal peng as found in most Yang forms?
4. Does your style use koubu and baibu at a higher level?
5. What about long and vertical energies as shown at the end of the clip? How does your style develop those?