http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JctLlj9qVI4
I’m on a PH kick lately.
This is a good clip of some Wu style PH. Lots of good stuff here.
I just want to point out one thing. Look at the main white guy who’s being demoed on. Notice the position of his head and neck when he pushes with the teacher. Do you see how his chin juts forward because his neck is inclined forward? Obviously this group doesn’t allow neck controls as part of their PH training. That’s too bad. Because doing your PH like this will build bad habits that will allow anyone with a clue about neck control to dominate you. Wrestlers, for example, love to control the neck. They go for neck control right away. It’s a VERY smart move. I learned long ago, even in my karate class, that if you control the head, the person’s body will follow. You have no choice. Headlocks and neck-surrounding throws are very easy on people like him.
Second, sticking your chin out like this is a great way to get knocked out by an uppercut or zhuanquan from xingyi. The head is pre-positioned in the best possible position for someone to knock you out. The target is presented, and the head will have no where to recoil — meaning it will eat all the force directed at it.
I do this, too. It’s one of my bad habits, so that’s why I picked up on it so quickly.
The way to avoid this is to keep the neck in alignment with the spine, and lift through the crown of the head. Basic stuff, but I forget all the time, too. Second, the xingyi idea of pulling the chin in toward the neck (tiger neck) places the chin in a much less vulnerable position, making you harder to knock out.
This is another instance where taiji guys and gals can learn from xingyi.
9 responses so far ↓
1 zenmindsword // May 16, 2007 at 11:23 am
dave, sticking the chin out is not a taiji principle; keeping it in is
i guess if the practitioner does not pay attention to this its easy to make the mistake
2 chessman71 // May 16, 2007 at 1:11 pm
ZMS,
I made the point from a xingyi perspective because they specifically talk about keeping the chin tucked in a bit. Most taiji people simply talk about lifting through the top of the head. I think that’s fine as long as the position of the chin is taken into account. So while the taiji principle involved does cover it, I think the xingyi principle covers it a bit better.
I think another thing complicating the issue is that these are Wu guys, and they obviously work with a slight lean. I think the lean is fine and can be very powerful. But lifting through the top of the head and tucking the chin is obviously even more important for people who practice like this.
I have a great example of this from last night. Haha.
3 hakchigi // May 18, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Surely keeping the chin protected is common sense in any martial art, seen even in boxing.
In Taekkyon there are many neck throws which is something I appreciate learning.. In my previous brief experience learning Yang taichi we also learn some chops and strikes to the neck.
4 Chad // May 19, 2007 at 6:48 am
if a person exhibits a forward head posture, that usually means they have particular imbalances in their core and torso musculature as well. Most of the time their rhombois and back are too stretched out and their pecs and abs are too tight. This makes them suseptable to hip press type knockdowns as well. The over conctration and hypertonicity of the pecs also takes down the ammount of force they can produce ina forward push. The posture is common among alot of taiji people becauseof the constant harping of “hollow out the chest” and yeilding to force concepts. Most of them are a bit misunderstaood and present this typr of weakness on the floor or mat.
5 chessman71 // May 19, 2007 at 9:47 am
Well, some styles lean because that is part of their style.
But I actually need to correct this post. Even if you keep the neck in a correct position, you’ll still be vulnerable to neck surrounding if you don’t train to defend against that type of attack. I wasn’t clear about that.
6 Chad // May 20, 2007 at 4:10 am
Let me clarify: I’m not talking about a forward lean like in the Wu style or old Yang. I mean the jutting out of the chin and rounding of the shoulders forward into a hunch back or craned neck position.
7 tonyg // Jul 6, 2007 at 8:57 am
Are there any video clips to show the techniques you used to defend against the xing yi practitioners?
8 chessman71 // Jul 6, 2007 at 9:40 am
Tonyg,
No, there aren’t any that I can think of. They are pretty standard shuaijiao moves that are found in taiji, bagua, etc. They’re the IMA equivalent of “high percentage moves” in BJJ.
9 Prajith from the world of martial arts // Sep 19, 2007 at 12:06 pm
For a martial artist, training to fight must be in a way just for fighting for life. Expect No rules. Else you will be only a fighter in sports (rings). Same is the case of BJJ.
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