Gilman Studio
On-Line Lessons
Yang Style Long
Form
Tai Chi Chuan
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Lesson 22:
This Lesson Contains:
Movement # 21: Grasp The Bird’s Tail (Roll Back, Press,
Push)
Grasp the Bird’s Tail is the
name given the collection of basic movements: Ward Off, Roll Back, Press, and
Push. Sometimes, although not often, Ward Off is left out of this group. That
is the case here. I personally do not know the origin of the name to explain
the collection of these movements together. Some things I just accept as
mysteries.
Grasp The Bird’s Tail has not been modified
in my form. These basic movements are repeated often and contain so many
possibilities that I have decided to leave them be. In my classes, we work on
different applications for these movements and I encourage students to put into
the form whichever application they feel like at the moment. Many students do
not like so much freedom, especially at the beginning, so I tend not to show
very many applications for these movements until later in the form. For the
online course, we will use the same applications for most of the Grasp Bird’s
Tail sequence. The transitions into GBT come from different places so this
requires some explanation.
After the transition into Roll Back
illustrated below, repeat Movements 5 (Press) and 6 (Push). I suggest making a
copy of those movements from the beginning of the course and placing them in
your notebook so you don’t have to go back each time you practice or seek
reference.
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Anna
grabs my hand from the top. I Roll Back and apply a joint locking technique. In the form,
the left hand starts to turn palm up as the body starts to retreat and turn
to the left. As this happens, the right arm comes up to the right side of the
chest in the roll back position. The movement is complete when the right leg
is straight and the nose has turned to face the left knee. Bring
the left arm down to the waist level, but do not let the elbow get behind the
body. Keep the right arm on the right side of the body. Focus on
the right forearm and left wrist/hand. |
