Gilman Studio On-Line Lessons

Yang Style Long Form

Tai Chi Chuan

Lesson 84:

This Lesson Contains:

Push Hands Tournament Reminder and Movement # 86 – Needle At Sea Bottom

Tournament Reminder

If you are following this course any where near Port Townsend, I want to remind you of the upcoming Seminars and Tournament on March 16 and 17. The seminars will focus on the fine art of Push Hands by three champions, Sam Masich, Elaine Waters, and myself. The times are posted at the Tournament bar of the Home page. The Tournament, on March 17, will be instructive and fun to participate in or watch. Beginners are more than welcome, with their own class division. You will learn a great deal about your art and your self by playing under a bit of pressure. At least, come and support those who are taking part. It is interesting and instructive to watch how people apply what they have learned in this situation.

Both the seminars and tournament take place at the Port Townsend Community Center, located in historic uptown, at the corner of Lawrence and Tyler Sts. Please check out the Home page for more details.

Movement # 86 – Needle At Sea Bottom

This is our second variation for Needle At Sea Bottom. In the first, the opponent grabbed my hand with his right hand. I then closed him up to my right, applied a wristlock, and took him down. Now the opponent grabs with his left hand. The same application would not work, so this time, I take him off with my left hand closing him up, pull him down, and attack him with a finger poke to his kidney area.

Yoshi grabs my right wrist with his left hand. I relax.

Following Left Brush Knee, sink the weight deeper into the left leg, roll up onto the right toe, and relax both hands.

Focus on energy returning to the center.

I take Yoshi’s hand off and grab his wrist (pictures down below).

Replace the right foot in basically the same place with the toe facing halfway between north and west. Shift the weight onto the right foot. Pull in the left foot to touch on the toe. The toe faces west. This replace says that I could bring the right foot up to block or kick, or I could retreat quickly, depending on what the opponent does. In this case, I decide to move backward a little bit to give myself a bit more room.

As you shift the weight back onto the right foot, draw the right elbow back by the side of the body with the fingers pointed forward. Don’t let the elbow get behind the body. At the same time, the left arm comes straight up with the arm fairly straight. It stops at about shoulder level with the palm facing to the right and the fingers pointing forward.

Focus on the left wrist/hand to break the grip and grab.

Here I show the breaking of the grip and the grab.

As the weight shifts back, the raising left hand passes quite close to the right hand. You can see that my left wrist (palm down) is placed under Yoshi’s wrist, which is grabbing my right wrist from underneath. This upward force with my left arm and the downward and inward force with my right will really hurt Yoshi if he doesn’t let go and release his tension. When he lets go of his grip, I grab his wrist with my left hand. I lift and twist his arm by turning my arm counterclockwise.

The right arm has withdrawn to my right waist area to protect and get ready to attack.

I now add Tsai Jing (pull down energy), and follow with a finger poke.

The upper body bends forward at the waist. There is no movement with the lower body. Do not put any weight on the left toe. You can use it for blocking or kicking. The body bends until the torso is at a 45-degree angle. Keep the back in a straight line. Don’t let the upper back bend.

As you bend, the left hand pulls down and ends by the left side of the left knee, with the palm facing downward. At the same time, the right arm extends outward to end about lower waist level. The palm faces to the left. The fingers are full of chi, quite straight.

Focus on the right fingers for poking and the left hand for pulling down.

Note: If the pull down is done with a sharp snapping energy, the opponent’s neck can suffer whiplash. Be careful.

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