The punch of Yang Style Tai Chi – by Nick Cheang

In Yang style Tai Chi Chuan we avoid punching in a manner where the release of energy is focussed on the surface of the opponent’s body. Instead we deliver blows that penetrate and reverberate deep inside. In addition prior to the delivery of force we try to create a ‘total’ reaction in an opponent that involves their entire being – mind, body and spirit – becoming confused, disorientated and unprepared. Then, it is comparatively easy for the punch to cause the opponent to enter into a state of shock.

At higher levels we train to combine all our internal concepts together so that the contact, merging with the opponent’s force, creation of the ‘total’ reaction and delivery of the strike is as one. The idea that allows these concepts to act as one is spiralling: the force that creates the spiral is Yi (our mind’s intention).

The spiralling Yang style uses is very different from the visible spirals that exist in many martial arts, including western boxing. At more advanced levels the spiralling is forever changing, never stops and ‘internalised’ to a degree that a witness cannot tell that it is occurring. All you see is the effect on the opponent.

As you can probably imagine, to reach a skill level where you are always successful in using a true internal punch is not easy. However we can catch a glimpse of what is possible from long, hard training once we are able to demonstrate a couple of the key ideas of Yang style tai chi:

• The ability to guide an opponent’s force through your body and into the ground no matter where they make contact with you (rooting skill)
• The ability to use Yi (intention) to project your internal energy (chi) beyond your physical being

If you have not had the benefit of experiencing the above two skills, do not worry. The following exercise, developed by Master Ding, is a very simple, effective way of getting almost anyone experiencing them in minutes! Please take the time to go through this exercise with a partner you trust before proceeding to the other exercises on spiralling and spiral punching.

Exercise 1 – how to project Chi using Yi

There are several key points to getting this to work. Firstly bear in mind that this is just an exercise/demonstration so cooperation is vital. This is to do with letting yourself feel the difference between rooting or not rooting, using external force or internal energy and projecting using Yi or not. It is not self-defence or fighting.

Look at photo 1

I am on the left smiling. Ross is on the right not smiling because he is the stooge.
Immediately prior to the moment this photo was taken, Ross held my arm with both of his hands and then started to slowly push down my arm as if my arm was a stake that he wished to insert into my torso. To gain the experience I want from this exercise it is important that Ross does not at any time push my arm up or down (as if wiggling a stake in muddy soil) or suddenly increase or release the pressure he is exerting. Instead he slowly increases his pressure until he looks like he does in this photo…and I am smiling!

Look at photo 2

So as a procedural list, Ross does the following:
1. Stands with right leg forward
2. Holds my forearm with both his hands
3. Begins to softly push my arm into my shoulder
4. Smoothly increases the pressure he is exerting
5. Whatever happens next Ross just keeps that pressure constant

I on the other hand have to do entirely different things. If I do the same as Ross, i.e. try to push back with the same force he is pushing me with, it becomes very physical and Ross, being able to exert the strongest physical push, wins. Try this now.

Similarly if I simply try to relax whilst staying centred and calm, my Yi is not out and my chi is stuck inside. As Ross pushes, my structure either buckles under the pressure or I resort to physical force, which again leads to loss. Try this now.

Instead before contact I prepare myself by relaxing my body. I then put my right leg forward, raise my right arm to chin level, sink my shoulders (almost like letting go of the shoulder joint so that it feels like it is opening and expanding) and look intently over my fingertips into the distance. It is almost as if I am trying to reach out for something far, far away. It is important at all times that I simultaneously think out into the distance and relax my body weight through my legs into the ground, so that I achieve the sensation that my joints and muscles are beginning to expand and stretch. Try this now.

Now when Ross holds my forearm I just maintain the thought that no matter what he does, nothing in my mind or body is going to go backwards, nothing is going to collapse. Instead the more pressure he exerts the more I expand that sensation of looking into the distance and relaxing into the ground. It is most important that I am not surprised to feel pressure increasing inside of me. After all it is just his body weight being added to mine through the point of contact he is making with me. After a while I have soaked up all of Ross’ force and he doesn’t feel like he could push any harder. Try this now.

So as a procedural list I did the following:
1. Stood with my right leg forward and arm raised to about chin height
2. Looked intently (with Yi) over my fingertips and into the distance
3. At the same time relaxed my body weight into the ground causing my joints to open expand and my shoulder to sink
4. Listened to Ross’ touch and increased the intensity with which I am doing points 2 & 3 as contact is made and Ross increases his pressure

Discussion of results from exercise 1
The feeling of relaxed unity that you should have felt when dealing with the applied pressure is that of your Yi marshalling your body’s chi so that your partner could not push you. The odd sensation your partner felt – almost like a bubbling of energy or an alive brick wall – is their experience of your Yi (intent) and Chi going beyond the physical structure of your body through the connection you have made with them. The most remarkable result that you ought to get is that the partner applying the pressure feels as if their whole body is reacting to the Yi and Chi you are emitting. When you instead resist by pushing back physically the sensation is completely different. The ‘total’ reaction of their mind, body and spirit is missing.
If you have successfully completed this exercise you will have experienced using your Yi and Chi to respond to a training partner’s physical force and created the ‘total’ reaction in them that you want for delivering an internal strike. If not, do not worry, exercise 2 will actually add to the ‘total’ reaction the partner feels and makes it even easier for you to create the effect.

Exercise 2 – Your first spiral!

This exercise follows straight on from exercise 1 and introduces you to the basic idea of spiralling. The spiralling in Yang style Tai Chi is often referred to as opening and closing. In actuality the wave of opening and closing occurs throughout the entire body, rather than only in the arms. Also you can emit straight, curved or multiple spirals all at the same time in different directions from most parts of the body. This is because they are controlled by the mind’s Yi, rather than having to be acted out physically. However for the purposes of this exercise we are going to keep it simple. From where we left off in exercise 1 keep your Yi and fingertips stretching out and your weight sinking and relaxing down. Now start turning your whole arm from the shoulder joint so that your palm begins to face upwards, just as if a spiral were spreading down your arm, into your fingers and beyond. In addition imagine the spiral going into your partner at the point of your arm where they are holding. Keep this spiralling 9/10ths in the mind and only 1/10th actual and then slowly increase the amount of physical spiral to just what is required to elicit a response. Try this now.

This is a closing spiral. So called because if you were to put your arms out in front of you with your palms vertical and then slowly turn your palms up it feels like you are closing in. Similarly turning your palms face down is called opening because it feels like you are opening up. Try this now.

Look at photo 3

In this photo I have begun to apply my closing spiral. You will notice that Ross’ right foot has lifted off the ground. This is evidence that he is having a ‘total’ reaction to what is happening and is caught up in the spiral. Do not be afraid to move your weight further forward onto the front leg and sink lower down to create the effect. As before it is vitally important that Ross does not change what he is doing whilst all this occurring. His mind state (or intention) must stay the same and he must continue to think about pushing physically down your arm.

Look at photo 4

This final photo represents what happens when all of this is performed at a faster rate in one smooth action. As Ross holds my forearm and begins to push I listen to his contact, project my Yi through him and beyond, apply my closing spiral and shift my weight forwards.

Discussion of results from exercise 2
Although the spiral is important in applying internal energy, without the forward projection of Yi the spiral would either collapse or become a physical action only. The significance of Ross’ foot rising off the ground is that it proves to me that he is totally caught up in what I do internally at the point of contact and so it is unlikely I am acting physically. It is almost as if at the point of contact he becomes like a car’s steering wheel that I simply turn. Therefore his foot comes off the ground because his entire body is starting to turn, following the spiral I am emitting like someone being picked up by a whirlwind. Strangely your partner may find that their conscious mind is unable to follow exactly what has happened as it may be still locked into pushing down your arm.

As previously noted, turning the effect you can see in this exercise into something that can be used at full speed in a live self-defence situation is obviously the work of many years, but we can build on the ideas covered so far in the following staged self-defence situations to see the potential benefit that working hard at your tai chi could bring.

Exercise 3 – Opening Spiral Punch to defend against a punch

Keeping the same co-operative, friendly atmosphere you have fostered in the previous exercises invite your partner to punch your face. On second thoughts get them to show you their punch to thin air first so that you can adjust the speed and delivery to be exactly what you need. Ideally it will be at a medium pace, controlled and will involve them stepping though so that they do not draw the punch back. In addition they must commit to the punch mentally, in the same way that in exercise 1 they had to commit to pushing down your arm and into your shoulder.

Look at photos 5 & 6

In these two photos I am already projecting out with my Yi towards Ross, whilst at the same time thinking of relaxing and sinking down though my legs to the ground. I am waiting for the right timing to defend with my right arm. Meanwhile Ross is stepping forwards so that he can punch my nose with his left arm. It is important that you can trust your partner and know that if you make a mistake he will pull the punch at the last moment and avoid hitting you for real. Most of the time Ross will do this for me. Realistically accidents sometimes happen and it must be accepted that you may sometimes get hurt during training. If you cannot accept this, please do not act out these defence exercises.

Look at photos 7 & 8

Now that the timing feels right I just lift my arm in the same manner as I did for exercise 1, but with a different objective. This time my aim is to contact the inside of Ross’ arm on its way towards my nose, make it miss my head entirely without alerting Ross’ conscious mind and punch his face through the gap I have created. I keep contact with Ross’ punching arm through the whole process.

In order to achieve this the contact must generate the ‘total’ reaction I spoke of earlier. This is done by my punch having an opening spiral (remember the idea of the shoulder sinking and opening and the elbow turning out as if palm was going to face down?). When Ross contacts my arm he becomes part of the spiral I am generating with my arm and cannot get through. Please be careful with your punch – do not hurt your practice partner. Try this now.

Unfortunately you will probably find that your partner’s punch gets caught up on your arm so that it is difficult to reach your partner’s face with your counter. Well at least your spiralling has blocked the attack! The reason for this problem is that your Yi (your focus) went to his punch when you made the contact. Instead you must keep your Yi on his face and when his punch comes you must trust the spiral to take care of his attack automatically as you make your way to his face; trust that he will get caught up in the spiral and that his whole body will react and turn (like a car steering wheel). If this is done correctly it will feel as if his punch and all his force literally slides down you arm as he is literally thrown out by your spiral. Visually it looks as if impales himself on your punch. You don’t really need to move much at all. This is what is happening in photo 8. Try again now.

If it still does not work remember that you must have an element of softness, pliability and spontaneity when you use Tai Chi. Remember how your body felt during exercises 1 and 2. Keep calm, sink your energy, project out and keep on experimenting. Do not be discouraged: Rome was not built in a day.

Discussion of results from exercise 3
If you can do this exercise successfully it is a wonderful feeling. The simplicity of what happens will challenge your preconceptions of what self-defence is like. To an outsider the defence will seem very fast. As the opponent comes in his punch will strangely miss and instead your punch will be in his face. For you it will seem as if you just focussed on him rather than his punch and the rest just happened. It will seem effortless, unrushed and as if you were in control of the situation from the outset.

Exercise 4 – Closing spiral punch to defend against a punch

Look at photos 9, 10 and 11.

This exercise is a variation of the previous one. It is exactly the same idea but instead of creating an opening spiral on the inside of Ross’ arm, I create a closing spiral on the outside of his arm. Ross will slide down my arm as before, but this time I have to be careful of his body weight breaking through if he spins round too much. The dynamics differ in that he won’t impale himself but will instead begin to sail past to my left and probably become jammed under my right forearm. As he is sailing past, my punch attacks from the side. If you study photo 11 you will see that I ensure that my left arm is in a useful position for ensuring that Ross cannot come in. Try this now.

You may find that riding your closing spiral punch on top of your partner’s punch is an easier movement than the opening spiral defence in the previous exercise, but the problem with stopping his body weight from crashing into you is harder. Up until now you have not had to use your left arm. Now you may have to in order to stop him from coming through. First of all don’t panic. Just remember to have the same feeling in the left arm as the right arm, so that when your left arm makes contact with him you are thinking out and expanding out with that arm with an opening spiral. This should allow you to feel how to jam his body so that you are much more comfortable. Try again now.

Discussion of results from exercise 4
The most important new result is the realisation of how different it is being on the outside instead of the inside of your opponent’s arms. On the inside you must guard against their other arm attacking (if they are not effected strongly enough by your Yi spiral), whilst on the outside you must guard against their body crashing in as they are turned away from their course. Both have their pluses and minuses, although being on the outside is better if you lose the energetic connection with the opponent and need to revert to being physical and using body mechanics. From photo 11 it would be very difficult for Ross to attack with either of his arms or legs. I could feel any movement and simply pull downwards on his trapped left arm and attack with either of my arms and legs. However from photo 8 his right arm and right leg are still active and can attack me quite quickly if things do not go quite as planned, leaving me back at square 1 in terms of defence.

Round Up

Hopefully you will have now gained some direct experience of what Tai Chi self-defence looks and feels like and how using internal energy in a live situation is feasible using Yi and spiralling. Obviously training in other internal concepts such as spine alignment, hollowing the chest, raising the back, suspending the head, using your kuas, doing hours of lovely chi kung etc. will further enhance your performance. The path is long and the training hard, but that is the case with any martial art. Additionally I hope you can see that although we are training to use energy it is wise for your training to give you a practical understanding of what can happen in combat so you can understand the merits and demerits of any particular tactic (like defending from the inside or outside of an opponent’s arms) for the occasions where things don’t go according to plan. This can happen through an error on your part or because an opponent simply does not react to what you are doing energetically i.e. they do not have a ‘total’ reaction to your contact. So until next time, train hard, train happy and have fun!