A source to the knowledge of traditional martial arts, ancient feng-shui, taiji and qigong health-preservation practices.
I wish I could tell of secret skills but I can’t.
It is also not to say that there are no advanced techniques in Taiji Chen, there most certainly are and they are very effective, but I still say that they are largely irrelevant.
Very few people persevere long enough to learn intermediate skills let alone advanced ones. There is no point teaching an advanced skill until the basic skills have been mastered.
Learning Taiji is like climbing a ladder.
Some people may be able to take two steps at a time or even jump from the ground to the third or fourth step, but very few people could jump straight to the top of the ladder.
If they could they would not need the ladder anyway. The most important things that you need to know about Chen Taiji will almost always have been taught to you on your first ever lesson.
In fact it seems to take most people several years to take on board what they should have learned in their first lesson.
In martial arts we know that having a strong and grounded stance is extremely vital during a fight, especially in combat against a grappler; Jiujitsu, Judo, Aikido styles for example.
Losing balance in a serious life-threatening situation also means you have likely decided the outcome of the confrontation.
There are many different ways to improve the coordination of the body in order to control the falling, but physical training that does not teach the student to draw the natural Qi energy from the earth will not help him much against a powerful push. (more…)
The easiest way to rob your opponent of their power is to break their connection with the ground. Thus uprooted, Newton’s Third Law compromises their ability to generate penetrating force, and reduces any continued aggression from a potentially deadly threat to a mere nuisance.
The complementary skill—the ability to keep your footing amidst incoming force—is known in Chinese martial arts as rooting.
Typical demonstrations of rooting skill consist of a wushu master in a static posture, with a pack of disciples pushing and pulling to no avail. These shows are impressive, but often fail to highlight the most important characteristic of the skill: effortlessness.
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