This lesson started with a funny story about a student who went to get checked for a possible stroke. Part of the assessment was a test for muscle strength and symmetry. The student’s training kicked in automatically.
The “stupid master tricks” of tai chi can seem “so niche” and so specific to particular aspects of personal development that we sometimes forget that they have applications in real life. They improve martial art skill, of course. But they also make physical labour more efficient, and can even surprise your doctor when you are being assessed for a possible stroke. (The doctor in this case was not harmed. He was, apparently, moderately surprised.)
This also sets us up for a later video about “Stupid master tricks”, martial art demonstrations, and the best way to train for health and self defence.
The effect that you see here is not intended to represent some magical tai chi or kungfu technique. It is the efficient transfer of momentum.
addendum 3 March, 2024
Is this Fa-Jing?
Someone recently asked if this was “FA-JING” (“emitting power“)
I will have to do a proper video about this in the near future.
Fajing is a confusing term, and is used differently by different teachers. I try to avoid the word, since there are perfectly good scientific explanations for what is happening. There is no need to use confusing and archaic terms divorced from scientific context.
Some people confuse Fajing (explosive power) with Kong Jing (empty force.)
This confusion is made worse by the way that some teachers insist on calling it “qi power”, which is a meaningless term at best. “Qi” is a word that I choose not to use because it creates too much misunderstanding. “Qi power” could describe anything in the phenomenal universe. I prefer to be more specific.
Regardless of the words you use, what we are talking about here is simply efficient biomechanics, with a bit of boxing or wrestling psychology sometimes thrown in.
Fajing minimizes the role of individual joints, which by their nature are mechanically inefficient. It increases the role of the “Centripetal tensile geodesic” (Peng-jing), which is mechanically efficient, but which is tactically sound only when lateral tension is minimized. The result is that the receiver bounces themselves away. That is the key. “The receiver bounces themselves away.” They are not moved by any action by the operator. In fact, the more the operator tries to do, the less it works.
Fajing, 發勁, means “emitting power.” This will look different depending on whether it is manifesting in a solo routine or a partner exercise.
In a solo routine, the core of the body makes a small movement that transfers momentum into the extremities….usually the arms. The torso may appear to hardly move at all, but the relatively small mass of the arms receiving the momentum means that the arms will move very fast. p=mv. This is what we mean when we say that “the power of tai chi is like a whip.”
In a partner exercise, the momentum is transferred into the receiver’s body. If the receiver is a good tai chi dummy, they will align their body so that the entire body receives the momentum without transferring it to the ground. If they are a bad tai chi dummy, they will not be aligned, and the momentum will transfer into a small part of their body, causing that part to accelerate in a very unhealthy manner. This is why we don’t demonstrate on the partner’s head or xiphisternum. (Ideally, the partner receives the momentum through their arms to minimize risk.)
Now here is where everything changes. If the receiver is a good tai chi player, and is non-cooperative, the demonstration will not work. In fact, it should not work on any experienced martial artist from any style. All you have to do is shift your weight, or relax, or get out of the way, or direct the force into the ground yourself. Notice how the 76-year-old student in this video neutralizes my force without even thinking about it.
Furthermore, if you count on this sort of stupid master trick working against people who aren’t trained to be affected by it, you could find yourself in serious trouble.
And here is the sad part. The only people this will actually work on in a fight, are the students who have been mislead by unethical teachers. Their goal is not to teach students how to do it. Their goal is to have followers who are easily manipulated. When you cross hands with these students, they are very good at getting thrown around.
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