Pushing hand with someone who just passed by

Today, I practiced at Bayview Hill Community Centre. Someone who passed by where I practiced asked if we could push hands. He said he hadn't done it for a year of so. We started with one-hand push hand, I noticed he was expecting us to go back and forth. I normally don't practice that way, I actually wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, and I just put my hand up, and didn't move much while he was trying to push it somehow. I did notice that my upper arm and shoulder muscles got tired and sore. I asked if we could just do the free-style moving step push hands, and then we started doing that. No one fell down or anything like that. I tried to move in, but I wasn't able to as his hands were just moving all the time. I was distracted by them. He pushed me a few times quite hard in a straight forward fashion, and I was pushed backward a bit. I felt that I was able to brush him off sideways once, and that was it. I tried to get under him, but wasn't successful. I was happy that he was more out of breath than I was at the end.

Kelvin's Yilu on May 4, 2011

Human Weapon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srifI2XgoN0&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Separation of Yin and Yang

Master Chen says that separation of yin and yang is rotation in today's terms. He also mentions that stretching is an instance of separation of yin and yang. Today, I came to a realization that when the circle becomes infinitely small, rotation and stretching are really one and the same. The key is that the setup needs 3 points, and one action, which is the rotation, at the centre or the pivoting point or the fixed point. The rotation at the centre is the only thing I can do to ensure that the other 2 points are opposites but of the exact same size. For example, if I just move the hands in opposite directions, since there is no relationship between them (no 3rd point linking the two together), there is no guarantee that their actions are the same in size. At the beginning, I can visualize how the dantian acts the centre and modulates the other 2 points (hand and foot). Hopefully in the future, I can place the centre/fixed point anywhere inside or outside of the body as desired like Master Chen said.

In order to materialize this theory in practice, more training in foundation and yilu will be the way to go.

More discussion occurs at http://practicalmethod.com/lang/en/2011/03/separation-of-yin-and-yang-2.

Chen Zhonghua on Peng Energy in Chen Style Taijiquan

http://www.chenzhonghua.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=308:chen-zhonghua-on-peng-energy-in-chen-style-taijiquan&catid=40:theory&Itemid=97

"Nobody has the patience to wait and spin. If I am reacting and someone is pushing, and I wait until he has enough friction, I spin and it works. But if I’m too impatient, he pushes and I move forward or backward instead of spin; it becomes a toss, because I go too early. That’s why you have to be patient, and you have to follow the rules. Following the rules is very difficult because when we see an opportunity we want to fight. And in taiji, the rules say you can’t. Even if he’s not blocking […] you have to wait until he comes in and then you can spin him."

I like this paragraph very much.

A Real Martial Art

http://practicalmethod.com/lang/en/2004/12/a-real-martial-art/

Toronto Taiji Workshop July 2011