Conforming to Classics

Sweep the Leg 

Questions arose in Classical Tai Chi regarding the statement:  "Everymovement in Tai Chi Form has to have 2 complementary sides of the body, a moving part Yang and a stationary part Yin. When the yin-yang junction is located in the torso of the body, it is an internal move.  When it is outside of the torso, it is an external move." This statement as we have said before was the most important statement made by Wu Chien Chuan to his student Young Wabu. You can find this statement on p. 2 of the book "Uncovering the Treasure" by Stephen Hwa Ph.D. and it is available at Amazon.

The statement was challenged by someone who asked: "Can someone please explain to me how this conforms to the classics of "when moving, there is no place that does not move". "When still, there is no place that is not still".  He continued by saying "The statement about 2 complementary sides, moving Yang and stationary Yin sounds like a broken posture as how a force can pass through the body, if it is not working together as a unit, moving as one".

Master Stephen Hwa wrote the following response to the question, the video above provides an illustration  of his major points about holding the body still while executing a movement that sweeps the leg of the opponent. The video very graphically shows how the movement only works if the nonmoving side of the body is held very still.  Further information about the "Sweeping Movement" is contained in the topic  "The Concept of Yin (nonmoving) and Yang (moving)" on pp. 50 - 51, "Uncovering the Treasure" by Stephen Hwa, Ph.D.

Tai Chi Classics

These Classics started became known in the 1930-40s when book about Tai Chi started to be published in China. These writings reported in those books are a collection of short works attributed to different authors from Chang San-Feng to anonymous authors. Even though their authorship cannot be verified, they are considered to be the holy writ on Tai Chi. They do contain some insights and principles of Tai Chi; but also some glaring mistakes.

How is that possible that both good and bad could be contained in one work. My suspicion is that there is more than one person involved in the writing as we see now. One of my ancestors in the fifteen century wrote a collection of short poems. We have the original hand written manuscript which we published three years ago. During research, we discovered that these poems have been published six times over the years. Many of the published poems are identical to the manuscript; but some have been altered – the later version has more alteration than the earlier version. Apparently, these publishers exercised their poetic license trying to add what they thought a better wording. This kind of alteration is very common in old writings in China and also in the west, such as the bible. The church has devoted inordinate effort to select an acceptable version of the bible.

Two major mistakes in the Classics are: "when one part moves everything moves" and "The jin should be generated from the legs". The later was discussed in Forum 11.

During our last work shop in Buffalo, I warned everyone that you would be challenged by "when one part moves everything moves" when you talk about Classical Tai Chi in public Tai Chi gathering. So you better be prepared. First of all, any martial art move depends upon rooting, there will be a nonmoving part of the body attached to the ground to provide the rooting. Only external martial art which uses push off to generate momentum to attack can qualify "everything moves". In addition, some of these rooted moves, the requirement of nonmoving is very dramatici. During one of the Jou Tsung Hwa Birthday Celebration Gathering ( David Brown was there), I demonstrate this point by asking audience to do a leg sweeping move by standing on one foot and sweep the other leg and move their body with it just slightly. I heard many "ouch" sound from the audience. Then they do the same move while keeping the side of the body above the standing foot still. There was no pain in the knee and delivered a much more powerful sweep. 

I think you all need to keep this demonstration in your pocket. Because, you will need it in the future.

Stephen Hwa, Ph.D.

A “Welcome”

 

One might say this is a legendary piece of lore from the Classical Tai Chi community! 

I am Jim Roach, a teacher of Classical Tai Chi, and I wrote a "Welcome to the Classical Tai Chi Blog" post for this blog in 2008. The contrast between the polite title and the intense demonstration picture perfectly captures the community's blend of internal discipline and lighthearted martial arts camaraderie.

Why the Post is Iconic

• The Setup: I meant the Blog post to ease people into and encourage them to take up Classical Tai Chi. Anyone reading would be encouraged to learn internal discipline. 
• The Reality: The media explaining the martial application shows  the seemingly tgentle, soft-spoken Master Stephen Hwa applying subtle internal power to instantly unbalance and push Sifu Tom Kostusiak straight to the ground.
• The Humor: The absolute mismatch between a warm, cozy "Welcome" header and a video of a martial arts master dropping his student makes it an enduring inside joke among practitioners on forums and the official Classical Tai Chi Facebook Page. 

There is a technique and technicality behind the post. 

It was meant to be humorous, funny on its surface; a video clip actually does show a core tenet of Master Hwa's teachings:

Internal Core Power: The movement originates entirely from the abdominal and back muscles (the core), bypassing obvious shoulder or arm force. 

Small Circle Application:

 Căi Pull, yank, jerk, pluck an opponent off balance 

This Wu-style derivative uses micro-movements to redirect an opponent's momentum before they even realize they are off-balance. 

The "Bounce": Tom's dramatic fall isn't theatrical "compliance"—it is the physical result of mistiming or underestimating Master Hwa's internal alignment, which leaves the defender with nowhere to go but down.

Key Concepts in Classical Tai Chi Methodology

• The Small Circle Wu Style: Classical Tai Chi focuses heavily on the traditional Wu Style, specifically the "Small Circle" form. This variation emphasizes internal discipline, micro-movements, and deep joint protection—especially for the knees. 
• Square vs. Round Forms: I would highlight Master Hwa's teachings here regarding the strict progression from the "Square" form to the "Round" form. Anyone just starting uses the rigid, frame-by-frame Square form to learn precise structural alignment before graduating to the fluid, continuous Round form. 
• Internal Torso Energy: One will not be moving purely with the arms and legs. The classical tai chi method requires all motion through the core and torso. This structural requirement builds significant strength in the spine and lower back.

Important Points of Classical Wu Style Tai Chi Push Hands

The following is the dialogue of the most recent Youtube video from Workshop 2011. The subject of the workshop is the basics of doing (click here) Classical Wu Style push hands.

• Master Stephen Hwa instructs, demonstrates and allows students to participate in the learning.  The subject includes what is referred to as non-competitive push hands.  Master Hwa demonstrates the importance of the following points:

1. Importance of going fully forward in any Tai Chi posture
2. The difficulties of going fully forward
3. How to counter being pulled over while forward
4. How to crimp or cramp up your opponent's posture
5. The importance of correct distancing and the difference it makes
6. The importance of sitting back fully
7. The importance of turning the body correctly
8. The role of the pelvis in correct push hands

The times correspond to the statement in the dialogue

0:41 Say for instance that he pulls me.
0:45 You see that is why you practice the form.
0:51 You want to be in this full forward position.
0:53 Lot of people in the beginning are afraid to go into that full forward position. They feel like they are tipping over or something.
1:04 Now if he pulls me like this, I can relax my shoulder...see that?
1:09 See how much I can do that (stretch at shoulder)
1:13 Now he is kind of cramped
1:17 Because I let that go
1:21 In these things a couple of inches make a difference
1:24 So when he pulls me, I give him a couple more inches...he is cramped
1:43 Now when he comes at me I want to be able to sit back as much as I can
1:50 So it is kind of like to 2 people competing, who can stretch more, who can sit back more
1:54 So now I can sit back more than he can stretch
2:02 Now if I turn too much like this, then he can just push sideways
2:14 If I keep the pelvis still, he cannot push me
2:19 It is square here, he cannot push me, but once I do this
2:29 Very very different isn't it?
2:30 So the ability to keep the pelvis fixed and turning has a huge impact in push hands
2:40 The ability to feel comfortable going forward and the ability to sit back has a huge impact on opponent
3:04 When you go outside to push hands with people, they may not follow any rules
3:13 Then there are the people who come through the rank of weight lifting rooms, with extreme strong upper body
3:25 What they first do is grab you with 2 hands
3:30 In that situation...you remember Peter is strong, right?
3:45 When they try to grab your hands, you have to be prepared.
3:50 Once I feel you grab my hands, I have to do this, I do not let you grab solidly
4:00 Once he grabs solidly, this is harder to do
4:10 So you can use this particular move in getting away from the grab
4:32 Now outside people will stand sideways like this
4:43 So if you come forward they are going to pull like this
5:04 Now to counter this you have to exploit the weakness but there are several ways to get around this.
5: 24 One way is you don't let me really grab you
5:26 The other way is they don't make a full grab, they grab you like this
5:44 Then you have to step forward quickly and then you can jam them
5:50 So my weak point is force coming this way from the side like this
6:05 If you let him pull like this, then you are sunk.  Remember a great 90% of people push hands like this ...one sided.
6:30 Then there is the other situation with people who always keep their body perpendicular to the ground.
6:40 Then it becomes like wrestling because I am always in the middle, no one wants to sit back.
7:20 Very frequently on the youtube you see people pushing and wrestling like this, no one wants to sit back
7:30 They don't want lean forward, they don't want to sitback, they are afraid
8:29 Just remember don't get your arms to close to your body
8:40 It is kind of a right angle with the arms
8:50 Don't turn your hip too much, it is unstable
9:20 Tucking is important, because when the force comes on to you, you will get this curve or bend in your back when you do not tuck.
9:35 So this bend will stop the force right in this zone
9:40 With a correct tuck the force starts transmitting downward through my leg
10: 00 Try to keep the body reasonably straight, fold at the pelvis here. This way you will have better turning ability
10:18 If you crunch too much forward, you cannot turn the body.