Pushing and pulling drills

Pushing Hands practice in Taijiquan has impressed me a lot when I had first come across it. Before that time I have learnt Judo and set out to master the art of "yielding" in real fight situations.

This meant pulling my opponent by the arm as it straightened during his punch- or pushing at the moment he is pulling/ retreating.

With karate I have learnt how body mechanics could be used to exert effort against resistance in the most efficient manner. Now- I did not feel the need to "yield" in order to be able to throw my opponent. 

Two exercises I have devised build strength, develops proper stance and also helps to develop a good feel for the body mechanics involved in grappling.

In the one exercise- the pulling drill- one partner is in front stance with his reverse punch- wrist grabbed with his partner's reverse punch-hand. Grabbing hold with the captured arm's hand the partner whose arm was straightened to begin with shifts back into back stance and pulls his partner into the front stance position in which he had previously been. (Umm... it is not necessary for me to say that "he" can also be "she", right?)

After that roles get switched as many times as you have time for.

Another exercise starts with one partner in a front stance with his forearm out the the classic peng position of Taijiquan while the other is the guitar-playing posture pushing against that forearm. Driving with the legs the pushing partner will end up in forward stance while the other ends up in cat stance (or that toes-up stance in the guitar-playing posture). From here the partner with his weight on the back foot now pushes against the forearm of the other. And roles switch for as long as time allows.

In Wenhsiuquan classes these drills are used as warm-up exercises- so we do not spend a lot of time on them. Resistance can be increased and decreased as the need arises. The exercise will not work if either party's balance becomes off-balance. Best way to prevent it is to not yield too much, but also not to be too immovable.

You may try this at home with a class mate from your dojo or, if you are an instructor, make it part of your class warm up.

Have fun and train well!   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blindfold training

Image
Now here's something I have not yet written about. :D I have been interested in the Zen side of Japanese martial arts since the age of 16. It was about at this age when I began with Qigong as well. As a young karateka back then I did not have the confidence, strength or aggression of my classmates and looking back- I think it was a good thing. Because of that classes scared me. Now- had it not been to exposure to the mental training techniques provided to me by Zen- I would not have seen this hostile dojo environment as the ideal testing grounds for the things I have read. This is one major factor to which I attribute my development as a martial artist. One very important training tool that has always served me well and that continues to do so to this dat is Zen Meditation. This, in itself, has provided me with a number of benefits about which I can write in detail. One of those- was the development of intuition and sensory acuity. It is actually wonderfu...
Read more

Tai Chi Movement #3- Wave Hands like Clouds

Image
I have just started searching for examples of this movement on the internet and realised that among all the people doing Tai Chi out there I might just be the only one who would apply Cloud Hands the way I do. I have found different variations of the movement itself as well. This makes my writing about my version and its application a bit unfair as you will be missing out on some really elaborate applications. Now- how I always did this movement is starting from a posture like the Lute Playing posture like the picture below- or the Spread Wings posture like this: From either one of these ready postures I then rotate my front foot and let my body follow while my leading hand makes contact with an imaginary thrust and I then complete the rotation by passing the attack while I guide its force past me with minimal effort and my free hand follows the blocking hand to wind up for an outward strike. When the rotation and step is complete I shift weight ...
Read more

Learning a Martial Art- some basic guidelines

Image
I think we have by now come across a couple of people who are studying some martial art or the other on their own. Back when I tried doing it at the age of 10 I used a book and later more books followed. Well- even after I did join an actual dojo more books followed even then... People are quick to say that you can't learn a martial art from a book. That is understandable. I for one know that you can't work as a lawyer if you have only gotten your law degree. In fact- few people feel as incompetent as a bright graduate starting out as a candidate at a law firm. The main reason why martial arts can't be learnt by reading alone is that experience plays a large part in developing the skills that any martial art has to offer. Knowledge is not enough. Nonetheless- self study is possible. We may argue about to which extent, but the history of Chinese and Japanese martial arts feature instances where people studied a scroll or a f...
Read more