First Grappling Form- Fourth Movement: Ward-off, Roll-back and Push

Hello, everyone!

I apologise for this post being late. Being able to blog like this means I often have nice quiet weekends, but every now and then I get reminded of what life would be like if I had people to spoend time with.

Still, better late than never, I say.

When I had the photos of this form taken for the book this was the view you would get of this movement from the book. 

I realise that this probably does not tell you much and we know how hard it is for some of us to form a mental picture from written words, so-

I have made this short video clip specially for you if you are among those who need it.

This movement is all too familiar to Taijiquan students and I dare say that every known style of Taijiquan features it somewhere in their forms.

As the above video shows, you breathe in as you prepare to sweep outwards with your lead hand, then, moving weight forward, you breathe out and sweep outward in a wide arc. Then, breathing in again, your hand sweeps inward so that its palm faces the palm of your other hand which is now at your hip with its palm facing upwards.

Then- you breathe out as you push forward with both hands.

Some anime fans might say that this is learning to shoot a fireball from your palms.

This theory is especially helped by the palms facing each other at the point before you push outwards with both hands.

This is after all what Street Fighter's Ryu does with his Hadouken, right?

Thing is, however, that Karate itself has a similar hand position that precedes a double handed punch or double palm strike in its forms.  

As Sensei Iain Abernethy's video shows here, that hand position has its purpose.

If you ask Taijiquan students what the application of this three-part move is they will most likely explain along the lines of what is shown here:

What it comes down to is that the arm that was straightened bends back inward as it yields to pressure from an opponent pushing against it. When the energy from the push is spent you then take your turn to push back.

This scenario is what often comes up during Taijiquan's pushing hands practice.

Fighting and push-hands practice are two different things, however, so I have decided to see what I can do with these movements in a fight.

What I am showing in the gif below is but one of the applications that I have found. The other scenario involves being punched ,and to be frank- I think we have more than enough defenses against punches out here on the internet.

So- I have chosen to get pushed for this demo.

So- I summoned up the shadow clone and this is what I have found: 

So- I summoned up the shadow clone and this is what I have found: 

1. The warding off movement can work in very much the same way as Karate's mawashi uke. The wide sweeping arm can connect with the first arm it meets on its way, automatically beating the other to the side as well or- It can miss the first but deflect the second, leaving the other hand for your other hand to push down.

2. Some good reasons for you to move your hand back inwards would be:

a) You have knocked away only one hand and now you are bringing it back inwards across your opponent's centre-line to close the other one off from attacking; 

b) You realise that your sweeping hand would be pushing against empty air where it is now- and it has gone past your opponent's body (or he has moved in for an intentional or unintentional clinch), so you bring it back in between you and your opponent before your give him that big push.

With that out of the way- it is important to note that the push itself is done with both feet on the ground. When the force is exerted both feet are flat on the ground, firmly planted.

Sure- it is possible to push forward like a rugby player in a scrum where one foot leaves the ground so that only one leg is doing the work while the other is on its way ahead. In a fight, however, being on one leg while you are pushing someone opens you up to falling on your face if the opponent just yields and takes away the support that enabled you to lean forward on one leg like that...

What rather happens is that one foot is placed ahead while the other stays behind, carrying your weight. You lower your hips to enable a nice linear forward movement and also to be a bit more sturdy so that you don't get pushed over yourself. The push itself is then not just the straightening of your arms, but also your entire body being pushed forward by your supporting leg while the other leg is pulling from its end.

You may push with explosive or gradual force. If your stance is right it will work.

Another factor that plays a huge part especially where the opponent is much bigger than you is timing. Pushing like this against an opponent who is pushing against you at the same time is really hard and most likely to fail. What is easier is pushing against an opponent who has tried to push you, but missed- and who is now still busy regaining his balance. 

Learning the precise time to push someone over is something I consider worth doing and it is one of the most valuable lessons that I got from Taijiquan. Another is learning to absorb the energy of your opponent's push.

That is it for today! :)

Hope you all have a great week and that you train well!