Recently, I had the privilege of training with Dr Yang Jwing
Ming*, renowned author and teacher of Chinese martial arts and Qigong and
founder of Yang’s Martial Arts Association (YMAA) that has 45 schools in 18
different countries.
The seminar specifically was on the Tai Chi pushing hands,
aka "Tui Shou" or "Sensing Hands". Pushing hands is an exercise that
can be performed by two people who are attempting to improve their Tai Chi
skills of remain balanced, focused and relaxed while in motion.
What impressed me most was both Dr Yang's incredible in
depth knowledge of the subject as well as his ability to apply that knowledge
into his movement. I felt quite honored when he did the one basic exercise
with me, and I was totally in awe of the energy that I felt when performing the
exercise with him!
Unfortunately, due to the limited nature of the seminar, I
was only exposed to three of the four major "Jìng patterns" (or basic
movements or martial power movements) that have become the four major crucial
foundations of the Tai Chi art - Péng , Lǚ and Jǐ. The fourth is Àn
"Peng" is to ward off, "Lu" is to roll
back, "Ji" is to Squeeze or press and "An" is to push or
press down.
But the article at hand isn't to go into any further details
about these and the other concepts and theories that make Tai Chi an effective
means of fighting. Rather, my aim here is to highlight how many of our modern
self-defence concepts and practise is actually derived from the traditional martial
arts. In my opinion, all martial arts were at one stage very effective in their
means of defending the practitioner from whatever threat was prevalent at the
time. Furthermore, it may not have been
as stylized and ritualized as many have become today. Rather, it was scrappy,
undisciplined, and excluded many of the high moral value benefits and practices
that they have evolved into as society had progressed. Martial "arts"
became much more than just their physical applications, and became a way of
living a life with discipline and encouraged personal development and the
cultivation of ones spirituality.
Self-defence on the other hand, has been something that has
had to keep up with the threats that modern society has created or evolved
into. Whether it be the way the criminal minds now thinks due to the perversion
of violence and crime than one is now exposed to in the news and in various
entertainment mediums; to the actual decline in respect and value of human life
that that comes when crime and criminals are left unchecked in civil societies.
What I again am stressing, is how concepts such as
"peng", "Lu", "Ji" and 'An" of Tai chi, can
still benefit the modern day self-defence training. Using my simplistic
explanation, "Peng" is to ward off an attack as it comes towards me;
"Lu: is to roll back and neutralize an attacker if the force is too great;
"Ji" is to squeeze or press an attacker when he/she gets in a
position that I am able to be able to neutralize his/her attack; and lastly, "An"
is to press or push down an attacker when the opportunity presents itself.
I can imagine hard-core Tai Chi practitioners grimacing at
my explanation above, however, please do feel free to read Dr Yang's
explanation in greater detail at these 2 links: http://ymaa.com/articles/2015/03/about-pushing-hands-part-1
& http://ymaa.com/articles/2015/03/about-pushing-hands-part-2.
Tai Chi training and Martial arts in general is a long and
difficult path to follow. As one senior student at the YMAA SA** centre pointed
out at the seminar, their martial arts student base at their training facility
has been on the decline, and people such as myself that teach
"self-defence" seem to be on the increase. The fact is that many
people find martial arts and the disciplined practise thereof very difficult to
maintain due to work and personal commitments. People don't seem to have enough
time to partake in a long extended training sessions that span over years and
years, and rather seek something that is a "quick-fix" that will allow them to gain some skill in which
they can learn and apply in a relatively short space of time. Let me also state
that, although I am a supplier of "quick-fixes", it is by no means a
substitute for consistent practise and training, and I make that very clear in
all my products and services. However, what I do believe is, for self-defence
and personal safety, just by creating a greater awareness and consciousness in
society, it will motivate enough people to take action to do something to
ensure the safety of themselves and their loved. This is the first step in
creating a more harmonious society that will reduce and crime and in future,
the need for self-defence.
In my opinion, we have gone full circle as to what those
ancient masters of the traditional martial arts masters set out to do – to
create a more harmonious society. The took their primal instincts to protect
themselves; devise methods in which to protect themselves; applied it on the
battlefield to see if it worked and ensure its effectiveness and relevance;
started teaching it as a system so that more people could defend themselves
too; collectively stated to action to drive crime of of their society;
eventually evolved to a more harmonious society; saw the decline of their
styles deadly application; and hence develop their "style" into a
personal development art.
Perhaps we are at those early stages yet again, and the
utopia we all so fondly seek, is not too far away.
Many thanks to again to Dr Yang Jwing Ming for reminding me
of the value traditional martial arts can still bring to all of us, martial
artists and safety conscious citizens alike.
Get EDUCATED. Fell EMPOWERED. Live a FULLY-ENGAGED life.
* Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, is a renowned author and teacher of
Chinese martial arts and Qigong. Born in Taiwan, he has trained and taught
Taijiquan, Qigong and Chinese martial arts for over forty-five years. He is the
author of over thirty books, and was elected by Inside Kung Fu magazine as one
of the 10 people who has "made the greatest impact on martial arts in the
past 100 years." Dr. Yang lives in Northern California. For more
information, please visit: www.ymaa.com or www.ymaa-retreatcenter.org
** YMAA in South Africa can be found at this website: www.dragonspirit.co.za
*** Warren Ho is the founder of Defence Unlimited and is
passionate about teaching effective and relevant self-defence that addresses
the crime and criminals that are within our modern society. For more
information, please visit www.defence-unlimited.com
