24-movement form throws..

hi all! i began studying tai chi chuan last year and learned the common 24-movement form. i havent studied it in great depth yet, but i was trying to picture some combat throws within the techniques. some are obvious, but i was wondering if anyone knew specifically the which techniques maybe be used to throw a person. thank you very much for your time, i am very novice to the applications and would appreciate any help. xie xie..

In a fight you should never stick to principles; they should stick to you!

Believe it or not, Liang Shou-you's 24 taiji movement tape with Sam Masich might be your answer.

He shows good applications and makes the form worth learning.

Here are some (they might be obvious and you might know them)

Part the wild horse's main:

the standard step behind with lead foot while your lower body twist one way, and your upper body twist the other with the arm leading the up rooting ( points to remember : dig deep into his root with the lead leg and exert force in the direction of his center of his face. ps there is also a nasty arm break in there as well.

Brush knee step forward :

Hook the high hand up under the armpit and shoulder area twist and throw over the hip.

Another applicative throw involves the hand that brushes the knee. it's actually an oppisite wrist grab with the high hand either smashing your opponents exposed elebow or putting enouph force on it to cause your opponent to fall to the ground. Points to remember: twist and push towards the ground with both hands moving as you twist your torso in the direction of the hand brushing the knee.

Playing the lute: use the right hand to grab his right hand slip your left in his armpitand coil it up and over the back his shoulder, finally resting on his neck or shoulder and throw him to the ground. point to remeber: twist the hips in the dirrection of the throw and use the lead leg to possiblly break his root.

Ward off: the lead arm (the right)goes over the opponents lead arm and rest along his chest, as you step with the lead leg behind his back leg (or center) twist the hips and upper body to the left and brake his root.

These are some basic throws in the 24 form. (to me the 24 form is a complete art all to its self however the long form is where it's at!)

There are plenty more throws within most of the postures, they are just waiting for you to explore them...... good luck

Also,

There are some obscure throws within some of the postures ie. "fan thru back" or parry deflect punch" these are cool and very nasty too.

Paul
Michigan ;)

Nicely said. Of course, there are also quite a few strikes that accomodate the 24-movement throws! It is just full of surprises, but if you were to try and apply the 24-movement form to actual fighting application, you would have little luck until you moved into the long form.

As said above "These are some basic throws in the 24 form. (to me the 24 form is a complete art all to its self however the long form is where it's at!)"

It is so true that the long form is where it's at. 24-movement is truly a health based form, and do not get me wrong, it has amazing health benefits as well as a marvelous foundation for the long form. It's a long road to good taiji no matter which form you start with, so that is nothing to worry about as long as your learning "good" taiji (LOL!)

Now within the 24-movement, there are some things that are emphasized more important than throws you might wish to consider. The 24-movement is based completely on posture. Seriously, if you learn proper posture in the 24-movements, then the long form postures will make so much more sense to you. Within this, you will become to develop structure and within that be able to move qi effectively throughout your body to the point of contact. So when attacked you are like a mountain, and your posture causes the attacker to feel like he hit a brick wall.

Outside of your question though, it is a great thing that you are learning Yang Style first IMO. Not that Chen style cannot be learned first, but I am a believer that posture is more important in the beginning IE Yang style. Some would say differently.

Good Luck, ask anything else you wish to know about!

- Nexus

<font size="1">"Time, space, the whole universe - just an illusion! Often said, philosophically verifiable, even scientifically explainable. It's the <font color="blue">'just'</font> which makes the honest mind go crazy and the <font color="blue">ego</font> go berserk." - Hans Taeger</font>

i don't do the 24, but it's probably similar enough...

movements i like to use as throws:

first movement of grasp sparrow's tail
part horse's mane
wave hands in clouds
fan through back
white crane spreads wings
brush knee twist step (several different throws)
carry tiger back to mountain
golden rooster stands on one leg
transition to single whip (not the single whip posture itself - the one commonly shown is reallly crappy, and should never be used.)
pull down
step over lotus
bend backwards
punch downwards
slant flying (flying diagonal)
the transition from repulse monkey, to slant flying
jab clouds
the transition from box ears, to separate kick
...

- The learning curve is now a spin cycle.