Greetings..

As my students prepare for upcoming competitions it occurrs to me that they train with competition rules in mind. For pushing-hands there are so many limitations to Taji's potential that it seems almost pointless, even counterproductive. After last year's Nick Scrima tournament there were some heated debates about expanding permissable techniques to include Qinna (without actually hyper-extending joints, etc...).. allowing "leg boxing" and leveraged takedowns. But, sadly, the debate lost momentum and once again, the inner beauty of Taiji will be kept off-stage.

I suppose i am asking if people really train to use Taiji as a martial art. I am a huge believer in the health benefits of Taiji and the many wisdoms built into the forms, but.. at the end of the day, Taiji was and IS a martial art.. and, as i tell my students, Taiji is for health and if you are disabled because you couldn't defend yourself, how healthy is that?

Should tournament Taiji competitions be more application oriented? Certainly, we want to preserve the competitor's health, but the current limitations are almost boring to watch or play. As we strive to advance Taiji as a total art form i think we should offer the tournament observer a much more realistic demonstration of Taiji's effectiveness.. It is difficult for the aspiring martial artist to discern the usefulness of Taiji by watching the usual Push-hands competition.. I mean, what do you do with an irate biker once you have pushed him off balance or made him move his foot? Taiji Push-hands competitions have no conclusion.

Just looking for some thoughts on these issues.

Be well..