Originally Posted by
TaiChiBob
Greetings..
Sticking/adhering.. If you are stuck to your opponent you are there when he initializes a technique, when he thinks it.. if you expand/inflate "Peng" as the opponent begins the technique they will usually push themselves backward, lose balance and leave an opening.. this is soft.. no force generated to get there, you're already there.. a good Taiji player never loses contact once it is made, if the opponent retreats Taiji stays attached and adds a little more energy.. the retreat accelerates faster than the opponent can react and, again, loss of balance and openings.. this requires little if any "force", "Peng" is not force, it is like the air inside a basketball, we simply adjust the pressure.. it doesn't reach beyond the basketball (its limits of efficiency) it is simply there when force is applied, the more force applied the greater the return "bounce".. the soft and yielding skin of the basketball allows pressure to build-up as force is applied until the pressure inside is greater than the force outside.. the "bounce".. Peng reaching beyond its limits is weak and vulnerable, we must know when enough is enough..
Deflect and control.. so many times i see students and even good fighters reach beyond what is required to do the task.. it is only necessary to deflect by an inch, a miss is a miss.. the closer your appendages are to your center the more control and options are available.. fighters that utilize "big" movements leave "big" openings.. keep compact and relaxed (soft), this allows you draw the opponent into your strength.. once inside your strength, your options are limitless.. like falling into water, it recieves you softly then surrounds you completely.. the water does nothing, it is you that has to struggle.. the water forces you to fight on its terms.. staying attached, like the water, each movement by the opponent is sensed as it begins.. gentle "Peng" applied at the beginning of a movement will control its direction and confuse the opponent.. this is control.
Strong and powerful fighters are usually tense and somewhat rigid.. this provides a link to their "center", like a handle.. they will often resist Qinna, which is exactly what makes Qinna work.. as you Cai (pluck) an extended hand/arm and the opponent pulls back, apply Peng at the torso and release the Cai.. their instinctive "pull/retreat" is maginfied by the releace of the Cai and the addition of Peng.. a well placed advancing leg (just behind their Yang leg) will often lead to a gravity induced meeting with the floor..
As an example, stand tall and fall forward into the ground.. do you reach out and "strike" the ground with locked joints to protect your body from impact? Or, do you position your hands to receive the ground? The hands, arms, body combo knows exactly how to adust to receive the contact (soft).. to try to strike the ground as a preventative to impact (hard) invites injury and is inefficeint.. in positioning the hands to receive the ground we utilize Peng, that soft, springy, bouncy resilience (basketball analogy).. Peng transfers leg, waist and full-body energy (just like it absorbs the energy of the falling body) to an opponent.. it is a non-threatening transfer, no sudden movements.. just an overwhelming return of energy, like a wave that keeps building.. soft, but irresistable..
Anyway, just some thoughts.. Be well..