What's your favorite posture?

[qiphlow]

Hello fellow taiji players! What's your favorite taiji posture (or postures)? Feel free to explain your answer or not, whatever you like. No challenges or mandates here, just a simple question.

My answer to my own question all listed are Yang style, as that's the only taiji i do!): Part Horse's Mane--I like the "open" feeling of the posture, plus it seems to present itself all the time during push-hands.
Fist Under Elbow--the two applications I'm familiar with are just brutal!
Cloud Hands--feels so nice!

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

WuJi.. it is the posture from which all others arise.. it is neutral and full of possibility.. it is the cradle of Taiji..

Be well..

[charyuop]

Hi everyone. I had started a thread similar in another forum, but it was ignored. Instead I think it is kinda interesting knowing why people likes TaiChi and what part of it.

Yang Style Long Form. My favourite posture is without any doubts "Stork Spread its Wings", which express both power and a great elegance in the movements.
I love alot also "play the fiddle" (I found out some calls it "play the guitar" and "play the flute", you pick which one you like hee hee). In such a simple movemenet there is a great power and the chance in application if well carried out to break an elbow and knee at the same time....not bad for a simple movement

[qiphlow]

ok then, i'll run with charyuop's idea and broaden the topic: what do you like about taiji? could be anything! i like when i'm doing a form and i'm just "in the groove"--it feels effortless, yet powerful at the same time...

[DarinHamel]

My favorite for standing meditation is Ward Off, but when I am looking in the mirror its Play the Lute for the coolness "kung fu" factor. While moving its Step Back Repulse Monkey.

[cjurakpt]

Fist Under Elbow--the two applications I'm familiar with are just brutal!

care to share? (hope that's not too OT...)

[qiphlow]

ok, i'll try to explain...
1st: block a left punch with left hand while shifting weight sideways from left foot to right foot, then as you are standing at opponents left side, bend him forward by pushing on the back of his head, drive your left elbow down to the back of opponent's neck.

2nd:block a right punch with left hand while shifting weight sideways from left foot to right foot, then, block follow-up right punch with left hand, guiding/controlling opponent's right hand downward, then strike opponent's face or throat with your left hand.

i hope that makes sense..

[Jumpin'Sidekick]

I DON'T do tai chi chuan. But I still decided to post. My favourite stance is the low horse stance from northern shaolin (feet paraller to each other, thighs paraller to the ground, knees outward so that the lower legs are paraller to each other, knees not overlapping the toes, back at 90 degree angle to the ground, hips tucked forward, NO arching of the back what-so-ever) because I can do it perfectly, but for only two minutes at a time. I have been training for only ONE year, and have tried hard. I can do every other stance pretty well aswell.

[charyuop]

I DON'T do tai chi chuan. But I still decided to post. My favourite stance is the low horse stance from northern shaolin (feet paraller to each other, thighs paraller to the ground, knees outward so that the lower legs are paraller to each other, knees not overlapping the toes, back at 90 degree angle to the ground, hips tucked forward, NO arching of the back what-so-ever) because I can do it perfectly, but for only two minutes at a time. I have been training for only ONE year, and have tried hard. I can do every other stance pretty well aswell.

It sounds as if while you are sitting they take off the chair from under you and keep that position. Sounds pretty hard to do ouch.

[qiphlow]

nice job on your stance training. i dabbled in choy li fut for about a year--i know how difficult correct stances can be, especially when they're that low! your legs will get strong really quickly doing horse stance.

[cjurakpt]

ok, i'll try to explain...
1st: block a left punch with left hand while shifting weight sideways from left foot to right foot, then as you are standing at opponents left side, bend him forward by pushing on the back of his head, drive your left elbow down to the back of opponent's neck.

2nd:block a right punch with left hand while shifting weight sideways from left foot to right foot, then, block follow-up right punch with left hand, guiding/controlling opponent's right hand downward, then strike opponent's face or throat with your left hand.

i hope that makes sense..

prettty much - for #1 - do you contact on the inside or the outside of the punching arm? also, do you do anything with your right hand at all during the move?

#2 - same question as to contact surfaces; also, it seems that you are again doing it all with your left hand: managing 2 punches and the follow up (which you say comes from the same hand, the Rt., as the initial punch - are you saying they punch 2x with the Rt. hand?).


I see it as this way:

person punches w/ right hand; with my right hand I contact the outside of their arm, either at the wrist or preferably if possible near / at the elbow; grabbing arm, the right hand continues to pull down while twisting, turning their arm over;
(this is why they call it fist under elbow, to me: optimally, you got the attacker at the elbow, and have twisted the arm inwards as you pull them off balance: technically, your fist ends up "under" their elbow...)

at the same time as you are pulling them down / off, the left hand strikes in one of several ways:
a) over the top of the oponent's Rt. arm, contacting at the posterior angle of the jaw / upper cervicals with the pinkie side of the palm; this is if the opponent is same ehight / shorter than you, and is unable to fold the elbow over your hand (easier if you grab at the wrist, harder the nearer to the elbow you are)

b) under the arm, coming up under the jaw, almost as if you were sliding up the person's chest: advantage is that it comes through a blind spot; disadvantage is you are under their Rt. arm, so if they drop the elbow, you may have a problem; also, you could also do this over the arm to a taller oponent if you got the arm down far enough (the scooping would be less possible on a shorter person, since you can't really come up from underneath if they are level with / below you); you could also direct the strike to the axilla, diggint the fingers in, or the thumb into the hollow under the scapula which exposes subscapularis muscle, which in 99.9% of the population is tender-as-heck, creating a defacto area of tenderness that can be exploited nicely - but this, admittedly, is a much harder thing to hit; also, if you grab it, you would certainly need to do a follow-up move...

in both cases, the general area on the neck that you are striking to is filled with all kinds of nifty cervical plexi / autonomic ganglia, the type that if you whack them hard, can cause all that nice disorientation stuff you want to get...

there is also, of course, the other interpretation of pushing the arm up / out of the way with your left hand as the right hand punches to the ribs; the only problem with this is that the direction that the fist moves in the form doesn't support this as a reasonable application (nor would the foot work - if you were to do that, you lean with the weight forward on the left leg, as opposed to backwards on the on the right - it would look more like the punch move at the end of the first road of the form)

btw, my favorite posture is Cinnabar Transformation (typically translated as Single Whip - they are actually homphonic)...

[Jumpin'Sidekick]

Charyuop, I actually forgot to state one big factor: The feet are 3.5ft apart, so... not that hard, but very difficult to achieve, if not trying hard enough.

[SPJ]

It is very difficult to choose.

1. Single whip and tying coat lazily are mirror images. It is used a lot in changing and connecting postures in the routine/forms. I like it especially we have to sit on hip/kua at the end. There are so many versions. I like it the one with half horse or bow horse stance.

2 Repulse monkey (Dao Juan Gong) and cloud hands (Yun Shou).

One is to retreat and the other is to advance.

We practice Yun Shou with advancing steps. even thou it is a side stepping in the forms.

I like it especially with turning the waist and shifting weights between knees.

[qiphlow]

"prettty much - for #1 - do you contact on the inside or the outside of the punching arm? also, do you do anything with your right hand at all during the move?

#2 - same question as to contact surfaces; also, it seems that you are again doing it all with your left hand: managing 2 punches and the follow up (which you say comes from the same hand, the Rt., as the initial punch - are you saying they punch 2x with the Rt. hand?)." (cjurakpt)

************************************************** *****************

for #1: contact outside of punching arm as you step in w/ your (l) foot, then as you step to his (l) side w/ your (r) foot, contacting back of head w/ your (r) hand, shift weight to (r) foot while pushing head down, exposing back of neck to downward (l) elbow strike


for #2, sorry, i meant to say that first a right punch, then a left punch. you counter first w/ your (l) hand, then counter 2nd w/ your (r) hand, you are now at the (r) side of your opponent, in close, his (l) punch has been controlled downward by your (r0 hand, leaving your (l) palm/fist/pointystick/etc. free to drive up into his chin/nose/throat/etc.

sorry for the confusion--i'm normally explaining as i'm demonstrating. this is, as you know, difficult to do over the internet

[qiphlow]

We practice Yun Shou with advancing steps. even thou it is a side stepping in the forms..

that sounds like fun--i'll have to try that