Third in a series: Sifu Randy Choy is a well-respected martial arts teacher in Hawaii. Sifu Fong thanks him for graciously sharing his thoughts on training here.

Interpreting Energy

If you want to interpret energy, you have to learn some form of two-person exercise. Many Chinese boxing systems (Taijiquan, Ving Tsun, Praying Mantis Boxing, and others) have incorporated some form of two-man exercise in their training. In this article, I will explain how I teach my students to interpret energy through the method of Taiji push hands.

I begin teaching them the single joint hand exercise called, "dan da shou." This exercise is divided into two parts. The first part is called, "dan tui shou," or single push hands. Two opponents join their right hands together to make horizontal counter-clockwise circular movements. With both of their right feet forward, they learn to yield to each other's force

I teach my students just three simple rules to follow. The first rule is to keep your spine upright. The second rule is to slow down your circular movements. The third rule is to learn to control your opponent. The second part is called, "dan tui shou huan shou." This is a single exchange joint hand exercise. Two opponents join their left hands together to make horizontal clockwise circular movements, sticking to each other.

There is no secret in this exercise. By design, this exercise loosens up your arms and legs, your hips and shoulders. As your legs become stronger, you will feel your upper body become looser and more free. For the more advanced students, I teach them "shuang da shou," the Taiji double joint hand exercise. The first part of this exercise is called, "yuan di tui shou," which is the original joint hand exercise. Two opponents join their hands together to practice the "ssu zheng tui shou fa," which is the four sides push hand method. In this exercise, you practice the four energies of "peng, lu, ji, an." At this level, my students run into problems. Their movements become more rigid, there is some degree of stiff arming, and a lot of leaning back and forth.

Again, it is time to pull out the rule book to remind students of the principles of Taijiquan and the reasons for practicing this exercise. My rule book states that "peng" trains you to inflate your energy by warding off and slanting energy upwards. This is similar to the way a river supports a boat. "Lu" is a pulling-back energy. You want to draw your opponent off-balance, so you have to be crafty. "Ji" means to press forward, like bouncing a ball on a wall. "An" means to push, similar to the motion of the ocean as its waves rise and fall. We locals in Hawaii always go to the beach. Pushing is what we do best.

Once my students get the hang of things, I have them work on the second part of this exercise called, "yuan di tui shou huan shou." You get to change your push hand direction. Only when you become comfortable with this exercise can I teach you the next level. Everybody wants to get away from their fixed postion and begin learning to advance and retreat. The "he pu tui shou," or harmony stepping push hands makes the "shuang da shou" more exciting. Besides advancing and retreating, you must learn to neutralize. You've got to look to your left and right, and learn equilibrium. Again, I have to explain from the rule book what equilibrium is. It is where your "qi" sinks to your "dantien." While in motion, you must coordinate both the upper and lower parts of your body. In a short amount of time, you'll be able to do double exchange joint hand with harmony stepping called, "he pu tui shou huan shou."

For my most advanced students, I save the best for last, the training of the four corners. At this level of push hand training, you are probably proficient in both the five steps and the four sides, because you are going to include in this exercise another four energies, that of "cai, lie, zhou, kao." These energies are used in the "da lu tui shou," the great pullings of push hand and "da lu tui shou huan shou," the great pullings of exchange push hands. This double joint hand exercise trains you to neutralize the pull down, backwards bends, the elbow and shoulder strikes.

In conclusion, you must again review your rule book. Are you relaxed? Are you increasing your sensitivity? Is your chest empty and your shoulders relaxed? Is your waist loose and your tailbone tucked in? Are your hips open? Are your tendons and muscles loose? Are you using your "dantien" as the center? Are you sticking to your opponent? Are you yielding to his energy? Are you using your mind, not your strength? If you have answered yes on all the above, then you will have no problem in changing or redirecting your opponent's energy. You have now acquired the ability to interpret energy.

Mahalo,
Professor Randy Choy
Founder of the Chinese Athletic Arts Academy
Advisor to the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society
Chuk Kai Tai Chi Preying Mantis Organization-Hawaii

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