"On 'Abandoning Self and Following Others' in Tai Chi Chuan Combat"

by langrentoh1 on 2012-03-09 16:44:57

On "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent" in Tai Chi Combat Techniques ---- Zhang Zhijun

The combat strategy of Tai Chi in Push Hands and free sparring can be summarized in four words: "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent."

"Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent." This is the overall method, the general guideline. If you want to hit me, the usual way to deal with it is to block you, dodge you, and then look for an opportunity to strike back. However, there's a more advanced approach: when you want to hit me, I guide your hand toward my body. I follow your force, add curves and spiral movements, and thereby make your strength subject to my command. Let's define it as a formula: Your force plus my force through arcs and spiral motions all come under my control. That's Tai Chi.

Some people say, "I can still knock someone down without using the principle of 'Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent.' Isn't that possible?" We say, although you may still be able to knock someone down, that is not the power of Tai Chi, nor does it match the subtlety of Tai Chi combat techniques. Tai Chi requires us to comply with the opponent no matter how harsh the conditions are during confrontation, and we must be able to practice "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent" under various circumstances, solving problems by using sticking, adhering, connecting, and following. At the same time, "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent" aims to achieve "compliance with oneself and non-compliance with others," "leading into emptiness," making the opponent miss rather than hit. When you come, I make you miss, ready to release or strike. Flexibility and extension open and close freely. This is the elegant realm everyone dreams of in Tai Chi Push Hands and free sparring.

The core part of "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent" is transforming passivity into initiative, using the optimal method to protect oneself. Be self-centered, skillfully dismantling the opponent's attack while simultaneously organizing and implementing our own offense. "Abandonment" should not be wasted; otherwise, it would be wasteful. "Following" should not be blindly done; otherwise, one will be controlled. To achieve "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent," the following key points should be mastered:

1. Comply with and change the opponent's force.

When both parties engage in combat, if both A and B move forward, B jumps out, understanding the force. It might feel like just a bump that sends B flying, but actually, during the instant A interacts with B, A adds a small circle, precisely this tiny arc motion that makes B float up. Therefore, upon contact, one must first accurately identify the direction of the opponent's force, try to follow their force, and attempt to change its direction. Otherwise, you'll go out unconsciously. In daily practice, train yourself to have sensitive touch and listening skills, don't worry about temporary gains and losses, winning a momentary advantage is just a short-term gain. Only by knowing the size, length, direction, and speed of the opponent's force at the moment of contact can one achieve long-term advantages. Compliance with the opponent's force is only superficial; during the process of compliance, integrate your force with the opponent's, then use curves and spiral movements to change the direction of this force. Follow this principle to resolve the opponent's first, second, even third forces. Imagine having this method of compliance and transformation; no matter how strong the incoming force is, it will inevitably end up missing and losing momentum, thus being controlled by you.

2. Avoid detachment and resistance.

In Push Hands, two mistakes are clearly wrong: "detachment" and "resistance." "Detachment" and "resistance" are common issues when practicing Tai Chi. "Resistance" means stiffness, "detachment" means softness. "Resistance" makes the force too hard; if your spiral movement has edges, planes, straight lines, concave-convex shapes, and broken force, the opponent can easily detect your intention and change tactics to stop you, resulting in "resistance." We say that the ward-off force is the main force in Tai Chi. When the opponent applies force, receiving it is ward-off, and the direction of ward-off can vary: upward ward-off, forward ward-off, etc., guiding the opponent in any direction is correct, except for "direct resistance," which is wrong. But for beginners, during confrontation, often many correct methods are right in front of you, yet you overlook them and only use one method to resist. This is an unavoidable stage in practicing Tai Chi, diligent practice can naturally shorten the time to surpass this stage. While overcoming "resistance," attention should be paid to preventing "detachment." "Detachment" means softness, relaxation, lack of defense, complete collapse. "Detachment" and "self-abandonment" are very different. "Self-abandonment" is for change, while "detachment" leaves no initiative and no follow-up moves, leading to inevitable defeat.

3. Have a circular defense and continuous attack awareness.

"Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent," "leading into emptiness" also requires attention to the fact that after one striking point departs, the next striking point must quickly follow up. When the opponent attacks, your hand retreats, but your elbow must thrust forward; otherwise, you're handing over the position to the opponent. Using your hand to rigidly defend the front line may cause "resistance"; giving away your position is "detachment." To achieve "no detachment and no resistance," one must be good at using the second point to protect the first point, the third point to protect the second point, after the hand comes the elbow, after the elbow comes the shoulder, after the shoulder comes the hand again, the hand goes down and the elbow follows, repeating endlessly. This is merely the change of the upper three sections; if one can handle everything smoothly and use the entire body as one unit, utilizing hands, elbows, shoulders, chest, hips, knees, legs, and feet for cyclic attacks, it becomes marvelously indescribable. One must also have the awareness of continuous attacks. Many people stop moving after throwing the opponent in Push Hands, leaving them unprepared when the opponent counterattacks, which is due to the absence of the second strike. Actually, if another force had been applied at that moment, the opponent would have fallen. Even if there is no visible second strike after the first strike, one must mentally focus on the opponent and prepare for the second strike. The important thing is not to lose the awareness.

4. Guidance Hand and Striking Hand

In Tai Chi combat, one should distinguish between the "Guidance Hand" and the "Striking Hand," which is very significant for "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent." The fundamental purpose of "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent" is to lead into emptiness, control the opponent, create a situation where one is compliant and the other is not, and effectively strike the opponent. Therefore, our two hands should have different roles. We call one hand the "Guidance Hand," mainly used to neutralize and guide the opponent's incoming force, making it "miss." The other hand is called the "Striking Hand," responsible for attacking the opponent. Of course, these two hands are interconnected. In Chen-style Tai Chi, only mutual coordination and cooperation can accomplish the dual tasks of self-abandonment and striking the opponent. The determination of the "Guidance Hand" and the "Striking Hand" depends on the direction of the body's rotation. When the body turns left, the left hand is the "Guidance Hand," and the right hand is the "Striking Hand;" when the body turns right, the right hand is the "Guidance Hand," and the left hand is the "Striking Hand." The role of the "Guidance Hand" is twofold: to guide and change the direction of the opponent's incoming force, and to instruct the direction of our strike and make the opponent fall. The role of the "Striking Hand" is relatively simple, to position and expand outward, combining spiral self-rotation with the body's public rotation to implement the intention of striking the opponent. The role of the "Guidance Hand" is heavier than that of the "Striking Hand." Through arcs and spiral movements, the "Guidance Hand" can make the opponent's incoming force find no point of force on our side, neutralizing the opponent's force invisibly; the "Striking Hand" changes according to the changes of the "Guidance Hand." As the boxing theory states: "Leading into emptiness leads to a strike," "Leading into emptiness" is the wonderful use of the "Guidance Hand," "striking" is the function of the "Striking Hand," and "a strike" is the result. If one cannot distinguish between the "Guidance Hand" and the "Striking Hand" in actual combat, then the application of techniques becomes blind, and it is impossible to practice the highest principle of Tai Chi combat, "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent."

(For detailed discussion on "Guidance Hand" and "Striking Hand," see another article: "Guidance Hand" and "Striking Hand" in Tai Chi Push Hands.)

5. "Accumulation and Release Transformation" and "Neutralization and Strike Unity"

"Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent" boils down to a method, whose role is to achieve "accumulation and release transformation;" its ultimate realm is "neutralization and strike unity." Any force composition has three elements: magnitude, direction, and point of application. By changing the point of application, controlling the direction of the opponent's incoming force, the magnitude of the force poses no problem for me. Tai Chi has the treasures of sticking, adhering, connecting, and following. As long as there is contact with the opponent's limbs, one can follow their momentum, bend and rotate according to their movements, adjust one's balance, explore the opponent's force situation, seize opportunities, and adapt accordingly. During the process of sticking and moving, because of "no detachment and no resistance," encountering force immediately neutralizes it. When the opponent's force fails to reach the target, two situations can occur: one is continuing forward and creating a disadvantageous posture, the other is terminating the force and retreating. Both will alter their center of gravity, creating conditions for disrupting their balance. Meanwhile, pay attention to the process of "neutralization" which is also the process of "accumulation." Once this process is completed, it means: first, the threat to me is eliminated, second, a favorable situation of compliance with myself and non-compliance with the opponent is created. Then I can transform "accumulation" into "release," and "neutralization" into "strike." This is called "accumulation and release transformation." A higher realm is "neutralization and strike unity." Under the overall principle of "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent," Tai Chi experts can achieve "neutralization is striking, striking is neutralization." Or in many cases, the first part of an action is "neutralization," and the latter part is "strike." There is no connection part in between, or the connection between neutralization and strike is invisible.

6. The Magic of Folding

Boxing theory says: "Folding lies in the wrist." In fact, the whole body should have folding, though the most folding occurs in the wrist and chest-waist area. Folding in Tai Chi is changing the direction of coiling silk force through curved spiral movements, meaning going down before going up, going right before going left, and going backward before going forward. When the opponent's force arrives, a fold neutralizes it effortlessly. These reverse movements easily give the opponent illusions; if the force is mixed and round, the opponent won't know where you're heading. If it's linear, the opponent can see it clearly. Moreover, adding speed to curved spiral movements creates shocking force, causing a brief blank in the opponent's brain or artificially making them inhale. Often, striking when the opponent inhales easily breaks their joints, injures their tendons, and even damages their internal organs. Folding is a more delicate technique, making it easier to achieve "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent" and "leading into emptiness."

7. Add Certain Body Methods and Footwork

If the opponent's force is fierce, strong, fast, and angled sharply, it brings certain difficulty to "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent." At this point, if hand techniques cannot solve the problem, use body methods; if body methods cannot solve it, use footwork. If one step doesn't work, use two steps; if two steps don't work, use three steps. Repeat the process. Tai Chi has five types of footwork: advancing, retreating, looking left, looking right, and staying centered. That is, moving forward, stepping back, looking left, looking right, and maintaining the center. Among the five types of footwork, "staying centered" is the basic one, and other footwork evolves from "staying centered." When standing still, the fingers should be rooted, and all joints should be movable. If the opponent's impact force is too great, you can step back, but it's best not to unless necessary. Staying centered allows your technical actions to remain unchanged. On the other hand, applying coiling silk force during movement has more advantages. Therefore, during confrontation, if both parties' hand techniques and body methods are somewhat delayed, whoever can use footwork to change the force and direction of the opponent's momentum and pull the opponent's center of gravity achieves the goal of "compliance with oneself and non-compliance with others."

In summary, "Self-abandonment and Following the Opponent" is the overall rule of Tai Chi combat techniques. Based on this, Tai Chi also has superb combat techniques such as "using softness to overcome hardness," "using stillness to control movement," "avoiding strength and hitting weakness," and "responding later but arriving first." These techniques are the most brilliant parts of the profound Tai Chi system. They are easy to learn but difficult to master, easy to understand but hard to practice. Learners can only progress gradually and enter the ideal state through hard training, frequent summarization, brave exploration, and constant elevation.