Applying Internals/Tai chi Chuan to modern arts (BJJ/MMA)

[willie]

o.K. glad to hear that you have students who also have Bjj. Where i live and in the time when i was doing it there was zero tolorence for
taichi or pretty much any other art in mma schools. If you went to an MMA school and said yeah, hi , i'm from tai chi, ah 30 years! The guy would just laugh in your face and if you didn't like it,
they would make a nice example of you. a few good leg kicks, bloody nose, or just a continuous amount of embarrassing submissions.

My good friend and former student do teach in an MMA school. He liked playing free push hands with me and tried shoots and stuff to take me down. He also invited other friends to try to take me down. No one could. They were also surprised when I played with them like toys in free push hands settings. Now, I don't want to sound like anything of a fighter or like someone claiming he could handle anyone. I am none of that. None of it means that I could beat them in a match on their terms or in combat. They tested me and practiced with me politely on my own terms.

Perhaps times have changed. Now they nurture tai chi in MMA school? LOL! i don't think so...
Ah, the good old days.

He invited me to the school. But I think he rather wanted me to study some ground fighting... They seem to have a lot of fun. I envy them. But I just don't understand it.

Your very lucky to have a friend like that from MMA. you should take advantage of it and learn some.
Yes, my first yang style teacher was very hard to take down as well, it was the paper doll or statue effect for a while, but after a while humans get used to PH's and
the advantage starts to slip away.
envious? taiji is a lonely art, you may know others but only you know you.

[wayne hansen]

As long as the teacher is still training improvement in the student should be to the teachers advantage
I have observed many times as the student advances the teacher seems father away
This is only true if the teacher has real skill at the outset

[Giles]

My experience in this area is quite superficial, but here goes:
A few years ago I spent a year or so training once or twice a week at an MMA school (with a few interruptions for various reasons). A place with a friendly atmosphere, where most of the people were into constructive training and not showing how tough they were. I too found that for the first month or so I was fairly useless in ground work and felt like a fish out of water, constantly getting tied up, submitted or ‘pounded’ (just a tiny bit) without much idea of how I got there or what to do effectively. On the other hand, at least the literal act of ‘rolling’ was familiar to me thanks to my contact improvisation experience. Then I became more acclimatized and along with an understanding of some strategies and techniques, the tai chi qualities started to show themselves. Training partners with more experience remarked that (for a groundwork beginner) I had quite quick and sensitive reactions when they tried to grab me, good balance and flow, and a ‘heaviness’ when they tried to move me or when I was in mount that surprised them in view of my physique (tall and fairly thin). I certainly wasn’t a natural talent or anything like that but my learning curve was a little faster than normal, I think. Also considering my age, as I was just short of 50.

I enjoyed this training period but then my work situation and family commitments (and also increasing neck stiffness due to the headlocks) led me to finish it. A good experience for me. Specifically regarding the grappling and ground work, I benefited in terms of my Tai Chi with a better awareness of standing grappling attacks and how I might deal with them and a little more confidence if I get taken to the ground. Although of course I would never choose to go there in a real situation and would try to be up on my feet again as fast as possible.