the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

In the press posture, there is some variation in the placement of the left hand relative to the right between different traditions.

So where do you put your left hand? Why?

Touching or not touching?

Left hand Palm or fingers?

Right arm, palm, wrist, or forearm?

I'll put my left vertical palm edge on my right wrist joint. Keep right arm loose. Use left palm to give your right wrist a sharp push.

Presuming Yang style -- center of left palm to center of right wrist, light contact

I place the area where the "Line of Fate/Career" red line ends on both palms together. They feel like they fit together.


P.S. this was the only picture I could find that points to the spot, it has nothing to do with the palm reading name.

I think "Ji" translates as "squeeze" better than "press". Therefore, fingers should go around either the groin or throat.

Or wrist,or wrist and elbow, or... depends. And I think when is as important as where.

Steve James wrote:Or wrist,or wrist and elbow, or... depends. And I think when is as important as where.

Oh now this is an intriguing answer, sir. Care to share more detail?

Wrist ,elbow or anywhere between or not even on the arm at all.
Fingers can touch the pulse like in Wu ,sun or Hao
Squeeze,press the function is to adhere and jostle
Follow is the key
To press without roll back is a sin
To roll back without press is a missed opportunity

wayne hansen wrote:Wrist ,elbow or anywhere between or not even on the arm at all.
Fingers can touch the pulse like in Wu ,sun or Hao
Squeeze,press the function is to adhere and jostle
Follow is the key
To press without roll back is a sin
To roll back without press is a missed opportunity

So is there no precision in the way you practice the posture in the form?

Sure. It all depends on what you're squeezing. Otoh, one can use the combined energies to press or pressure the opponent outside the squeeze.

I didn't realise you meant only in the form
One hand tells you where the other goes
Right is the nest left is the bird coming home

Yes, I think it's important to remember that Ji follows (a) Lu.

some insights as to the position of the hand and why

As to the sequence, one view might be that all actions embody the 4 basic jin,
or they might be viewed as distinct movements named as such, it does not necessarily follow that they have to be in certain sequence.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r2TkBYj4aI

"Master GAO Zhuangfei about Taiji-hands. Beijing, 2005 year, August."

Bill wrote:
I place the area where the "Line of Fate/Career" red line ends on both palms together. They feel like they fit together.


P.S. this was the only picture I could find that points to the spot, it has nothing to do with the palm reading name.

This is how I learned it.
The palms meet and the heel of each stimulates the Laogong (P8) cavity of the other (pictured here). This, from a qigong perspective, pairs with the mental/physical stimulation of the Yongquan(k1)/bubbling well on the feet to help regulate qi, use of ji in application, of course, may vary.

Left palm 3 fingers away from right wrist pulse. The 'squeeze' action is rotating left wrist so the fingers point upwards and right hand thumb rolls outwards, pressing down the bodycore until the arches of the feet flatten to the floor creating the pulse and 'float' at the release.