Then I read Bodywork's comments several times (below). Well, so that all seems very simple, but for some odd reason, I've never gotten that. I tried this out in push hands the other day - especially the pull on left is balanced by emanating out on the right - which also sounds basic - but darn it if it didn't improve my push hands immediately. Maybe my fellow hippies just suck at p.h. but I got the drawing in effect, too. Didn't really realize I did that, but then two of my ph partners just somehow got sucked in before we both realized what happened. I was consciously thinking adding the rising/sinking at the same time. If this keeps working well, I can't wait to have a better "son of a bitch to throw" effect in my shen fa.
Hmm. very very good stuff. I suspect I'll have a lot of improvement from this simple change (pretty much all in my intent). So thanks for those comments below, Dan, and thanks Ashe for that Sam Chin video. Way better than I thought at first.
Bodywork wrote:I think he did just fine. It’s really not a subject that can be expressed well. It needs to be shown and corrected in person. A simple way to look at it is to consider the spine as the central axis which you self turn from the Kua to the head. If you pull on the left you are balanced by emanating out from the right. It’s a circular movement around the spine.
Effects
It can lead to them feeling like they are falling into a hole -were they pushing on you- and they get a punch, kick or throw coming in on the right.
When it comes to speed later (when you loosen up) that slow movement you see him doing can be done extremely fast and back and forth to counter throws and to punch and kick. It is almost mechanically fast. Think of a door being hung from a rod in the middle; top to bottom. If you push on one side really fast...you are going to get slammed by the other side of the door revolving around to smack you. The harder you push, the harder the free rotating door comes around to smack you. Makes it a son of a bitch to get a handle on that door. But did the doro lose -it- balance while countering you?
It can lead to several nice throw set-ups because most normally trained people have a one-side-weighted approach to the martial arts. Done correctly with the waist drawing through the kau it can leave you feeling like a son of a bitch to throw while they feel a loss of control on contact.
Add rising energy in both hands, rising energy one side / sinking on the other...another in yo (yin yang) balance as well.
We can debate moving more from the waist, and less from the hips, but those are always subjects for debates. I have found more waist movement to be better for defense from grapplers.
There are all kinds of in yo ho balance methods that you build; one after the other that over time all work together so that your center is suspended in the middle and becomes elusive, quick to change and free.
Cheers
Dan