Chen Xiaowang against Asia's Strongest Man

[Bob]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZf4taeqht0

Published on Oct 2, 2012

"This video shows Chen Xiaowang demonstrating Taijiquan's core skill - structure and rootedness - against Asia's Strongest Man - in 3 1-min rounds - bearing in mind GM Chen is almost 70-yrs-old against a man more than half his age"( Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB )

[jonathan.bluestein]

Been posted here before a while ago. Some people mocked Xiaowang on the interwebz for the 'show', which of course 'ain't real fighting'. Well, considering this isn't fake (doesn't look like it), I'd argue that there probably aren't any among Xiaowang's internet critics who could hold back such monsters like he did - certainly not at his age. I think that perhaps people just don't realize how powerful these people are... One needs to have tried stuff like deadlifting/squatting 2.5-3X their bodyweight, to get a comparison and a sense of what strongmen competitors are capable of. These are by no means ordinary human beings.

[taiwandeutscher]

But one would also need to see the whole footage, not what was given to the public, lol!

[Bob]

Sorry about that--didn't see this posted before.

[HaraldH]

He does not seem to market himself as a fighter anyway, more of a cultural ambassador both in and out of China ...

[gimpster]

Better than showing how good CXW's rooting is, is taking this behemoth as a student and teaching him to a be a Chen style rep and throw in some Shuai Jiao training for good measure.

[kshurika]

Or, the strongman could have put his 97 year-old granny in his place and instructed her to release and suddenly change angles on CXW.

[C.J.W.]

If rules were changed a bit and the strongman was allowed to move, lift, and pull, the result would most likely have been quite different.

[Andy_S]

RE: Material not released in public
Well maybe they edited it down. I have read (here?) that Chen WAS pushed out a couple of times.

So what? Taiji is not magic, and I don't think even CXW claims to be perfect. The demo is what it is.

To my mind, there was a more impressive demo some years ago, when one of Wang Xian's sons, on a CCTV show, went up against a monster sumotori in a pushing/shoving match and managed to neutralize him and drop him. Was it set up for the Chinese cameras? Possibly. But I don't think a sumo champ would allow himself to be humiliated on national TV without saying something about it afterwards, and I have never heard of him complaining that he was set up by those sneaky Chinese...

RE: Release and change angles
Gee golly gosh, ye don't say?

I am not saying CXW is the greatest fighter who ever lived, but don't you think that, a Taiji person of even middling ability might train to deal with this tactic, hmmm?

RE: Rules change
Possibly. There again, he is a strongman not a rassler, so who knows?

RE: Not ordinary human beings
Indeed, this guy is very fucking strong. And strength IS an issue in any form of physical combat. Perhaps the uninitiated will find this kind of demo more impressive than those of use who actually train, but even so: There seems to to be a lot of disrespect for CXW on this board.

RE: The real issue (IMHO)
What irritates me is that CXW does this "push me" demo again and again and again and again, but never shows the use or application of it. ie being able to root is a skill, not a techniques; its application is offensive, rather than defensive. The combative use of being able to resist a push is very, very limited.

[Adam S]

Yer well said Andy

[Bao]

The combative use of being able to resist a push is very, very limited.

Rooting skill is excellent against wrestlers and people who tries to shoot you down. The use of the skill is definitively not limited.

With that said, I would prefer to see the strong man try to run CXW down instead of beginning from a favorable position.

BTW, this clip has been posted on the board three times before. Not only one.

[Andy_S]

SNIP
Rooting skill is excellent against wrestlers and people who tries to shoot you down. The use of the skill is definitively not limited.
SNIP

Yerrrrsssss, rooting has some use in grappling - if you think a 'resist his push' tactic is useful, as per the CXW demo posted here. Personally, I think if you are grappling with someone you might want to, instead, throw them, no?

As I said, rooting is a useful training exercise to practice ground paths, body connection and spring force. However, the use of the resultant attributes is more offensive than defensive.

[D_Glenn]

As I said, rooting is a useful training exercise to practice ground paths, body connection and spring force. However, the use of the resultant attributes is more offensive than defensive.

What are the Chinese words for those terms?

I think I know what Chen Taiji uses for "spring force" but I'm not quite sure on the others.

.

[charles]

changed my mind...sorry.

[Bao]

SNIP
Rooting skill is excellent against wrestlers and people who tries to shoot you down. The use of the skill is definitively not limited.
SNIP

Yerrrrsssss, rooting has some use in grappling - if you think a 'resist his push' tactic is useful, as per the CXW demo posted here. Personally, I think if you are grappling with someone you might want to, instead, throw them, no?

As I said, rooting is a useful training exercise to practice ground paths, body connection and spring force. However, the use of the resultant attributes is more offensive than defensive.

Well, rooting skill and handling incoming force is a good foundation for many applications. Why CXW does not take the man to the ground I have no idea about. He does not show good following skill or application skill. It's also very one dimensional. it's more natural to combine the rooting with lu or a pull. But the clip is a show off and nothing else.