Chen Taiji elastic ball

[Shenquan]

I found this video on youtube, what do you think?



And this is part of Yi Lu by the same performer

[Dmitri]

He's moving smoothly, but I'm not sure about the value of such ball exercise, -- it is always one-directional, much unlike a live opponent.
i.e. you condition yourself to always connect with a "static" resistance from one direction, it doesn't change unless YOU change it.

It looks like fun, but if there's any chance to spend that same training time with another human being instead of the ball, it should be taken without question IMHO.

[Bhassler]

This guy actually appeared on the old eF or Chenwired or somewhere when these videos were being discussed one time. As I recall, he was a super-nice guy and seemed pretty knowledgeable as well. I believe he was of the opinion that taiji practice should be enjoyable as well as practical, and put forth the ball as simply a fun way to train a little bit when a partner wasn't available....

[ashe]

i like this guy's stuff and the ball thing is fun and a nice little warm up. i experimented with it abit and like D, came to the conclusion that it's a bit one dimensional to spend a lot of time with. especially when it comes to contact on the yin side of the arm and trying to condense or do any pulling is obviously out of the question.

i might do a bit of that as some active rest in the last few days before the kuo shu tourney though just to stay loose.

[I-mon]

cool

[Shenquan]

I too did have the impression that such a ball must be a little too "passive" but have never tried it out. I do know that traditional Chen Taiji uses a different kind of heavy ball to do some set of exercises but purpose and usage are dramatically different from that of the video

[ilove_thistuff]

i thought it was a cool excercise to do in between partner practice. Seemed to be a creative idea to just add to training although it may seem one dimensional...i figure when your alone it's better than nothing.

[ashe]

i figure when your alone it's better than nothing.

that's what jibengong's for.