the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

I would like to share with the community an online resource I have found recently. This is a youtube channel created by a Sifu named Glenn Hairston, who focuses heavily on Tai Chi application. I hope this content helps somebody in furthering their practice if application is part of the training they are seeking.

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyNWD3 ... 0OSdGYpxmw





I have done some research and his bio is quite unique in that he isn’t just an academic practitioner of Tai Chi, but comes from a law enforcement, corporate executive protection, and military & law enforcement combatives training background. He is currently, and has been for the last 30 years, a narcotics detective. As his Tai Chi experience comes from actually using Tai Chi to fight and subdue criminals in the street (no rules), I have found his perspective to be quite interesting as I am not sure I have seen any other Tai Chi teachers in recent years who claim to have actually had a lifelong career utilizing Tai Chi for real fighting (again, no rules, not sport). His bio makes for some very interesting reading.

For those who are interested in this sort of thing, as part of my research, I also discovered that he has consulted for the film industry and was a fighting choreography consultant to director Ben Ramsey on the movie Blood And Bone, which was a pretty badass street fighting movie starring Michael Jai White. You can actually see him in the movie as he briefly makes an appearance playing a bodyguard near the end of the movie, right before the final fight scene (https://www.imcdb.org/v409406.html). He was also involved as a technical consultant on the film Silence of the Lambs, and again played a brief part in this movie as well (https://youtu.be/_p9Eam1GkTQ @ timestamp 5:03)

If anyone in the community knows of other Tai Chi masters / teachers who have a strong pedigree in application, I would much appreciate it if they could share those online resources if they exist/are available. Many thanks.

Although he has been posted here before it was never with that much background information - I believe he is from the Pittsburgh area (my home area) - thank you for the extensive information you researched

Like his no-nonsense teaching style, a lot of the things he says chime with other teachers I respect ("an [press] is in the body") etc, and one of the few teachers I can think of with a law enforcement background!

Would definitely check him out if I lived closer....

I think an is push, ji is press.

There's the alternate translation of an as press like pressing down a button, and ji as squeeze

Is "alternative translation" the rsf version of "alternative facts"

oragami_itto wrote:There's the alternate translation of an as press like pressing down a button, and ji as squeeze

No, that's not the alternative translation, that is the correct translation. An means "press" in Chinese, "ji" means squeeze.

An means to put or lay your hand on something. It has no direction, you can "an" the floor, the wall or a roof. So Hairston's interpretation is just as correct as the Chen downward jin.

"Ji" is forward jin, or something that comes out straight in a line. When you squeeze a toothpaste tube, the toothpaste comes straight out of the tube. Ji in Tai chi is like squeezing your own body together to move the jin. When you strike forward, you first squeeze together your body to let the fist go out, this is "ji" type of energy.

Naw, not just RSF, "ji" can be interpreted as "compress" or squeeze. It has a bit to do with application. I.e., what's going on between the hands.

GrahamB wrote:Is "alternative translation" the rsf version of "alternative facts"

In scriptural studies, there's the concept of "the heresy of translation". Since you're choosing one word in the new language to represent the many different nuances of meaning a word has in the original language, and that one word chosen may have it's own spectrum of meaning that may or may not align with the original word's, you're introducing error and misinformation that can compound.

The linguistic equivalent of digitizing and compression noise and artifacts.

"scriptural heresy" - I like that

From the classics (earliest reference* are the 1881 hand written notes, Brennan translation, https://brennantranslation.wordpress.co ... -classics/ ) we have the following Chinese characters:

掤捋擠按

Usually translated as:

Peng, Lu, Ji, An.

Usually into English as: "Ward-off, roll back, Press, Push"


Google says those characters mean:

Bīng lǚ jǐ àn

Bīng = "arrow quiver"
lǚ= "stroke"
jǐ= "squeeze"
àn="press"


*that I'm aware of.

From the "Classics"

The Song of Chi

What is the meaning of Chi [ji/"press""squeeze"] energy?

There are two aspects to its functional use:
The direct way is to go to meet the opponent
and attach gently in one movement.
The indirect way is to use the reaction force
like the rebound of a ball bouncing off a wall, or
a coin thrown on a drumhead,
bouncing off with a ringing sound.

From "SONGS OF THE EIGHT POSTURES" attributed to T'an Meng-hsien

What do y'all think?

I think it’s cool for cats.

Well, the question is really about why he says there is a direct and an indirect method. Or, iow, there is more than one method of application.

Funny explanation from Ian Sinclair. Maybe not perfect, but funny. Well, he manage to explain sort of what I meat by squeezing straight force out from the body. Well, sort of... I guess...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwLVCWnsM4U

meant by squeezing straight force out from the body

Here's the interesting thing. Using a squeeze to produce a linear force can have a mechanical example: i.e., "squeeze" a seed and the squeeze will eject the seed. However, ships sails use "squeeze" to propel themselves against the wind. My point is only "squeeze" is a concept that can have several applicable (functional) interpretations. It's the opposite of arguing that any particular interpretation is wrong --even if there are some "I" don't understand, and so can't apply.