Tai Chi Applications & Push Hands Principles — Aiping Cheng

[marvin8]

Aiping Tai Chi
Mar 1, 2022

What is the Aiping Tai Chi approach to using Tai Chi in martial applications? Grandmaster Aiping Cheng gave a workshop where she explains the principles of Tai Chi applications and push hands. Grandmaster Cheng is 5’2” and under 100 lbs. She explains how because of her size, she must utilize the Tai Chi principles of yin yang changes in order to control the movement of much bigger and stronger opponents. Workshop translation provided by Cindy Chen.

Let us know in the comments below if you can find the changes of yin and yang in your Tai Chi movements

Grandmaster Aiping Cheng's entire Philosophy and Fundamentals of Tai Chi workshop is available for purchase on our website. It's a 3-part video download: https://www.aiping-taichi.com/store/c14/videodownloads
Watch trailer: https://youtu.be/p8tqQ2qUCeo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W41pe64oXg

Excerpt from "GRANDMASTER AIPING CHENG:"

Tai Chi Specialist

In wushu competition, each team is required to have athletes compete in long fist (changquan), southern fist (nanquan) and tai chi (taijichuan) categories. While training on the Zhejiang Wushu Team, Grandmaster Cheng demonstrated exceptional abilities in tai chi. She was sent to train intensively with traditional tai chi masters to deepen her tai chi knowledge and abilities. She has studied extensively with Li Tianji, Li Yulin and Sun Jianyun in Sun style tai chi, with Fu Zhongwen in Yang style tai chi, and with Chen Xiaowang and Chen Zhenglei in Chen style tai chi. Grandmaster Cheng is one of the only Chinese martial artists trained at an elite level in both contemporary wushu and traditional tai chi. She is a three-time winner of the All-China National Taijichuan Championships.

[Appledog]

This is such a wonderful video. This is what tai chi looks like when you begin to do martial applications in push hands. If it is not clear from the video, all of the applications shown are directly from the form and are expressed in the context of push hands.

You can't skip this material.

[everything]

hope she talks about something on the inside elsewhere.

[Subitai]

I met her back in 2012 when she was still teaching in my state. The student with her in this demo is Shifu Shirley Chock...she now runs her old kwoon here. I'm friends with her on FB.

They are nice school with good instructors. It's good to see that they are working on Push Hands skills more. Back then, I was in invited to her school to teach a workshop on Tai Chi Applications. At that time, (From the impression Aiping Cheng gave me in speaking with her) the bulk of their practice was not so much on the martial applications of tai chi. If anything, only the instructors were doing some form of pushing but not so much the main body of their students.

I'm not "bagging on them" (we are friends) I'm just pointing out that demos and information for students like in this video are nice at 1st. Also, pushing and drilling are great fun.
* But if anything, in our current modern world of martial arts and MMA... IMO, the shift to being able to use your stuff (whatever that may be) in a pressure testing environment, seems to be the only way that TCMA can get any respect. That seems to be for everybody and all of us now. Seems that way anyway.

[origami_itto]

Solid stuff

[Bhassler]

I'm not "bagging on them" (we are friends) I'm just pointing out that demos and information for students like in this video are nice at 1st. Also, pushing and drilling are great fun.
* But if anything, in our current modern world of martial arts and MMA... IMO, the shift to being able to use your stuff (whatever that may be) in a pressure testing environment, seems to be the only way that TCMA can get any respect. That seems to be for everybody and all of us now. Seems that way anyway.

If someone is wanting to learn taiji martially, then the "shift" should be a progression rather than a change in paradigm. It doesn't work with the demonstrated approach to push hands because the fundamental attacks (and assumptions about what attacks are like and how an attacker will respond) are not realistic. The basic flaws in the attacks allow for corresponding flaws in the response that never get addressed in the push hands context because the "attackers" are giving everything up before they even start. Done as shown, it's a fine practice for teaching certain concepts or some basic movement skills, but has little relation to anything combative. I think that's entirely appropriate for that particular demo, but it probably shouldn't be represented as anything more than a friendly, simplified demo for seniors that doesn't lead to anything beyond what's shown.

[Quigga]

I didn't really like what I saw when she was demonstrating... I'll give her the benefit of doubt and say since this is a public presentation of skills, she keeps the real stuff hidden ...

[origami_itto]

I didn't really like what I saw when she was demonstrating... I'll give her the benefit of doubt and say since this is a public presentation of skills, she keeps the real stuff hidden ...

Could you refer me to something you find impressive?

[Quigga]

*points at crotch* Now that thang there be impressive

Nah dude, just kidding. This may be an unpopular opinion here, but for me, off the top of my head, Mr. Mikhail Ryabko is #1 in terms of publicly displayed skills. There must be over 100+ hours video material of him on Youtube. I don't claim to understand what he's doing. For the life of me, I can't figure out what he is doing with his chest area, or how he trained it.

If you search for 15+ years old videos of him, you can see him moving more 'externally', more obvious, big movements to create big response in partner. Then, more and more, he goes smaller and smaller in his actions. Small action, big reaction in partner.

Without having checked my IMA playlist to see if I can find similiar people, he's the GOAT for me right now. Lev Ivanov is pretty good too. Vasiliev certainly has skill as well, but I haven't seen him do what Ivonov or Ryabko can do.

Then, even if they may be disliked here, come Adam Mizner and Liang De Hua. I have no idea how big the partner's part is in creating the effects that we're supposed to see (demonstration). But I strongly believe there comes a stage where you can 'take' people, freeze them, move them at will, etc. However, beliefs can sometimes lead one astray I just keep practicing and try to keep an open yet questioning mind to anything that comes my way, be it inside or outside.

Much love my dude

[everything]

was thinking the same, quigga. don't want to not give someone the benefit of the doubt. will check out ryabko. practice is the way.

[Appledog]

I didn't really like what I saw when she was demonstrating... I'll give her the benefit of doubt and say since this is a public presentation of skills, she keeps the real stuff hidden ...

This is why it is so difficult to learn tai chi. The real stuff is practical and straightforward. Listen closely to how she describes controlling her center or using smaller circles than the opponent. How she discusses force sensitivity and brings applications out directly from the form. She is actually quite brilliant. The internal is there but it looks too practical to be internal. I think that is so splendid about this video, how clearly it is explained.

What do you think 'sink the qi to the dantian' has any meaning if you do not yet have any qi to sink? If the yi leads the qi what is being discussed here? Taoist alchemical code is for books. It's how it is actually done which is the key. This lady has studied with top yang chen and sun masters. Do you think she just forgot to show the internals?

[origami_itto]

I didn't really like what I saw when she was demonstrating... I'll give her the benefit of doubt and say since this is a public presentation of skills, she keeps the real stuff hidden ...

This is why it is so difficult to learn tai chi. The real stuff is practical and straightforward. Listen closely to how she describes controlling her center or using smaller circles than the opponent. How she discusses force sensitivity and brings applications out directly from the form. She is actually quite brilliant. The internal is there but it looks too practical to be internal. I think that is so splendid about this video, how clearly it is explained.

What do you think 'sink the qi to the dantian' has any meaning if you do not yet have any qi to sink? If the yi leads the qi what is being discussed here? Taoist alchemical code is for books. It's how it is actually done which is the key. This lady has studied with top yang chen and sun masters. Do you think she just forgot to show the internals?

"But these branches are so lovely, what need do we have for those ugly roots?"

[windwalker]

it's a fine practice for teaching certain concepts or some basic movement skills, but has little relation to anything combative. I think that's entirely appropriate for that particular demo, but it probably shouldn't be represented as anything more than a friendly, simplified demo for seniors that doesn't lead to anything beyond what's shown.

Agree


Seems like a sincere teacher with good skills....would note she uses a lot of body in her demos.

What this means, her timing seems to be off forcing her to use her body.....never really controlling the others center...
Understanding it's a demo, seems like that would've made it easer

[origami_itto]

*points at crotch* Now that thang there be impressive

Nah dude, just kidding. This may be an unpopular opinion here, but for me, off the top of my head, Mr. Mikhail Ryabko is #1 in terms of publicly displayed skills. There must be over 100+ hours video material of him on Youtube. I don't claim to understand what he's doing. For the life of me, I can't figure out what he is doing with his chest area, or how he trained it.

If you search for 15+ years old videos of him, you can see him moving more 'externally', more obvious, big movements to create big response in partner. Then, more and more, he goes smaller and smaller in his actions. Small action, big reaction in partner.

Without having checked my IMA playlist to see if I can find similiar people, he's the GOAT for me right now. Lev Ivanov is pretty good too. Vasiliev certainly has skill as well, but I haven't seen him do what Ivonov or Ryabko can do.

Then, even if they may be disliked here, come Adam Mizner and Liang De Hua. I have no idea how big the partner's part is in creating the effects that we're supposed to see (demonstration). But I strongly believe there comes a stage where you can 'take' people, freeze them, move them at will, etc. However, beliefs can sometimes lead one astray I just keep practicing and try to keep an open yet questioning mind to anything that comes my way, be it inside or outside.

Much love my dude

Much love to you as well.

So I'm pretty familiar with Adam Mizner's curriculum. What you'll find is a whole lot of drills like this that come in very handy in non compliant push hands.

In my misunderstanding of taijiquan, the progression is from big circles to small circles to invisible circles. That doesn't mean you get to skip the big and small circles. You've got to build the muscles and neural connection to make the stuff work.

To paraphrase Adam Mizner, you've got to cultivate the taiji creature before you can embody taijiquan.

Then I guess so they say your muscles go away and it's just the neurons, maybe moving somebody else's muscles, who knows, that stuff is beyond me. All I can speak to is what I've experienced and been taught.

Without the jin lu, how do you expect to access jin?

[origami_itto]

Watching this again some things occur to me.

The way is stick adhere join follow without letting go and without resistance. The martial application of taijiquan in my experience and understanding does not stray from this. Something else may be a perfectly effective and perhaps contextually superior technique, but it is not taijiquan.

The only way to achieve this truly is formlessness. You must adapt and change to the opponent to neutralize and control them.

It requires, and we say this stuff like catechism, application of the precisely correct technique at precisely the correct timing.

Okay yeah duh, that's just obvious, except in taijiquan no it's literally the only way to get this stuff to work. Off by a millimeter or a microsecond you may as well be next door next week for all the good it's going to do you.

And just like she says in the video we attack the opponents weak spot.

Okay, duh, that makes perfect sense right.

Except again, this is the only way to make this stuff work. Exact right time, exact right technique, attacking exact right target.

Oh, is that all there is to it?

Yeah, that's just the basic requirements to get some kind of functionality. Like knocking on the door outside the courtyard level of accomplishment IMHO.

I dunno maybe I'm being hyperbolic.

Invisible circles, oh, I miss my Austin push hands players.

The first time I met Tal Ladecky we actually engaged in of those almost completely motionless battles. Our skills were basically an even match and we could each tell that almost any obvious movement would mean the other guy got us.

For ten minutes we just adjusted our pressure and leverage against each other, trying to slide around and get a grip to use while denying the other a grip of their own.

And not in the two bulls contending fashion, obviously, that would be pretty easy to deal with.

Externally, you wouldn't have seen a thing, but we silently communicated and in stillness contested and man I wish I could get back there again. Tal and I worked together a lot and seemed to keep pushing each other a little farther as we discovered and tested new things. Could never really recapture the magic of that first meetup feeling each other out though. Miss that mofo.

Anyhow my Quigga, in my opinion you can't neglect the roots and expect the branches. The skills and abilities come from the bitter work.

You need ting. Adam says you can only ting yourself, but that leads to ding. And with ding you can respond.

One of the coolest things about taijiquan is how it recruits things that would otherwise be standing around as useless as a mall cop.

With ding, comprehending energy, fed by ting, listening energy, we can adapt to micro movements in our opponents posture purely through motor reflex. The neurons in our belly can receive,process, and respond in large part without involving the conscious mind at all.

An octopus has about 500 million neurons in its entire body and it's one of the most intelligent animals on earth. The enteric nervous system in humans which resides physically around the same area as the dantien has about 500 million neurons in it.

That's a lot of processing power. Imagine cultivating and harnessing that pure raw animal intelligence. Sure it's mostly busy regulating the gut, but if you increase the capacity seems like you could still get some benefit...