Bao wrote:
I remember many years ago, when I was playing free push hands with a friends. We often played 2,3 or 4 hours without hardly any breaks. We were not very good back then. We would often start out pretty hard, use way too much strength when I think about it. But as we practiced for many hours, we would get tired and not able to use a lot of strength. So we learned to relax more and better just to be able to keep it up.
Once when we were practicing, I sometimes had a hard time pushing him away. But I remember discovering that I could withdraw slightly and then relax deeply to easily push him away. I would relax my breath, sink down and stretch out my limbs as I pushed, stretching out the joints. I used my whole body and back, while at the same time trying to relax deeper and deeper as I pushed him. I did the same thing over and over again. As soon I caught him or myself resisting, I would let go slightly and then I relaxed deeply while pushing into him. My push was too strong so he had no defense.
It didn't take me 20 years, or someone else to teach me or tell me about this. I had been practicing merely about 5 or 7 years back then, or something like that. I discovered by my own how to "release" into my opponent as a consequence of my practice and understanding.
And BTW, this is why you need practical partner practice. You should practice against an opponent, trying to become better maintaining the basic, fundamental principles while practicing against someone else. You should learn how to stay rooted and relaxed while someone tries to push you or drag you around, and to continue to relax against a resisting opponent. When you understand how to maintain your internal alignment, and understand how to "release" into your own actions, you will discover what Tai Chi is supposed to be.
all in all this a great post..
in the first paragraph you basically describe what all stand up grapplers and wrestlers do (a lot); be it sumo, be it judo, be it greco roman and so on.
is there really any better way to get better at something than the doing of it. You can do trainings and drills that help; isolate things or whatever. But basically no.
something like a tai chi form could fall into that category; but there can't be anything better than the thing itself. people will have the same process, whatever style. Intuition, experience, tiredness, just plain discovery of what works will all play its part. A good coach can obviously be massive.
I think to 'relax deeply' under pressure of external force is a thing, but was only really made possible by the hours you put in being pushed around and pushing people around. And I bet, most of the time, it looked pretty ugly. Every now an again what feels so effortless is timing a direct push - when someone is vulnerable to it. I recall sending someone flying out at a class with a push. It felt ridiculously effortless - I couldn't be more 'relaxed' as i did it. I think it had more to do with timing - (they lacked the right 'footing' to defend/ no rooting) - than anything else. but ok.. sometimes we look for causes for things, and I'll accept that the more you do something the more 'relaxed' you can be doing it - if that means less muscular tension. You have to become economical with it; more and more so you learn this over time put in.
what I will add, is that competition is another step up in intensity, however hard you go with partners and training friends/ class mates. It may last a little then inevitable you get to know them more and more - not in terms of friends but what they do. The unknown, uncertainty factor adds it own hurdle to overcome initially. (another one)..
It's really not easy.
That's why it's so annoying when you get woo woo clips or on the other spectrum critiques of 'too pushy and shove, too much li not jin...(hhmm that's just a weirdly tai chi critique if ever I heard one, but i think they just mean too much strength..), looks messy as shit.' Oh yeah ok.... it just is what it is. Mario Napoli in Chen village ? yea sure, what do 'you' actually expect to see in that environment and that ruleset. And Napoli was about right when he said their level was around that of a Judo brown belt. Do i believe he wasn't "relaxed'? about as relaxed as he could be in that situation facing that much strength against him. so no - I don't believe he wasn't, from the outside I don't think you can even judge that kind of thing very well; and I live in the real world..