day 243: mixing matching principles in chen pao quan

concepts:

• energy

lessons:

• chen tai chi pao quan

this Sunday featured just me and Phunsak with Sifu. most of the usual Sunday group is on vacation, with both Jo-San and Martin on extended breaks, and Janette still away. as a result, things were less formal in terms of class agenda, and we ended up having a more free-flowing discussion on general principles we've touched on from the last few weeks. Alex was apparently in the park with his wife and child for a private lesson with Sifu, but they all left without saying hello or goodbye. Phunsak and i were miffed.

chen tai chi pao quan

i should note that we actually didn't spend that much time on the form itself, but instead just discussing and experimenting with the principles regarding energy, particularly in terms of manipulating and working with an opponent's energy in a range of contexts with a range of types of techniques. Sifu pointed out that we've dealt with various perspectives on this in learning the jings (ting, hwa, na, fa) in relation to differing ranges (close, medium, distant) and gates (dragon, tiger, snake). today, however, he said that one of the things he's been pointing out over the past few weeks is that all of this is the same idea: manipulating energy.

Sifu went on to add that while a lot of martial arts can be described in terms of Western concepts on physics, this notion of manipulating energy is something not easily explained via Western methods. he was alluding to efforts by some of us (including me), to analyze things in terms of physics. his assertion is that while this can work, it becomes somewhat difficult in terms of illustrating certain techniques which don't require physical contact. he demonstrated his point using a number of applications, and pointed out that on basic levels they work based on physical contact, but that at higher levels of skill they still work even without physical contact--this, he observed, is something that is not readily explained by physics.

Sifu said that the more apt approach to understanding this is by thinking of things in terms of the opponent's energy. it's not so much energy in the Western physics sense (e.g., calories, watts, etc.), but energy as in the overall state of a person, including their bodily movement, physical position, location of center, center of gravity, mental intent, disposition of mind, sensory perceptions, bio-electrical field, etc. Sifu said that these things can be disrupted without physical contact in ways that still produce a physical result. he noted that this doesn't mean that you can act like the Jedi and project a force at a distance, but it does mean that you can mess with their being (physical, mental, etc.) that can break down their physical structure. he added that by extension, this also means that at higher levels, you can break down more than just their physical components.

we worked through a variety of scenarios, using punches, joint locks, and takedowns, with Sifu stressing the idea of manipulating the opponent's energy, and showing the differences in effectiveness with manipulation and without, as well as with physical contact and without. Phunsak then went through some techniques he'd learned in his aiki-jitsu and systema classes that used the same principles, but with different movements. i tried some of these, but couldn't get all of them work--i found that there's a certain intuitive sense you have to possess in terms of recognizing a person's center of gravity and dantian, since this plays a major role in being able to exploit weaknesses in their structure, and i don't have that intuition yet.

Sifu noted that the distinction is subtle, and that most people are not aware that the dantian is not the same thing as the center of gravity. he said that it is supposed to be, but that most people don't understand that it isn't always so, and in fact for people who are structurally unsound the dantian is separate from the center of gravity. as a result, the assumption that the 2 are the same is fundamentally wrong, and can only be held when dealing with skilled individuals who have trained to have the 2 be together. Sifu noted that in terms of fighting, even a slight difference between the dantian and center of gravity can be catastrophic, since it provides a structural weakness that an opponent can exploit--if they can find it...but a skilled martial artist can always find it.

we finished the class going a little bit further into the form, and then ended around 12:30.