PRACTICE

You start out with a totally real axed arm and palm. As you thrust
forward with your rear foot, you twist your waist so that your shoulders
turn quickly thrusting out your right or left palm. Just before
impact you lightly close the fist and allow it to flick up at the end so
that the last two knuckles are forced upward into the object being
struck. You can gain this whipping action by pulling your fist backward
quicker than it was thrown out. See Photo No. 135 for starting
position and Photo No. 136 for end position. If you punch into a
heavy bag, a good way to test if you are doing this punch correctly is
to hit the bag into the general area that a face would be, (hard bony
area) and if you cause a large popping sound to happen upon impact
without much, if any movement of the bag then you are doing it correctly.
How To Use Tai Chi as a Fighting Art: Page
When punching to a face area and using the bag, there should not be
much movement of the bag. We are looking for shock value and not
pushing value. However, it is different when striking to the soft areas
of the body. Now we must look for a movement of the bag when
it is struck. We still do not allow too much follow through; we try to
put a lot of energy into the bag to cause it to move away with the
least amount of forward movement from the punch.

T’AI CHI PUNCHING IS DIFFERENT

In T’ai Chi we try to use the least amount of energy to gain the greatest
amount of work. To do this we have to know how to use the body
and not just the arm to punch.
Chapter Two: Punching & Kicking: Page 40
If we do not use any muscle power at all and just have a totally relaxed
arm, we are able to turn the waist so that the arm will throw out
at great speed like the principle of the whip. The handle and larger
part of the rope is not traveling very fast but at the end when the whip
cracks, that small end piece is like lightening and has much power.
This is because there is a lot of energy being concentrated down into
a small area. We use this same principle in punching. All we have to
do is to control the fist using the least amount of muscle power so
that it hits its target.
In T’ai chi we use the last two knuckles, i.e. the ‘weakest’ (or are
they). Most so called ‘hard styles’ look in amazement when we use
these knuckles to punch very hard objects with no damage to the
bones. Wing-Chun uses these same bones but with the fist closed
tightly so as not to damage the bones. After many years of practice
we are able to use these knuckles without causing injury through lots
of practice.

If he gets up.... then we use something more.
It’s all very well for me or anyone else to tell you that you must
punch here or kick there but if you have never hit anyone then It usually
comes as a big shock when you. Break your wrist on the first
real punch or twist your ankle on the first real kick.
You need to punch quickly and with the most amount of power
available. You need to be able to kick quickly and powerfully knowing
that your first kick or punch will finish the confrontation. We
have to know how to use the correct muscles for the right job and not
have opposing muscles holding our fist or foot back.

Punching & Kicking

No matter what people think about kung fu, in particular the internal
styles, striking and kicking are still the main form of defense.
We still ‘yield’ to an attack, we still use ‘internal energy’ rather than
brute strength but in the end we use punching and kicking more than
any other technique to finish a confrontation quickly and with the
least amount of violence. Sometimes it is necessary to use some
other technique such as grappling or locks and holds etc. but in the
end the knock out punch or kick is the kindest way to stop a fight.
The main fights that any of us will encounter will be the odd drunk
at a party or the odd lout in the street, so we do not want to break his
arm or leg to stop him from fighting, we try to stop him with the least
amount of injury.

LOTUS KICK

Use your own two arms to attack the ‘chest as your right leg comes
across his lower back to ‘break the roots’. Photo No. 134.
This concludes the uses of most of the postures from the New Yang
Style of Yang Ching-Fu and the Old Yang Style as it was founded by
Yang Lu-Ch’an (Lo-Sim).
The Old Yang Style is the style before it was changed to an all slow
moving form in the mid 1920’s. Yang Ching-Fu changed the form
that was given to him by his Father some three times before he
founded the now famous modern Yang Style, the most widely practiced
style in the world. For a complete history of t’ai chi (a realistic
view), see my third book, “POWER T’AI CHI CH’UAN BOOK
THREE”.
As I stated in the introduction you must take the applications that I
have given for their face value and take only what you need leaving
the rest. As long as you know what the meaning is of each posture so
that you are able to visualize when you perform the slow forms for
their therapeutic value.
Some of these postures you will find will work in a real situation but
I have found that it is much better to discover these for yourself. This
is one of the pre-requisites in my school; we try to make leaders, not
sheep

HIDDEN HAND PUNCH
This also comes from the ‘Old Yang Style’, racing your opponent
with your left foot forward he attacks with left punch low. You
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118 119 120 121
122 123 124 125
should leap into the air and block with your right forearm. Photo
No. 128. You trap his arm with your left arm underneath your right
arm and attack his lower abdomen with your left fist. Photo No. 129.
SLEEVES DANCING LIKE PLUMB BLOSSOMS From Old Yang Style:
You are attacked with right fist; you should leap into the air and turn
around while blocking with your left forearm. Photo No. 130. The
other arm comes down like a windmill and attacks to the head.
Photo No. 131.
STEP FORWARD TO SEVEN STARS
Step up and block as shown as you kick to the groin. Photo No. 132

COCK STANDS ON ONE LEG
You should stand up quickly and grab a right or left fist attack with
your appropriate palm as you use knee to the groin. Photo No. 124.
From the ‘Old Yang Style’ we have two other uses for this posture.
As the attack is imminent, you block it with your left palm and bring
your other palm over the top to attack the face with palm slap and
groin attack with your knee. Photo No. 125. Or, you could use your
second palm to grab the throat after the block.
Chapter One: : Page 36
INSPECTION OF HORSES’S MOUTH
You block a left or right fist attack with your right palm and attack to
the throat with finger jab. Photo No. 126.
ELBOW TWIST
This posture comes from the ‘Old Yang Style’. Take an on-coming
right punch and ‘wrap it up’ with both of your forearms. Use your elbow
to break his elbow as you use your body as leverage.

BEGINNING of the THIRD, 3rd.
SLANT FLYING
We are told in the Classics of this posture that we must not forget
that ‘shoulder stroke’ comes between these postures.
Blocking low against a right low attack you should grab the right
wrist, step to behind his leading leg and throw him over your leading
leg. Photo No. 118. You may also put a strike in with your shoulder
before the throw. This is done on both sides.
FAIR LADY WORKS AT SHUTTLES
An attack is blocked width one arm. Photo No. 119. The other arm
takes over and the first palm attacks to the chest as you step in.
Photo No. 120.
SNAKE CREEPS DOWN
You should block and grab a left fist attack with your right palm,
Photo No. 121. Then you should pull the opponent downward as
you slip your left arm under the groin area and attack the groin with
shoulder. Photo No. 122. Another use for this posture is: You are
being attacked with a right fist, you should block using p’eng with
your right wrist and then your left palm grabs his right elbow. You
then pull downward using your weight moving down. This is a most
powerful technique and causes the opponent’s head to hit the
ground. Photo No. 123.

BLOCK AND USE DOUBLE FINGER JAB

The opponent may attack with double dragon palms (although this is
highly unlikely). You should use both palms to block in a circular
fashion blocking with the knife-edges of both palms. Then you jab
with your fingers to his vital points near his abdomen. Photo No.
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105 106 107 108
115. This comes from the ‘Old Yang Style.’ (Please Note that there
is no photo No. 114.
LIFT HANDS
This form of ‘lift hands’ comes from the ‘Old Yang Style’.
Block a right (or left) punch with your right (or left as the situation
dictates). Photo No. 116. You now step up with your left foot and
using your other palm you break the elbow as shown in Photo No.
117.
This is the end of the 2nd Third.
How To Use Tai Chi For Fighting: Page 35
109 110 111 112
113 115 116 117

DOUBLE WIND GOES THROUGH EARS
After using stomach heel kick to his abdomen, the opponent would
bend forward. Now, in a fit of over-kill you take his head and slam it
down onto your knee, Photo No. 109. Then as he reels backwards
you step forward and follow up with double temple punch. Photo
No. 110. This is really a case of over-kilt but that’s how the form
goes.
SIDE KICK
You are being attacked by front kick and you evade by twisting your
body and poke to the Dim-Mak points (acupuncture points) around
his heart. Photo No. 111. He would probably block this. You now
grab his hand and pull him downward using the momentum of your
lowering. Photo No. 112. He would now pull backward so you
spring up and attack with sidekick to his knee, keeping your palms
as guards. Photo No. 113. This is from the ‘Old Yang Style.’

HIT TIGER LEFT AND RIGHT WITH PENETRATION PUNCH

This posture comes from the Old Yang Style and is slightly different
than the new Yang.
Block a head punch with your right p’eng shaped hand. This is important
so as not to break your ulnar which is quite a weak bone!
Then when contact has been made, you roll your arm immediately
upward as shown in the photo to cause a ‘set up’ point strike on the
arm. Never under and circumstances initially block using the ulnar
as many have received broken arms doing this! Photo No. 103, the
opponent would probably attack low with right fist. You should
block it using left hook, Photo No. 104, and then immediately attack
with snap cross punch. This is ‘Hit Tiger.’ Photo No. 105. This hook
and attack only takes a fraction of a second to perform. If a second
attacker comes in from that last posture you might use back fist to
his head. Photo No. 106. If he blocks your attack and re-attacks with
left fist, you should block it with your right forearm. Photo No. 107,
How To Use Tai Chi For Fighting: Page 33
97 98 99 100
101 102 103 104
then take over the block with your left palm as you use penetration
punch gaining power from a twist of your left foot. Photo No. 108.
This is performed on both sides.

PUNCH TO GROIN
This is the original posture of the last one and is more useful, although
still rather ‘exotic’. A kick is being felt to your stomach so
you block it with left hook and raise your left leg. Photo No. 95. You
can now either kick to the opponent’s other leg or groin, Photo No.
96, or you can take it through to it’s end by lifting his attacking leg
up to cause him to fall down onto his back and then attack the groin
with punch. Photo No. 97.
TURNING BLOCK WITH DOUBLE LEAPING KICK
Block an attack from the rear or side with your right palm, keeping
the left one as a guard. Photo No. 98, kick with snapping instep kick
to the axilla area with your left foot. Photo No. 99. If the opponent
blocks that kick, before the first kick has retreated, leap up and kick
with the other foot to any-where that the foot will reach. Photo No.
100. This posture comes from the ‘Old Yang style.’ The New Yang
Style has a normal right heel kick in this position of the form.

KICK WITH LEFT OR RIGHT HEEL

This is the same action as for the last kick only the heel is used to the
soft middle stomach area. This kick is one of the simpler techniques
but it requires great technique to be able to use it effectively. The
foot has the tendency to slide upward instead of driving inward. hoto
No. 93. NOTE: I will be covering all types of kicking techniques u in
t’ai chi in the later chapters of this book. We tend to practice all types
of kicking techniques because this is the only way to learn how to
defend oneself against them. For instance, we do not necessarily
have high roundhouse kicks in t’ai chi but someone who is adept, at
this sort of kick will use it and we must know how to block such a
kick. The usual cop-out for some internalists is that these kicks do
not work in the street. I have seen the roundhouse kick used to great
advantage in the street because the attackee did not know how to defend
against it. Or rather he did know how to defend against it but
had received no practice against it. Many kick boxers are able to
kick with devastating results. Once one knows the use of the elbow,
and I mean know the use, the roundhouse kick can be more damaging
to the attacker more so than the attackee.
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89 90 91 92

LIFT HANDS TO HEAVEN
This posture blocks against a front attacking fist, Photo No. 85. If
the opponent should follow his natural line of attack he will
re-attack with a low punch to your left flank, you should drop your
left palm downward to block as you simultaneously attack his face
with right palm. This is the posture, HIGH PAT ON HORSE. Photo
No. 86.
DRAWING THE BOW
In the ‘Mew Yang Style’ you should block a right fist firstly with
your left palm as your right palm crosses over, Photo No. 87. Your
right palm should now attack to his face. Photo No. 88.
SITTING LIKE A DUCK
This posture comes from the ‘Old Yang Style’ and blocks a punch
from the rear, Photo No. 89. Then you should grab his wrist and using
the momentum of your body in sinking downward, twist his
wrist in an un-natural way to bring him down, Photo No. 90. If he
Chapter One: : Page 30
85 86 87 88
should pull away and retreat, you should spring up and attack with
right toe kick. This is from the Old Yang Style. Photo No. 91.
SEPARATION OF RIGHT AND LEFT LEGS
Although this posture is not called a kick, it is a kick. Block the opponent’s
right or left fist with your appropriate palm as you kick to
his kidney area or knee. Photo No. 92.

WAVE HANDS LIKE CLOUDS

The classics say of this posture. “Advance three times demonstrating
skill with the top of the forearm.” This tells us about one of the
main uses of this posture, to block attacks to the side using the fore-
How To Use Tai Chi For Fighting: Page 29
81 82 83 84
arm but there is another use. As a low attack is being felt you should
block it downward with your left (or right) palm, Photo No. 83, then
in an instant attack with your back-fist. Photo No. 84. This can also
be used for a higher attack only you should use an upper block with
the rising palm as you attack to the groin with the other.