GROIN KICK
This kick is represented by the ‘toe stances’ from the form and is
used to the groin using the instep. Groin kicks can be either devastating
or not work at all. Only try this kick if you are really sure that you
will hit the target.
BACK KICK
This kick comes from ‘The Old Yang Style’ and I find it one of the
best defensive kicks apart from the leg kicks. It is usually aimed at
the lung area or just under the arm. This is a good kick to use all by
itself to defend against a punch to the head
BACK TURNING HEEL KICK
This kick comes from the t’ai chi short stick form and is an excellent
defensive kick. It can also be used in conjunction with a feint. It is
fast, powerful and done correctly is un-telegraphic.
Firstly, step in with your left foot (or right as the case may be), and
block with your left palm turning your left foot inward as shown in
Photo No. 156. Now turn your waist around and thrust the right foot
inward to the stomach area. Photo No. 157.
BACK SPINNING HEEL KICK
This kick can work in a defensive mode but forget it in an attacking
mode unless your opponent knows nothing about the martial arts. It
works the same as for the ‘Back Turning heel kick’ but instead of the
right foot being thrust inward in a back kick, the foot is swung out
using the waist for centrifugal force. If contact is made by the back
of the heel as it swings into the target. It is fairly easy to block if you
are aware and move in very quickly at the instant that it be instigated.
Photo No. 158.

THE SIDE SNAP OR CRESCENT KICK
This is the first kick in the Yang Ching-Fu all slow moving form and
uses the instep of the foot. You must twist your waist so that your leg
below the knee is thrown out at great speed and snaps in onto the target,
either tow at the knee or higher to the kidney area. You can go
higher to the face but this is not advised.
THE LEG SNAP KICK
This is the kick that is meant when we use the ‘heel stance’ in the t’ai
chi form. It is very powerful, fast and probably the best one that you
will ever use. It is almost impossible to block. The waist plays a very
important part in giving the leg the centrifugal force.

SOME KICKS

THE FRONT HEEL KICK
This kick is the simplest kick of all but it is also one of the most difficult
to execute correctly. Usually upon trying this kick for the first
time, your foot will glance upward on the bag with not much effect
until you discover that you must thrust the waist inward so that your
heel is snapped in towards the target and not up and away from it.
Photo No. 151. Always put in the particular palm movement with
this kick, as you should always block before attacking.

KICKING

It is important for martial artists, especially of the ‘internal schools’
to be conversant with all of the regular kicking techniques in order to
know how to defend against them. Too many Tai Chi practitioners
use the old ‘cop out’ of “if it isn’t in the form, I won’t use it”. What
happens of course is that his opponent uses a kick that he is not familiar
with and so he is struck! I don’t believe in using high flashy
kicks but I do think that it’s necessary to know how to use them. The
most devastating kicks are low to the legs; these are almost impossible
to defend against especially if used in a defensive mode.
T’ai chi does have some of it’s own kicking techniques. These are
usually kept low and simple and only used when we know that they
will work. Usually we will use the excellent hand techniques for
some time, this puts our opponent at ease in thinking that we do not
use kicks, then we will put in a stomach heel kick or one to the chest
and it usually works.

POWER

Power is the most important aspect of any technique. If you are unable
to knock an attacker down with your first punch then you will
have to re-think your art. When you practice with a partner, try to
punch right through his blocks so that you are able to lightly touch
your target. This will also give your partner good practice at blocking
more realistic attacks. This is most important as many martial
artists only ever have practice in the school where-by the students
don’t throw full power punches. This is also where great control is
necessary so that you do not knock your partner out. You must of
course pull the attack short of the target so that no one gets hurt. Or,
you could invest in some GOOD protective equipment but even then
control is necessary, as nothing will stop percussion from a really
strong attack.

PENETRATION PUNCH

This is a very fast and powerful punch and is quite difficult to block,
as it is not quite straight or round. It is like a curved punch but on a
much less arc.
Once again you block to the left, Photo No. 149. Then the right fist
flicks out due to the turning of the waist and turns so that the small
finger is upward upon impact. Photo No. 150.
In this section I have covered only a few of
the easier punching techniques from t’ai chi.
There are others of course but they should
be taught personally. I have covered more
than enough punches to cover any situation.
Practice on a bag by yourself at first to understand
about timing and don’t go too hard
at first. Learn about relaxation and centrifugal
force. Then ask someone to throw a few
different attacks so that you are able to try
them out in a more realistic situation. Keep
in mind though, that nothing will prepare
you for a real fight. So just because a few of your techniques start to
work don’t become over-confident.

LOW REVERSE CIRCLE PUNCH

This punch is used to the lower abdomen and groin area and must be
used with a blocking technique, as it is not as fast as the others. With
your right foot forward you block to your right with your left palm
and as you do this you do a “change step’ i.e., your right foot is
quickly withdrawn and your left foot is advanced. At the same time
your right fist is drawn back in a circle and low. Photo No. 147. You
now punch up into the lower part of the abdomen with the flat area of
your fist. The palm side

This is a most powerful punch and is totally centrifugal. There is no
pull back just before impact as it is aimed at the soft body areas. The
whole arm must be totally relaxed as the body twists to give it centrifugal
force. The arm swings out with the momentum of the body
to strike with the back of the palm or you can form a light fist
BACK SPINNING FIST
Unlike the back spinning kick, which can become quite stow, the
back spinning fist is very fast and quite powerful. It is the punch,
which uses the most centrifugal force. Once again for this to work
with the greatest amount of power and speed the arm must be totally
re I axed and you must take care not to strike the bag (or opponent)
with your elbow, this will cause damage to your arm. You can either
use an open palm or a fist. Step in with your left foot turned to your
right and block an imaginary punch to your right. Photo No. 145.
You step across in front of your opponent. Your right palm comes
underneath your left one as you swivel on your both heels right
around 180 degrees. This is your centrifugal force. Your right relaxed
arm will spin out at great speed and power to strike the bag
with great force. Photo No. 146. It will take some practice to get the
swivel so that you are always in balance. You must totally relax with
no power in your upper body; this will ground you so that you are
centered. Your weight must change to your left foot upon impact.

BACK FIST

This type of punch uses the back of the knuckles and is the easiest of
all to understand the whipping principle. You should turn your waist
(for a right handed punch) to the right and allow your fist to be
thrown out. Just before impact, the waist is jerked back the other
way so that the wrist is caused to whip out. You must have a totally
relaxed wrist for this to work. You close your palm lightly upon impact;
the forward motion doesn’t have to be very fast, as it is the
back- ward motion that is the main movement for this punch. Photo
No. 143. Once again we always put in a block with this same fist before
the attack. So if you were striking with the right fist, you would
block across to your left with that same fist as if you are blocking a
left handed punch.

CROSS PUNCH

This is one of the other punches that uses the first two knuckles. This
punch is used to the hard bony areas and so it is a snapping punch.
This also starts out from a block with the other hand. Photo No. 141.
Notice the position of the punching hand before it punches. It is
placed in a vertical position. When the body steps in and turns at the
waist the palm is thrown out. Just before impact the waist is jerked
back the other way, which causes the fist to have the whip effect.
You then flick the wrist over and form a light fist so that the wrist
flicks into the object.

THE STORK SPREADS WINGS PUNCH

This punch is one of the most powerful punches from any martial
art. It is totally centrifugal and quite fast considering it’s distance.
This is one of only three punches in T’ai chi that uses the first two
knuckles, in T’ai chi we use the knuckles that most suit the position
of the palm upon impact otherwise we use extra muscles to hold the
palm into position and there-by lessen it’s impact. The front jab as
described earlier is not really a straight punch as aren’t any of the
T’ai chi punches. Upon impact the punch circles around and back so
slightly that some-one looking sees only a straight punch. This is
why it is some-times called a straight punch. The ‘Stork Spreads
Wings Punch’ however looks circular from the beginning. As with
most T’ai chi punches except the jab, it comes from a blocking
movement. Although we usually defend and attack with all of our
punches, this is the t’ai chi principle of defense rather than attack.
Although, in effect, a bad word or a wrong look can be interpreted as
an attack.
If you block with the right fist across to the
left against a left face attack with the left
palm underneath it, Photo No. 139, the left
palm then takes over the block while the
right fist is thrown out at the target with the
turning of the waist. Photo No. 140. Its use is
covered in chapter one.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CENTRIFUGAL PUNCHING

All types of t’ai chi punches are called centrifugal because of the
principle of the waist twisting to literally throw out the arm in a
punch, this is centrifugal and allows one to use the strongest/fastest
punch.
I have already covered the main ‘straight’ punch using the last two
knuckles. This is one of the fastest punches and has much power
over short distances and is good for in close fighting. You should be
able to use this punch from most positions but if you are in a position
where this punch is impossible there are some other punching techniques
from T’ai chi.

USE YOUR WAIST AND NOT JUST YOUR ARMS
Another excellent way of using equipment is to have someone hold
two mils in front of you. You should strike the mil and then the other
one. But, as soon as you have struck the first mitt, your partner
should move the second one to try and stop you from hitting it. This
is excellent training for both striker and holder because the holder
must be very aware of which mitt is being struck first in order to
move the other one.

One of the best training methods in boxing is the hard hand held
mitt. This is perfect for practicing punching to the face. Now you
must move the mitt when you punch as far as possible with the least
amount of arm movement. Try to strike the mitt starting with your
open fist only a few inches away. Don’t try to push your fist out, try
to move your body in a way that is likened to sneezing. This is what
we call in T’ai chi a ‘mah-jong’ or explosive energy movement; the
whole body must perform the action and not just one part.
Always remember to keep up your guard. When you punch with
your right fist, keep your left palm over the right side of your face.
When you punch with your left fist, keep your right palm over the
left side of your face.
When you punch, push forward with the rear foot lifting the heel of
that foot off the ground as seen in the last photo.
Punch the hand held mitt five times with perfect timing and always
bring the other palm back as a guard. Start out slowly at first, trying
to judge exactly how to place your fist so that you gain the maximum
amount of power. Then, you start to speed up the five punches so
that you are able to perform the five punches in about one second.
However, you must keep the timing of the five punches exactly the
same so that the time between each punch is the same. Also, and
most importantly, you must be sure that you aren’t losing power in
order to gain speed, make sure that the holder of the mitt feels each
punch.