Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

(Once again I must apologize for a rather late response!) Bob Ashmore: Free sparring at my school is just pairing off with someone else and sort of just "going at it". Either party may spontaneously be switching between attacking or defending depending on the situation. My current school i...

Bob Ashmore: Regarding your quote, "if my opponent does not move, I do not move. If my opponent moves I arrive first" I agree this makes much sense in context of "real life" situations. I am not fully convinced that is the only possible choice for a tai chi player though (explain...

Hello all, Very frequently while engaging in free sparring with classmates, I'll come to the point where both my opponent and I are in defensive stances waiting for each other to initiate an attack. This has made me realize that I have very little idea how to "take the initiative". As I un...

Hello Bob Ashmore,

I must apologize again for this late reply. Thank you for that story about roofing. The concept of rooting is much clearer to me after that illustration!

It is also good to see that this forum has so many knowledegable members around.

Hello Louis Swaim, Thank you for your detailed explanations of fa jing and root. (And apologies for responding so late - been so busy with work I almost forgot about this thread.) That is a very interesting point that the opponent would still be connected to the earth. To clarify my original intent ...

yslim, Most translations I've seen of Yi define it as "mind intent". Is this what you mean by Yi power? I thought you might have been referring to a type of jing but I don't find it listed under any references I've checked. Bob Ashmore, The discussions of root I've seen seem to involve pro...

Hello,

A question I've been wondering about is whether it is possible to fa jing without being rooted. For example, if one were bear hugged and lifted into the air, is fa jing still usable to break the hold?