Hi Frank and everyone else,
I have recently started one of my classes on the practice of tui shou. Being old farts, me included, I emphasise more about rooting, yielding and ting Jin. The reason is rather obvious. Older folks are not really into attack and defense, though I do explain and show how each move in the long form might be used in this fashion martially. However, I do want them to have a stable base (rooting), to yield against any forces that come at them rather than to typically react by countering with an opposite force, with the result that they will possibly get injured. These forces can be animate or inanimate. The use of the waist is an integral part of this with the execution of absorption, dissolving and redirection. The reason I make this contributary input is because too often folks focus excessively on fajin, and only mention the other elements of tui shou as a footnote.
I have great sympathy for your approach and the thought that everyone can and should practice Tai Chi at their own level and for their own goals.
By temperament, I was turned off by most discussions of
fajin early in my study. I particularly did not like discussions that veered into what I considered actions that violated the laws of physics or which seemed to reduce all of Tai Chi into a practice that used special
qi techniques to acquire bone splitting power.
On the other hand, some ability to
fajin was my first indication that I was beginning to learn something special, and it was also the means by which I made a major breakthrough in my level of skill many years later. I now demonstrate it frequently, but almost always to show some other aspect of practice than the
fajin itself. I have given some concentrated practice just to
fajin, but find it quite hard on the body, somewhat unpleasant, and fairly boring. I rarely dedicate significant amounts of time specifically to that kind of hard practice, even though I think it is essential at some point to true martial ability. I have taught this only very rarely, since the exercises become counterproductive if done too early in one's Tai Chi journey and involve some level of risk. I do, however, think low-level
fajin (i.e., issuing and circulating
jin without any explosive manifestation is an essential part of my form practice.
The vast amount of what I teach is Push Hands, rather than form, in my particular situation. I believe most of my students are interested in deepening the Tai Chi knowledge they gain through form practice. Part of this deepening necessarily entails being able to demonstrate some real skill. In other words, can you really Ward Off someone or not? Can you launch them into the air or not?
I also am no "spring chicken" and am way past my physical prime; however, I am still willing to give and take to a certain degree. I think a significant number of my students are nearing or beyond retirement age, and so no one is particular keen on being slammed into a wall or into the ground. And yet, everyone wants to work with real energy and not just go through the motions. In my view, all of our basic circles are safe. Our basic applications can also be done safely, but only if you know and respect the skills of your partner and adjust your level of force or alter your contact points appropriately.
My own teaching style involves a lot of talking paired with a lot of physical practice. I also use physical objects. To explain something like full and empty, Listening Energy, or Adhering, I generally use one of a number of physical counters to demonstrate that there is no way to do the particular counters without paying attention to these concepts. In other words, if A does the application giving full play to the principles involved and B ignores them, A can generally always win. On the other hand, if B does the application without attention to the principles and B respects them, B generally always win. It is not really about level of skill, but about which skills come into play. The physical aspect of the movement is insufficient to achieve the desired result. For these types of scenarios to work, the energy involved does not have to be too fierce, but it does have to be real and not just play acting.
Take care,
Audi