<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by fumin:
<B>Here's chicken standing on one foot.
Make two compared. One is sink and relaxed. The other is not sink and relaxed.
So, the result is different.
It's only a demo.
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/11o1ZlZSKPI/</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thank you for the videos. They have been very interesting to watch.
As I study this last one, I find it interesting how different people may see different things depending on their viewpoint and the focus of their study.
When I look at this last video clip, what I notice first is that in the first Golden Rooster, you use your knee and foot to trap the fullness in the lower body of your partner, thus preventing the attack. In the second one, you look double weighted; whereas your partner looks free to bring the energy out of his left leg to push you.
By the way, in the other video clips, it seems that a frequent response you have to your partner's disconnection is to show a strike, usually a single or double punch. Is this a principle of your practice and teaching? I do not think I can recall seeing anyone show a punch (or perhaps a push with the fists?) during this type of push hands?
I recall that when practicing some very light and friendly push hands with one of my teachers, he once warned me that I kept disconnecting in order to try to do something. I am no longer certain of his full meaning, but I think he said that in the "old days," if one partner disconnected, this gave permission for the other partner to use a strike. It may also be that he was simply warning me that disconnecting in the way I as doing made me vulnerable to a strike. In either case, it made me more mindful of this problem.
At the time my teacher gave me this warning, I had 98% confidence in his ability not to hurt me, but there was still 2% of nervousness coming from stories of Yang Shaohou slamming students around. This 2% was enough to focus me very quickly on learning not to disconnect, at least for that session.
Your video clips brought this experience to mind, since you seemed to demonstrate a very elegant way of showing strikes with little chance of any actual injury. You showed more of a push with the fists, than an actual strike.
In my own practice, I sometimes ask my partners to tap or slap me on the head, if my movements are not appropriate to defend me properly. Similarly ,if my partner is not controlling my arm appropriately, I will sometimes demonstrate a hammer strike to the abdomen to show their vulnerability. Such techniques seem to be a way to help lead the mind intent (Yi) to change the movements, expecially for those with martial arts backgrounds who understand what danger they are putting themselves in. For those without such backgrounds, it would be good to have another tool to use.
At my current level of push hands practice, I am only a little bit concerned with free fighting, but I have become increasingly focused on small details of hand and finger placement that make it harder for my partner to disconnect. In doing applications, I am also trying to be more mindful of "connecting" and "losing" (lian/diu). This was also a reason that led me to notice your use of the fist.
Take care,
Audi