Finishing-off
In tai chi chuan there is no one-two.
Only one.
The source of power is in the waist, with the root in the foot.
(Cheng Man Ching)
Dealing with the attack
The danger with self defence is that the student evades the punch,
escapes the hold, slips the attack... only to leave the assailant free to
continue their attack.
This is foolish and very reckless.
Having successfully dealt with the initial assault, you must capitalise upon
your success and incapacitate the opponent.
Incapacitation can take different forms:
A strike that winds, stuns or injures the attacker
A projection
A take-down, followed by joint leverage or a strike
Chin na
Leaving the opponent free to re-attack is not a viable option. It is just plain dumb.
A strike that winds,
stuns or injures the attacker
(i) Will to fight
If you hit the attacker appropriately, they may lose their will to fight.
This saves you a lot of time and energy but is not the most agreeable outcome
from a legal standpoint.
Striking can be effective but seldom suggest restraint.
(ii) Outcome
The outcome of a strike is unpredictable. What works on one person may not work
on another. You cannot guarantee success.
Ideally, a strike needs to at least wind the attacker.
(iii) Practice is not real life
The problem with class work is that your strikes are all being 'pulled' - you
are not using full power.
Some students may be tensing-up, moving out of the way or being macho. Your
strike may be extremely effective but they are pretending that it does not hurt.
The only occasions that you have any sense of what you can do occur when a
student is courageous enough to assault you without sparing themselves.
Most people hold back. Most people tense-up.
Only the bold student offers any sort of realism, and they will usually be
honest about the effect of the strike.
A projection
You may have some sense of 'projections' and even be capable of
pulling a few off.
This is good. Keep practicing.
We do not formally teach projections until brown belt, but you are quite welcome
to experiment providing you show consideration.
A projection uses jing, and flings the attacker to the ground quite suddenly.
Done correctly, it can remove the will to fight and calm the opponent down
completely.
A take-down
(i) Everybody falls
'Everybody falls'
gave you the ability to put somebody down with ease.
Whilst projections, striking and kicking can put someone on the floor, a
standard take-down requires you to maintain contact.
Being sticky allows you to follow-up immediately and you already have some
measure of control over the opponent.
The real skill is to smoothly sustain contact and control throughout the
entirety of the take-down.
This is more intimidating and enables you to reduce the risk of unexpected
counter-attacks.
(ii) Freeform triangle
Striking arts are not used to grappling. Grappling arts are not used to chin na.
Grapplers do not expect an effective close-range strike.
Providing you observe the freeform triangle, you can confuse the opponent and
sustain the initiative.
Breaking the attacker's rhythm is essential. Do not play their game.
Following-up
Having put someone on the floor, you need to finish them off:
Strike them
Lever the joint
Option 1 is the
easiest for you right now and has the greatest likelihood of success.
Option 2 assumes a strong grasp of chin na, and may not work if you lack
experience with misplacing the bones, dividing the muscles, sealing the breath
and cavity press.
Floorwork (control) introduces you to option 2 but is not viable if you lack
competence.
Striking may be wiser...
Aim to strike with power and then get back up. Do not wrestle with the opponent.
You are not a wrestler.
Chin na
Chin na is a brutal skill that involves damaging the body using leverage
and pressure.
There are four broad areas of skill:
Misplacing the bones
Cavity press
Dividing the muscle
Sealing the breath
These are also considered in terms of effect:
Breaking
Sealing
Seizing
Splitting
Tearing
If you cannot employ
chin na skilfully, then you cannot rely upon it.
So use with caution.
In a real life confrontation, use what you know will work. Do not experiment.
Getting caught-up
The worst thing that can happen is that you get caught-up.
Fighting with the attacker is inadvisable. Your aim is to incapacitate them, not
perpetuate the situation.
Look for simple, easy options that require minimal effort and are not obvious.
Subtlety is best.
Make a small movement, a slight adjustment, and finish them.
Page created 5 August 1999