Tai Chi (T’ai Chi or Taiji) is an ancient Chinese healing art as well as a martial art even though its gentle flowing movements are mesmerizing to watch. As matter of a fact, the higher the martial art skills a practitioner possess, the more grace is exhibited in the form.
Dr. Robert Bacher of Costa Rica has practiced martial arts for five decades. In the past 19 years, he has studied with Grandmaster Wang Xi-an, an 11th Generation Chen Style Tai Chi Inheritor and one of the Four Warriors of the Chen Style. Grandmaster Wang took Dr, Bacher under his wing and personally trained him. Bacher did not disappoint Grandmaster Wang either. He practices Tai Chi five hours daily, and his Tai Chi form is solid.
In June, Dr. Bacher was invited to teach workshops at the 2019 Tai Chi Gala. As a highly skillful Tai Chi instructor, Bacher’s teaching focus was the fundamentals and principles of the art, which are applicable to all Tai Chi styles and forms. To him, the principles of intent, and relaxation, in silk reeling (or Chan Si Jing or rotation) are the pillars of any Tai Chi Chuan. Without total relaxation, one can’t execute silk reeling correctly. Without intent, the silk reeling is empty. Without its guiding principles, it is not silk reeling. Tai Chi Ba Fa means Tai Chi Eight Methods that encompass the eight different energies of Peng (Warding-off), Lu (Rolling-back), Ji (Squeezing), An (Pressing), Cai (Plucking), Le (Splitting), Zhou (Elbowing), and Kao (Bumping). A Tai Chi form normally includes multiple movements or poses, i.e. Yang Style Long Form with 108 movements. Any Tai Chi form consists of continuous sequences and there is no stopping between movements and each movement can include several maneuverings. Therefore, each Tai Chi maneuver consists of multiple of energies to achieve its martial art applications, and Peng energy should be omnipresent.
In one of the workshops Bob hosted, he used the “Buddha’s Warrior Pounding the Mortar” (or Jin Gang Dao Dui) as an example to elucidate the martial art applications of a Tai Chi movement. The “Buddha’s Warrior Pounding the Mortar” is a signature movement of Chen Style Tai Chi and roughly it consists a dozen little moves or segments. Legend has it that a Jin Gang (or a Buddha’s warrior) holding a heavy staff subjugates the devil by pounding the staff down on the latter. Toward the end of the “Buddha’s Warrior Pounding the Mortar”, a practitioner makes a right fist to symbolize the holding of a staff and he will raise the right fist and the right knee then pounding both down and the footwork is called Stamping the foot (or Zeng Jiao). Of course, there are many transitioning moves from the beginning movement to the actual Stamping the foot. In the below video, Sifu Bacher demonstrates this movement along with the beginning and closing movements.
With the help of Brian from California, Bacher also demonstrated various self-defense and offensive maneuvering in the “Buddha’s Warrior Pounding the Mortar”. I tried to capture as many martial art applications as I could. Since they were continuous movements, it was hard to demarcate them. It seemed that there were 31 applications or more. But exactly how many? It is hard to tell. It all depends on the various scenarios and the skill level of a practitioner to execute them.
The very first segment of the “Buddha’s Warrior Pounding the Mortar” has a practitioner raise arms and sink his body and Qi. This is a great way to escape if you are restrained by a bear-hug from behind. In the next segment when someone throws a punch from the left side with his right fist, you shift your body weight to the right and raise both your arms. You use your right hand to catch the opponent’s right wrist and your left hand to control or break his right elbow. You can even twist his right wrist clockwise and roll his right elbow forward and down to subdue him. Every step in Tai Chi Ch’uan is an opportunity to advance or attack. As far as where you want to kick, it is totally up to you and the situation that you are in. One of the Tai Chi techniques is called “Upper Body Advance and Lower Body Attack” (or Shang Yin Xia Jin). That means while the opponent is throwing you a punch, you should grab his arm with your hands, borrow his energy, and advance it (or lead it) to the emptiness at the same time you kick his lower body to set him off balance. As for the last segment, raising your right fist and knee up and pounding them down, you can use the fist to hit his head if he bends over as a result of you hitting his groin. Actually, the martial art applications in Tai Chi Chuan are limited only by your own skill and experience.
(Edited by Sifu William Phillips. Note: The Editorial Board of www.VioletLiTaiChi.com is not responsible for the content of the article.)
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