Soft on the Streets

Inside Kung Fu Magazine February 2004

by Adrian Corrales

Tai Chi Push Hands for Self Defense

It seems that everyone has a different idea about what will work in a fight. Ask a thousand martial artists what kind of training is best for self-defense and you are likely to get a thousand different answers. Some say that punching and kicking is the way to go. Others claim that training on the ground is more practical. By dealing with what happens between kickboxing and grappling, tai chi push hands training can help prepare you for whatever comes your way.

No-holds-barred tournaments have shown time and again that it is very difficult to stop an opponent who is determined to take you down. Once things end up on the ground, much of a striker’s power is neutralized. The argument against grappling for self-defense is that it is effective only because no-hold-barred fights occur in a controlled environment. Dropping to the ground is harder to do on the streets when fights aren’t always limited to two people and you don’t know what kind of weapon your opponent might have hidden in his back pocket.

Charging Opponent

Tai chi offers an excellent supplement to any fighter’s routine. A skilled push hands player is an expert at staying on his feet. At the same time, he is capable of controlling an opponent with the expertise of a grappling master.

Sifu Ming Lau, chief instructor of the White Dragon Martial Arts School in Mira Mesa, Calif., is a student of sifu Don Tittle in grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong’s Plum Blossom Federation. A veteran of numerous push hands competitions, Lau maintains that push hands is an effective tool for self-defense.

“Push hands is a great self-defense exercise because it forces you to adapt to oncoming force that is constantly changing,” says Lau. He adds this adaptability is a valuable skill for anyone that wants to learn to fight.

Push hands teaches practitioners to either neutralize or redirect the force. Neutralizing works by applying pressure to an opponent to negate his incoming force. For example, let’s say a force is being applied to your left shoulder. By taking your right hand and placing it on the opponent’s left shoulder, you can easily turn your body and direct his energy back toward him. The force has been neutralized because he cannot push any further without disrupting his own balance. Redirection involves changing the course of an opponent’s attack. Small amounts of pressure are applied to the attacker’s arm or torso so that his force misses your center of balance. Advanced tai chi practitioners can accomplish the same thing merely by turning the body in response to an attacker’s force. This leaves the arms free to counter.

(more…)

Whether you do kung fu, tai chi, kickboxing or grappling, flexibility plays a key role in helping you to maximize your martial arts potential.  A good stretching program should have two primary goals.  The first is to help prevent injuries and the second should be to increase range of motion.  By having a foundational understanding of the different kinds of stretching methods and their correct order of performance, you will be able to achieve both goals.  Here is the breakdown.

1.  Dynamic Stretching: Dynamic stretches are stretches that involve movements like joint rotations and leg lifts.  These exercises are particularly important because they help your body gradually reach the limits of your range of motion while at the same time increasing core body temperature.  Dynamic stretches should be performed as part of you warm up routine before fatigue sets in.  As fatigue sets in, muscles become less pliable and more susceptible to injury.  Dynamic stretches also reset the stretch reflex or the muscle contraction that occurs as a result of stretching.  Dynamic stretches should be performed first.

2.  Isometric Stretching: Isometric stretches (sometimes called proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation or PNF) are types of static stretches that involve the contraction (tensing) of muscle groups that are being stretched.  An example would be stretching your calf muscle then contracting the same muscle while it is being stretched. This type of stretching has shown involve a higher amount of muscle fiber than any other kind of stretching technique.  This type of stretching is also very effective because it will develop strength as well as flexibility.  Because of this, Isometric stretching should be performed after the technical part of your workout and should be used similar to other strength building exercises.  Perform isometric stretches toward the end of your training session.

3. Relaxed Stretching: Relaxed stretching is the most common type of stretching and involves stretching a body part to its maximum and holding it for a set amount of time.  This type of stretching has proven to be a very effective and safe method of stretching, but should be performed as part of your cool down.  Relaxed stretching can impair muscular performance because it reduces muscular strength temporarily.  It is for this reason that relaxed stretching should be avoided as part of your warm up routine.  Most studies have found that relaxed stretching does little to prepare the body for active movement because it does not elevate core body temperature or heart rate.

So here’s a breakdown on how a typical workout might look.  First start with a warm up that includes different kinds of dynamic stretching.  The goal of the warm up is to elevate core body temperature and increase the heart rate.  After a thorough warm up, move into the technical or skill building portion of your workout.  This part of your workout will involve movements that require fine motor skills.  After the skill building portion of the workout is complete, the next step will be to move into the conditioning phase which will include endurance and strength building movements like combat conditioning or functional fitness exercises.  It is here that you want to perform your isometric stretching movements.  After completing your warm up, fine motor skill building, and conditioning move into a proper cool down which will include relaxed stretches.

White Dragon Martial Arts, Train Hard-Live Better!

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The big secret of life is that there is no secret.  Whatever your goal, you can get there if you are willing to work.

-Oprah Winfrey

It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at the goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.

-Arnold Toynbee

White Dragon Martial Arts, Train Hard-Live Better!

Everything we ever wanted is waiting for us outside of our comfort zone.

-Author Unknown

Always bear in mind that our resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.

-Abraham Lincoln

I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioned ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.

-Henry David Thoureau

Get inspired and learn Motivation Hacks

THE ancient art of tai chi may help in controlling or lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, two small studies in Taiwan and Australia suggest.

In one study, Taiwanese researchers found that tai chi helped lower long-term blood sugar levels in 30 middle-aged adults with type 2 diabetes. In the second, an Australian team found that a combination of tai chi and qigong benefited 11 adults at risk of type 2 diabetes.

Both tai chi and qigong (pronounced “chee-kung”) are ancient Chinese practices designed to promote good health. Qigong combines gentle movements, meditation and breathing techniques; tai chi involves slow, fluid movements combined with mental imagery and deep breathing.

Both are moderate, low-impact activities, and recent studies suggest that older adults could reap a number of health benefits from tai chi, such as lower blood pressure, a reduced fall risk and improved arthritis symptoms.

The new studies, both published online by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggest that tai chi might aid in managing type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome - a collection of risk factors for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

For the first study, Dr Kuender Yang and colleagues at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital followed 30 middle-aged and older adults with type 2 diabetes, each of whom was matched with a diabetes-free “control” of the same age and sex. For 12 weeks, participants attended an hour-long tai chi class three times per week.

At the end of the study, Dr Yang’s team found that the diabetes’ patients showed a reduction in their average HbA1c level - a measure of long-term blood sugar control.

In the second study, Dr Xin Liu and colleagues at the University of Queensland looked at the effects of a specially designed tai chi/qigong program among 11 middle-aged to older adults with elevated blood sugar.

Seven of them also had metabolic syndrome, including high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and impaired blood sugar control.

The researchers found that, after 12 weeks, participants showed a dip in both their average blood pressure level and waist size. There was also a small improvement in blood sugar control.

The findings are “very promising,” Dr Liu said.

The researcher said, however, that this was only a small pilot study.

What is needed, Dr Liu said, are randomised controlled clinical trials, where participants are randomly assigned to either perform tai chi/qigong or serve as a comparison group. Liu’s team has just completed such a study, but the results are not available yet.

To discover the many benefits of Tai Chi in San Diego County visit: whitedragonmartialarts.com