# Saw a demo of a guy who was on one foot keeping a big strong man at bay effortlessly. How?



## Towel Snapper (Sep 13, 2014)

How is this possible? 

I know its a clever technqiue and once I know it the mystery will dissapear. But right now I have no idea how he did it and I want to know. (it wasnt fake its a common thing in Tai Chi I think its called rooting or something like that) 

Anyway his rear foot was flat on the ground. His front foot was off the ground completely. A big strong man was pushing against him and he could not budge him. 

Why couldnt he budge him? 

Was the Tai Chi guy contracting his hips and core and arms so they go ridgid and become difficult to move? 

Hows this done? 

Also why is it done?


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## Dirty Dog (Sep 14, 2014)

It's magic.


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## mook jong man (Sep 14, 2014)

Haven't got the foggiest idea how it is done in Tai Chi.

But in Wing Chun the opponents force is channeled down into the ground through the stance making you heavier and them lighter.


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## K-man (Sep 14, 2014)

It's all about building and maintaining your centre. 
:asian:


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## Towel Snapper (Sep 14, 2014)

K-man said:


> It's all about building and maintaining your centre.
> :asian:



Thankyou

How do you do that?

Whats the purpose in combat of doing that?


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## Towel Snapper (Sep 14, 2014)

mook jong man said:


> Haven't got the foggiest idea how it is done in Tai Chi.
> 
> But in Wing Chun the opponents force is channeled down into the ground through the stance making you heavier and them lighter.



How do they channel it down into the ground without leaning forward? Hows it done in wing chun and why is it done? Cheers!


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## Touch Of Death (Sep 14, 2014)

Um... Just so you know, that "Dempsy Punch" you asked about earlier is this exact same concept.


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## Towel Snapper (Sep 14, 2014)

Touch Of Death said:


> Um... Just so you know, that "Dempsy Punch" you asked about earlier is this exact same concept.



I thought it was something to do with that but I dont understand how because the other guy pushing you becomes your "front leg" so I dont get how it works?


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## K-man (Sep 14, 2014)

Touch Of Death said:


> Um... Just so you know, that "Dempsy Punch" you asked about earlier is this exact same concept.


Interesting comment. There are a multitude of theories about that punch. I read everything I could find and found 'experts' who didn't have the first clue and they were teaching rubbish. Apparently Dempsey wrote a book which talks about that technique but I couldn't find a copy. However, I believe it is a different concept to standing on one leg. The punch is a concept of wright shift. The other is mostly mental.
:asian:


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## K-man (Sep 14, 2014)

Towel Snapper said:


> Thankyou
> 
> How do you do that?
> 
> Whats the purpose in combat of doing that?


It's a secret. If I tell you I will have to kill you. 

Seriously, it takes a lot of training and its use is in grappling.
:asian:


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## Xue Sheng (Sep 14, 2014)

Towel Snapper said:


> How is this possible?
> 
> I know its a clever technqiue and once I know it the mystery will dissapear. But right now I have no idea how he did it and I want to know. (it wasnt fake its a common thing in Tai Chi I think its called rooting or something like that)
> 
> ...



was it Chen Xiaowang or a Zhaobao taiji person?

as previously stated, it is rooting


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## yak sao (Sep 14, 2014)

You want to be able to attack or defend from a position of balance if at all possible. 
If you are being thrown or moved all over the place then you are not balanced.


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## Towel Snapper (Sep 14, 2014)

K-man said:


> It's a secret. If I tell you I will have to kill you.
> 
> Seriously, it takes a lot of training and its use is in grappling.
> :asian:




So basically you are saying its too valuable to you the information and you are not willing to share. Thats ok I dont expect you to share all your hard earned knowledge you can just tell me that I wont take offense youve helped me alot already and I appreciate your generosity!

I dont need to be able to do it I just want to understand how it works. I presume it relies on eccentric and isometric muscle contraction being stronger than concentric muscle contraction hence the "immovability" + probably body structure or strong skeletal alignment which also aligns well with the immovable floor?

Coupled with a channeling of the persons energy into the strongest structure you can make so he can never push you in a way where your structure will "give"? 

These seemingly mysterious and advanced techniques are often quite simple but its difficult to work out whats going on until you know the trick.


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## elder999 (Sep 14, 2014)

Towel Snapper said:


> So basically you are saying its too valuable to you the information and you are not willing to share. Thats ok I dont expect you to share all your hard earned knowledge you can just tell me that I wont take offense youve helped me alot already and I appreciate your generosity!



That's not what he meant. When someone asks me about something like this, my usual answer is:

_I couldn't tell you, but I can *show* you. Do you *want* me to show you? Well, do ya?_

For some reason, that usually ends the conversation.....:lfao:


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## Danny T (Sep 14, 2014)

It is rooting. There is nothing special about it. If you have the strength and balance to stand on one leg  I can teach and have you doing it within a few minutes. It about using your pelvis creating a bow with your body and directing the force through the body to the floor. It is utilized to stabilize the person to receive and redirect pressure, to create power for all your striking, kicking, kneeing.


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## Touch Of Death (Sep 14, 2014)

K-man said:


> Interesting comment. There are a multitude of theories about that punch. I read everything I could find and found 'experts' who didn't have the first clue and they were teaching rubbish. Apparently Dempsey wrote a book which talks about that technique but I couldn't find a copy. However, I believe it is a different concept to standing on one leg. The punch is a concept of wright shift. The other is mostly mental.
> :asian:


I'm not sure what you are saying, but you throw the punch before you catch your fall, which means you are standing on one leg. End of story.


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## elder999 (Sep 14, 2014)

K-man said:


> Interesting comment. There are a multitude of theories about that punch. I read everything I could find and found 'experts' who didn't have the first clue and they were teaching rubbish. Apparently Dempsey wrote a book which talks about that technique but I couldn't find a copy. However, I believe it is a different concept to standing on one leg. The punch is a concept of wright shift. The other is mostly mental.
> :asian:



You bet your *** you couldn't find it. _Championship Fighting_ is currently selling on Amazon for $200-that's the _paperback_.

However, it's available online as a pdf, and here. 


And here you go, directly from the relevant chapter-Rory Miller also has a good explanation on his blog, one that also deals with how counterintuitive this is to a martial artist whose been taught to never lose their balance..... (I'll ty to post some video later, but the late Carl Cestari had some good stuff on this, as do a few others-it's also hell with a knife in your hand....stab someone with this and they're gonna *know it*...:lfao: ):

_[FONT=cd9800308d99869d16526980#f49100]The Falling Step[/FONT] _[FONT=cd9800318d998e9e16526980#f49100]_Stand in the middle of the floor. Point your left foot at any distant object in the room. Place your right foot to the rear and slightly to the right of your left foot (Figure 3).For a chap about five feet 10 inches tall, the heel of his right foot should be about 18 inches back (and slightly to the right) of the heel of hisleft foot.Let your arms dangle loosely at your sides; you won't need to use them in the step.Bend your knees slightly. Bend your body forward slightly as you shift your 'weight forward onto your left foot, so that your right foot is restingonly lightly on the ball of the foot. Remember that the knees are still slightly bent. Teeter up and down easily (half-bouncing without leaving thefloor) to make certain you're in a comfortable, balanced position. If your position does not feel balanced and comfortable, move your right footabout slightly- but not much-to get a better balance as you teeter. You are resting only lightly on the ball of your right foot, remember. Stop teetering, but keep the knees slightly bent and your arms at your side_.[/FONT]







_[FONT=cd9800318d998e9e16526980#f49100]Now-without any preliminary movement-take a long, quick step forward with your left foot, toward the object at which your left toe had beenpointing (Figure 4). I emphasize: NO PRELIMINARY MOVEMENT BEFORE THE STEP.You unquestionably will be tempted to shift some of the weight from the left foot to the right foot just before you step. But don't do it. Donothing with the right foot, which is resting lightly on its ball, NO PRELIMINARY MOVEMENT! Just lift the left foot and LET THE BODY FALLFORWARD IN A LONG, QUICK STEP. The left foot should land flat and solid on the floor at the end of the step.It is a quick, convulsive and extremely awkward step. Yet, it's one of the most important steps of your fistic life; for that falling-forward lurch isthe rough diamond out of which will be ground the beautiful, straight knockout jolt. It's the gem-movement of straight punching.Try that falling step many times. Make certain, each time, that you start from a comfortably balanced position, that the body-weight is restinglargely on the left leg, that the knees are slightly bent, that the arms are at your side, and that you make no preliminary movement with the rightfoot.I call that forward lurch a "falling step." Actually, every step in walking involves a small "fall." Walking is a series of "falls." But in this particular step, the fall is exaggerated for two reasons: (1) your weight is well forward when you step off, and (2) the step is so long that it gives gravity achance to impart unusual momentum to your body-weight. The solidity with which your left foot landed upon the floor was caused by your momentum. The late Joe Gans rarely missed with a long, straight punch; but, when he did you could hear for half a block the smack of his leftsole on the canvas.Although the weight of your body was resting largely upon your left foot when you stepped off, you didn't fall to the floor. Why? Because thealert ball of your right foot came to the rescue frantically and gave your body a forward spring in a desperate attempt to keep your bodybalanced upright-to maintain its equilibrium. Your rescuing right foot acted not only as did the slope of the hill for the sledding boy, but also as aspringboard in the side of the hill might have functioned had the sledding boy whizzed onto a springboard on the side of the hill. The left footserves as a "trigger" to spring the right foot. So, the falling step sometimes is called the Trigger Step.I warned: DON'T MAKE A PRELIMINARY MOVEMENT before stepping off. Had you followed your natural inclination and shifted your weightto the right foot before stepping, that action would have started your body-weight moving backward-away from the direction in which youintended to step. Then you would have had to lose a split-second while your right foot was stopping the backward motion and shifting your weight forward again before the punching step could be taken.Learn now and remember always that in fighting you cannot afford to give your body the luxury of a useless preliminary or preparatorymovement before shooting a punch. In the first place, your target may be open for only a split-second, and you must take advantage of thatopening like a bolt of lightning. Secondly, preliminary movements are give-aways-"tell-tales"-"telegraphs"-that treacherously betray to your opponent your own next action.Joe Louis was knocked out in his first fight with Max Schmeling principally because tell-tale movements of Joe's left glove disclosed the factthat he was preparing to shoot a left jab. Schmeling timed Joe's telegraphs and smashed him again and again with straight rights to the head.[/FONT]



_


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## K-man (Sep 14, 2014)

Touch Of Death said:


> I'm not sure what you are saying, but you throw the punch before you catch your fall, which means you are standing on one leg. End of story.


Except that to punch they are lifting and dropping the front foot. Totally different to the standing on one leg exercise.
:asian:


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## K-man (Sep 14, 2014)

elder999 said:


> You bet your *** you couldn't find it. _Championship Fighting_ is currently selling on Amazon for $200-that's the _paperback_.
> 
> However, it's available online as a pdf, and here.
> 
> ...


Yes, that's what I found but I couldn't get the PDF to download. Thanks.


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## jks9199 (Sep 14, 2014)

K-man said:


> Interesting comment. There are a multitude of theories about that punch. I read everything I could find and found 'experts' who didn't have the first clue and they were teaching rubbish. Apparently Dempsey wrote a book which talks about that technique but I couldn't find a copy. However, I believe it is a different concept to standing on one leg. The punch is a concept of wright shift. The other is mostly mental.
> :asian:



As I recall, Kirk Lawson has posted Dempsey's book on Lulu...  You might check that out.


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## K-man (Sep 14, 2014)

Towel Snapper said:


> So basically you are saying its too valuable to you the information and you are not willing to share. Thats ok I dont expect you to share all your hard earned knowledge you can just tell me that I wont take offense youve helped me alot already and I appreciate your generosity!
> 
> I dont need to be able to do it I just want to understand how it works. I presume it relies on eccentric and isometric muscle contraction being stronger than concentric muscle contraction hence the "immovability" + probably body structure or strong skeletal alignment which also aligns well with the immovable floor?
> 
> ...


Mate, I was joking about killing you!  I don't mind sharing. The way I do this exercise is by relaxing completely and absorb his energy through my body. Some call it rooting but I look at it slightly differently. It is however utilising internal energy and that takes many years to train. I did it to a huge Russian security guy one time then when it was my turn pushed him straight over. The look on his face was priceless. But remember, it is just an exercise is stability. By itself it is what a lot of people call a party trick, like the unbendable arm. The value comes once you incorporate the principles into your martial art training. 
:asian:


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## zzj (Sep 15, 2014)

Towel Snapper said:


> How is this possible?
> 
> I know its a clever technqiue and once I know it the mystery will dissapear. But right now I have no idea how he did it and I want to know. (it wasnt fake its a common thing in Tai Chi I think its called rooting or something like that)
> 
> ...



Contracting your muscles and making them rigid is the exact opposite of what is being done in the video (I'm assuming you are referring to the Chen Xiaowang video). I have tried this with my teacher and it literally feels like pushing into a mass of wet towels, there is no point at which you can align the direction of your force in such a way that you can topple the person. The redirection is not obvious but it is real and it is constant, you have to be totally relaxed yet rooted for it to work.


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## mograph (Sep 16, 2014)

I've done the stand-and-resist exercise. 
It's not about rigidity at all: you have to have a connected structure, but one that can adjust in micro-movements to account for slight changes in the structure. It will only appear like magic if we think of the apparently static body as inanimate, like a mannequin.


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## Towel Snapper (Sep 16, 2014)

zzj said:


> Contracting your muscles and making them rigid is the exact opposite of what is being done in the video (I'm assuming you are referring to the Chen Xiaowang video). I have tried this with my teacher and it literally feels like pushing into a mass of wet towels, there is no point at which you can align the direction of your force in such a way that you can topple the person. The redirection is not obvious but it is real and it is constant, you have to be totally relaxed yet rooted for it to work.



No it isnt, you contract them eccentrically or isometrically. Not the usual way ie concentrically.


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## Towel Snapper (Sep 16, 2014)

mograph said:


> I've done the stand-and-resist exercise.
> It's not about rigidity at all: you have to have a connected structure, but one that can adjust in micro-movements to account for slight changes in the structure. It will only appear like magic if we think of the apparently static body as inanimate, like a mannequin.




Ace answer thanks mate!


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## mograph (Sep 16, 2014)

Towel Snapper said:


> No it isnt, you contract them eccentrically or isometrically. Not the usual way ie concentrically.


I think that zzj was referring to contraction (or tension) of the muscle fibers as seen internally, in isolation, while you are describing the _effect_ of the muscle contraction as observed in the environment.

For the bicep, for example:
concentrically = arm is seen to contract (hand moves toward shoulder)
isometrically = no movement is seen
eccentrically = arm is seen to extend (hand moves away from shoulder) because an outside force, stronger than the bicep is pulling the hand away from the shoulder. The bicep is slowing down the extension.

So, for the same muscle tension, we can see three different movement patterns.


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## Badger1777 (Sep 16, 2014)

elder999 said:


> You bet your *** you couldn't find it. _Championship Fighting_ is currently selling on Amazon for $200-that's the _paperback_.
> 
> However, it's available online as a pdf, and here.
> 
> ...



When I did karate many years ago, that move was called (and I'm not sure of the spelling), 'tobicommazuki'. Its purpose was to utilise the element of surprise when you know a fight is inevitable. Rather than dropping into a fighting stance, which gives your oponent a warning, you get a powerful front jab out there before any part of you has visibly moved. The lack power that results from launching the punch without the usual range is compensated for by the weight of your whole body toppling forward as you lift the lead foot slightly. Lifting the lead foot and allowing the body to fall forward also sets you up to land in a fighting stance ready to follow up your opening move with any choice of moves from the much wider repertoire that a fighting stance affords.

We have a similar punch in tang soo do but that one is kind of sideays. Same principle, just different stance.


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## elder999 (Sep 16, 2014)

Badger1777 said:


> When I did karate many years ago, that move was called (and I'm not sure of the spelling), 'tobicommazuki'. Its purpose was to utilise the element of surprise when you know a fight is inevitable. Rather than dropping into a fighting stance, which gives your opinion a warning, you get a powerful front jab out there before any part of you has visibly moved. The lack power that results from launching the punch without the usual range is compensated for by the weight of your whole body toppling forward as you lift the lead foot slightly. Lifting the lead foot and allowing the body to fall forward also sets you up to land in a fighting stance ready to follow up your opening move with any choice of moves from the much wider repertoire that a fighting stance affords.
> 
> We have a similar punch in tang soo do but that one is kind of sideays. Same principle, just different stance.



_Tobi komizuki_ is a* front*_(tobi)_ *snap*/thrust/penetrate/deepen_(komi) _*punch*/stike _(zuki_), and doesn't really have to utilize the same principle, though it could.


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## Argus (Sep 17, 2014)

elder999 said:


> _Tobi komizuki_ is a* front*_(tobi)_ *snap*/thrust/penetrate/deepen_(komi) _*punch*/stike _(zuki_), and doesn't really have to utilize the same principle, though it could.



I'm not a karateka, but tobikomu is one word that means "to dive/plunge into." 
tsuki is a straight punch, or thrust.
tobikomu becomes tobikomi (diving/plunging) and tsuki becomes zuki when appended to the word, hence tobikomizuki.

In Japanese: &#39131;&#12403;&#36796;&#12415;&#31361;&#12365;

If you want to break up the words separately, it would literally be "flying-into-punch." The ideas "front" and "snap" are not present.


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## cloud dancing (Sep 30, 2014)

Most schools I've seen have standing still techniques.Standing still,{my opinion} is one of the
most powerful of techniques for developing chi.it's so simple mostly it's ignored.when I learned Standing Hwa Yu style-I ignored it.Took decades for me to understand that simple is good.Foundation necessary for long life.
What's complicated is loved by the mind.but simplicity holds power and allows chi to accumulate.Master Li claimed that all his years he continued to practise standing still daily 2 hours every day.His ability to read minds.touch door knob and know who had visited his school and left and who was still inside came from the mental emptiness of practising standing still.for some who try this technique but think,think- it creates mental instability and does more harm than good. Emptiness and love for the breath/full focus on just breathing in and out of the dtan tien is most important.I guess this person had practised and repeat practised until he was able to stand and not be moved.one of Bruce li stories angers me that when asked to push an older master -he simply hit him and said "I punch.Ido not push" it seemed low class thing to do.But there's stories and stories who knows? Most of older taichi and pa qua masters seem to have this ability to jz stay stable not be moved.ninja style Dux ryu,Master  held the record with 30 persons{?] trying to move him from sitting zazen position.  42 years study with Prem  Rawat and still I am some what lazy. #1 enemy=gotta quit smoking. stupid habit.
Light shines and darkness leaves.


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