Hello ...
I trained with Tao Laoshr from 1987 to 1990 seven days a week whilst living in Taipei. (Before this I trained in the YMT system and the Neigong from Wang Nyen-yen every morning and six evenings a week for two years. I also trained in the Tzu Men Chuan with Ching Chen Yen who trained me for five years for free. Mr Chin and I became good friends and I also became an inside student of Mr Chin after training with him for about two years three mornings a week. I am not aware of another Westerner who has a teaching certificate in the Tzu Men Chuan although I know of a number who do teach.
After six months I did the kowtowing formality with Tao laoshr and became an inside student of the Tao Laoshr in the Five Willow Tai Chi Chuan Association.
As your kung fu brother, I wanted to provide you with a couple more suggestions that may help you understand the notion of yielding if that is okay.
Therefore:
Yielding is not a 'stand alone' concept. It is perhaps better to consider it within the larger notions of relaxing, lightness and unifying the body. (Note: Most people interpret relaxing in a way that is counter-productive. It is not a dead, passive or heavy way of moving, rather light and sensitive. If used with the following notions it can deliver superior control regardless of the strength of the opponent. Equally, lightness does not = soft or heavy. Rather sensitive, like an insect antennae when touching an obstacle. You should observe this, because of course, the concept model of Tai Chi Chuan is predicated upon observing nature. Watch an insect that has antennae and you will see what I mean. When they touch an obstacle it is not just the antennae that move but the whole body as one 'unified' mass connected to the antennae/'hands'.)
Unifying the body means connecting the movements of the upper and lower body, but guided by the waist. (Tai Chi Chuan is a legs and waste kung fu as Tao Laoshr was fond of saying). Once the above two concepts are clearly understood, you need to work on listening skills, (this has a specific process to follow), sticking, then protecting, yielding, following and neutralizing and so on ...
Coincidentally, I was writing earlier today about the notion of Fa Jing, which is the ultimate purpose of acquiring the above skills. In summary, a useful way of considering this practical skill relates to how you can defeat an attack and 'discharge' the attacker. The fact is there are a number of ways of doing this. For example, you can apply Hwa Jing, turning energy, (Imagine you are a sphere comprised of your two feet, body and your opponents attacking line. Then, consider a triangle which you can use to discharge the opponent), Uprooting energy, (raise the direction of the attack, draw in, relax and then release). These are both examples of a number of energies that lead to Fa Jing or discharge skills.
One final point. Tai Chi Chuan is a superior self defense, but most people around the world, and indeed in China too, do not have the opportunity to study the real thing.
Tai Chi Chuan is a vital point kung fu and fundamental to its effectiveness is understanding the term "Shr Chung" or 'not too much and not too little'. In many respects, good kung fu is good kung fu regardless of its cultural nuances. If I consider Western boxing a good Western boxer applies many of the concepts that are fundamental to Tai Chi Chuan. Regrettably, on the other hand, many practitioners of Chinese boxing do not understand the importance of full contact training. It is for this reason that styles like Tai Chi Chuan, Aikido and Wing Chun have an undeserved negative reputation in real fighting. They are all great martial arts, but if the training regime they are taught within does not include full contact training, then it is very difficult to understand how to effectively apply concepts like 'shr chung' etcetera. Push Hands is really simulated real fighting so any push should also be considered as a strike.
A couple of final words about Tao Ping Shiang. Tao Laoshr was a wonderful man. He had excellent English and was interested in all people. He did not discriminate against someone who was not Chinese. However, he did not like Japanese people because his first love was murdered by them in the 'rape of Nanjing'. The only time I have seen Tao laoshr angry and use inappropriate language was when a Japanese man turned up to class at Sun Yat Sen Memorial and asked to train with him. Tao laoshr told him in no uncertain terms what he could do with that idea.
Tao laoshr was a generous spirited person and always willing to share his skills with anyone he believed to be of good character and willing to work hard. He rarely ate meat, however, could not resist prawn dumplings. Most of the time he ate very simply - lots of fruit and rice and vegetables. He was an excellent acupuncturist and well respected in all kung fu circles in Taiwan. He had no real significant political power in the kung fu scene, however, I know that I will never meet someone of his ability again. I am not sure where you come from, however, one person I know in the US who knows a great deal about both Tao laoshr's traditional medicine and his Tai Chi Chuan skills is Tony Zaynor from Chicago.
Tao laoshr was trained as an engineer so understood the physics that underpinned much of the ideas in Tai Chi Chuan. Now, he would hate me saying what I am about to say, (he was a humble man who always preferred a low profile), but, Tao, in my opinion was the best of the five senior students of Cheng Man Ching. In fact, it is my opinion that he took the push hands skills further than his teacher for a number of reasons.
Tao laoshr was the archetypal Tai Chi master and he would hate to be labelled as a master, because he always saw himself as a student of kung fu. He was the person that every student of Tai Chi Chuan or martial arts dreams of studying with, but rarely does. Perhaps more importantly, he was a true Renaissance man who typified the best of Chinese culture and humanity. He was my teacher, my friend and I will always miss him - as we all do for people who have passed on - who have made a deep an abiding impression on us.
If you want to contact me to explore this type of thing in more detail I am not that hard to find ...
Regards
Rod Upward
Tao Ping Siang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Ping-Siang
http://www.taiji-europa.de/taichi-taiji/push-hands-tui-shou/push-hands-dr-tao-ping-siang/
This one you need to convert to English.
Master Tao's principles are awesome. My teacher trained with Master Tao and I learned some of his Tuishou principles.
I really like the softness and his ability to create space and always find space. There is always space and you have enough space to yield.
I found this out during Tuishou. My teacher pushed me and I yield, He kept pushing I was yielding but I had no where left to go I was going to go off balance.
I told my teacher I am yielding, I need to change, my teacher said there is plenty of space. I saw none obviously my teacher is extended yet still has root, I am yielding yet I am loosing root and falling backwards. Where is the space? Where do I go? I can not push back my teacher says I need to yield.
I sink, I sink low and Lower on my legs my teacher keeps pushing forward but I am low and my teacher is uprooted!
That is when a light bulb went off in my head about Master Tao, there is always room you just need to know where it is.
It was a humbling experience to understand such a principle. I thought about the principle in life. Sometimes we are met with such opposition that we yield and no matter how much we do so we feel we are loosing ground and think we have to push back, but in understanding Master Tao's principle we can find that space we need in order to yield effectively.
Anyway this was just something I thought I share, I find Tuishou an excellent training tool not just in dealing with opponents but also in dealing with people in general.
