Taiji tire training

[brianlkennedy]

I was going through my own taijiquan training manual and came across this page (yes, I drew the pictures, don’t laugh—art was not my major in school!) and thought it might be of some interest to folks.

What the page shows is how I use a scooter tire to train a couple of the basic energies in taiji. On this page is press (ji), shoulder strike (kao) and downward push (an). To do the downward push one, you gotta find a ledge about waist height. I got lucky, the brick wall around my patio is just right. The other two you hold the tire against the wall.

One thing I would say about the shoulder strike is, I personally never strike with the actual top of the shoulder (where the upper arm bone connects into the clavicle). I think this is a huge mistake because that joint is far too shallow for that kind of thing. I show it in my manual because it is a traditional teaching of Yang style taiji.

What I do instead is push with my upper chest (my pectoral muscle or to put it more crudely, my tit). In MMA this is called shucking and is used to get out of a clinch without getting caught by an uppercut.

Here in Taiwan you can get used scooter tires (not motor cycles, but scooters like Vespas) for free. They are usually about 16 inches across and with a tread about 4 inches wide. For me that size is perfect. I guess back in North America small motorcycle tires might be best.

I like using the tire because you can do it solo, and I can watch the tire compress in to see how much juice (chi, power, impact, ) I am getting into the move.

Take care,
Brian

 

[Xue Sheng]

One thing I would say about the shoulder strike is, I personally never strike with the actual top of the shoulder (where the upper arm bone connects into the clavicle). I think this is a huge mistake because that joint is far too shallow for that kind of thing. I show it in my manual because it is a traditional teaching of Yang style taiji.

Kao does not strike with the top of the shoulder in Traditional Yang style, it actually strikes with the upper arm aka the shoulder. And if done proberly it is incredibly powerful and does not really effect the shoulder at all.

But thanks for the drawings, you draw better than I do, I can only draw stick figures.

 

[arnisador]

Thanks for sharing! I've never heard of tire training in Tai Chi before but it makes sense to me. In the FMA we do use "shoulder destructions" where we hit with the shoulder (and we definitely do tire training).

 

[Nobody]

I can say i had never thought about using a tire personally i use a piece of wood that is round an it is just big enough that i can carry it places but that tire idea sounds good to. Just a little bit big an you would have to be at one certain place not like you could carry it with you little big. So, i would try it for a fixed item training. The wood i use is perfectly round an makes it more of a balance act to train with but the tire I think might actually help develop more muscle with balance control.

 

[brianlkennedy]

Yeah, I like the tire because when I push into it I can see it compress. Heavy bags give way too easy, walls don't give way at all; the tire is just right. Well, actually "just right" is another living human being. But for solo training I like it.

take care,
Brian

 

[Nobody]

Actually the closest to a person that i have experience is the Wooden Dummy so if that is what you want than you would need that.