The Way of Least Resistance

Introduction Five years ago I did a piece on countering kote gaeshi - the wrist out turn.  In the intervening time I've learned a lot more about thwarting or converting this lock, so I thought I'd share this with my readers.  Some of the techniques have already appeared in my recent series on taijiquan qin na , but I thought I'd do a kind of summary of the additional defences against this simple, but potentially devastating, small joint attack - all in the context of my last taiji qin na essay. The "cloud hands lock" In my first kote gaeshi article , two of the options involved falling out of the lock.  I don't propose to go over that ground again but I encourage readers to revisit that piece if they are interested. The third option involved a counter-lock that I have recently identified as an application of the move "cloud hands" in taijiquan.  Back in 2010 I had also identified it as an application from baguazhang. Essentially you can...

Introduction Following on from my recent series of taiji qin na "clinics" I'd like to delve into another area - namely the fascinating way in which taijiquan techniques are geared towards countering each other, should the need arise. In the internal arts, this is of course not unique to the art of taijiquan: you would already be familiar with my analysis of how, say, xingyiquan's 5 elements interact , each destroying the other in a giant game of "rock, paper, scissors". Indeed, it makes sense for a sophisticated art to offer counters to its own techniques. So let's have a look at how two of these interact.  I'm going to take one aspect of "repulse monkey" and show how "cloud hands" deals with the issue. Repulse monkey as a "wrist out turn" First, let's look at one application of "repulse monkey": as a "wrist out turn" (what the Japanese call " kote gaeshi ").  ...

Following on from my recent post concerning "separating the right leg" and its use as an " anti-clinch " technique, using your legs to counter, I thought I'd go to one of the last movements in the Chen Pan Ling taijiquan form - the related (rather mysterious) sequence known as "step back to ride tiger". Here is a description of the technique: Starting from the previous position (not shown), step/pivot clockwise to the right to face an opponent. As you do so, you extend your left hand out (this has an important function - I'll explain why later) and load the right hand near your ear. This is followed by a step forward with your left leg.  Again, this has a vital function which I'll explain in due course. At precisely the same time, you extend your right hand forwards, leading with the knife edge of your palm which allows you to wedge your forearm in towards your opponent at an angle (facing downwards). Your left hand scoops dow...