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

K-man

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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.
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:
 

zzj

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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?

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.
 

mograph

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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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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

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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!
 

mograph

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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.
 

Badger1777

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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. .....[/FONT]

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

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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.
 

Argus

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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: 飛び込み突き

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

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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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