The most important thing I've learned from participating in push hands tournaments is that it's a great starting point. However, I have now shifted my focus from push hands to jujitsu (grappling) and kickboxing training, along with stillpracticing Taiji forms. I strongly believe that Tai Chi is meant to complement and enhance other martial arts(if you’re practicing for more than just health benefits but to fight or defend yourself). For instance, imagine a Tai Chi practitioner facing a boxer. The Tai Chi practitioner may not measure up to the boxer who is typically physically fit, with endurance from running and strength training, and experienced in striking against noncompliant opponents. To truly understand the art of Tai Chi as a fighting art, one must also learn the fundamentals of stand-up techniques, takedowns, and ground fighting from other hard styles. I deeply appreciate the level of sensitivity, timing, and adaptability I've developed through my years of practicing Tai Chi and participating in push hands competitions. However, if one seeks efficiency in self-defense or fighting, it is not sufficient to solely focus on push hands, it’s a very tiny stepping stone. It is important to explore other aspects of martial arts with what you’ve gained from your push hands experience. Throughout my journey in push hands, my primary goal was to test my ability to remain internally relaxed and composed under pressure. While it is impossible to completely eliminate the use of muscles or tension, it is possible to utilize them in conjunction with relaxation, akin to the concept of "steel wrapped in cotton." I am immensely grateful for the exchanges, encouragement, and camaraderie I have experienced with fellow Tai Chi practitioners. Nevertheless, I humbly acknowledge that I am still a student and far from being a master. 😂😂😂 I once referred to myself as a master, but I soon realized that my ego was taking control. To confront this, I sparred with athletes in local jujitsu schools, which quickly humbled me. This is all part of the ongoing learning process. With that being said, I wholeheartedly love the art of Tai Chi and find great joy in observing and learning from others' reactions, perspectives, and insights. Each encounter adds to my knowledge and understanding.
How did you decide to start training other arts, or what made you decide you had taken taiji far enough on its own? Did you think you started cross training later than you could have?
The father of MMA, Bruce Lee, listed all the pros and cons of each martial. Tai Chi was the only one without any cons. I use to wonder what he meant, and now I think you’ve explained it.
I agree with you, only my journey is in the opposite direction. I have had many streetlights, then Kyokoshin Karate, Fairbairn Sykes, then I discovered internal arts and in particular Yang Tai Chi helped me cultivate and preserve the fighting skills I already had.
As a wrestler (used in fighting), I can appreciate the subtle techniques and micro movements in this video and used by sifu. Really makes me want to get into this. Of course it’s not an “end all be all” (like all forms of mma, like wrestling), but this can have some serious uses in a fight if you know how to incorporate into your whole personal fighting style.
Taijiquan & specifically pushing hands is supplementary even in BJJ both stand up & rolling ruclips.net/video/rgJJQdPoz7Y/видео.htmlsi=vrjeLBZbKlwndsN0
I told Sifu Niko about this video already, so we'll wait for his thoughts in the comments. In the meantime, check out his channel. It's in the endcards and description.
@FightCommentary : ruclips.net/video/crDhuZwvfaE/видео.htmlsi=kUHLzgEuSteerARr T'ai Chi Chuan is cringe because many who practice purports to being able to use it for fighting by exploring esoteric notions of great power without any true martial practice such as sparring or pressure testing, only practicing form routines. However, there are only few who actually practice the martial side to it's full extent. Even the many will rely on other arts to validate their martial prowess & taunt it as pure Taijiquan. In simplicity, it's form, rudimentary applications, pushing hands (variations/partner work), then sparring/pressure testing. Most stick to forms & applications, some go into pushing hands. Very few go beyond that! I'm one who practices the full gamut, including competing successfully in full contact & Pro San Da matches! It is truly misunderstood even by its own practitioners - majority are new-age practitioners seeking help benefits but speaking of the martial substance days of old!
did some tai chi push hands at my old school and i have to say developing sensitivity like this helps loads in jiu jitsu, hand fighting, reading movements etc. thai chi push hands is legit, and alot of fun to do too
Good comment. Of course, push hands is a basic training practice and not a free sparring that might be done later. I appreciate the fact that you point out that push hands is a lot of fun to do. That's something that most people don't emphasize. It's a bit like dancing combined with martial art principles. Too many people get ego involved and try to be macho competitive. Push hands can help to overcome that and start to appreciate the subtle body mechanics and energy that Tai Chi depends on.
Very refined technique. I never saw anyone moving like this before and for so long. He IS fully relaxed in all exchanges, force just passed thru him like electricity on a wire nearly all times. Just like my father described while teaching me. Seems to be a true master on my view.
Thanks. Did not know his name but recognized him from Shoreline videos of push hands. Had never seen him lose and have always wanted to see him vs Niko.
This is the art of kazushi for me as Judoka. Obviously it’s different when footwork and grips are included, but when you add this sensitivity skill to your strength and agility, it really does feel aikidoish when playing takedown/throw games with beginner grapplers. It’s an extra set of eyes when pummeling/gripping/hand-fighting. For literally blind grapplers, it is their only set of eyes.
from my understanding, kuzushi is about understanding offbalancing techniques and being able to exploit opportunities to offbalancing. does kuzushi teach the entire body of technique to stay balanced and resist offbalancing attacks as well?
@@mengmao5033 Yes, there are specific counters to every "throw", unfortunately, not a lot of schools teach it. John Danaher talks a lot about the mechanics behind a lot of judo / jiu jitsu moves and he often implements a counter to the counter.
Judo and Shuai Jiao have a common ancestor in Chinese wrestling, and many of the throws are very similar. And, there is a Tai Chi style that uses throwing techniques.
@@hanksimon1023 what’s known as shuaijiao today derived from Manchu buku, which came from Mongolian bokh. It’s relatively low on content from arts indigenous to China. Traditional kungfu systems like taiji do have their own (frequently less intact or understood) grappling systems
Tai Chi Practitioners no longer seem to be taught that Push Hands practice is to learn Ting [learning to sense your partner], and Ti Fang [learning to Lift and Release your partner]. Not quite worded correctly, but when you can sense the emptiness in your partner, then fill it to lift your partner, then release or push him with minimal force [4 oz. ! ], then you are ready to continue to the next steps in Tai Chi. Today, even most people who teach Tai Chi, have never heard of the term, Ti Fang...
You're mostly right here. But of course many Tai Chi Chuan classes are oriented to the "moving meditation" approach and not the martial applications. I'm generally fine with that but think students miss something very important if they don't do any two-person practice and develop sensitivity to an opponent/partner, application of Tai Chi principles, etc. The traditional expression as translated roughly into English is "three ounces (of energy) to move two thousand pounds". Someone who is at a higher level will feel like a brick wall wall if you try to push them, then they can throw you out with virtually no apparent movement on their part.
Yes and no, mass plays a part in the universal side, but from my experience, understanding and the principles of Tai Chi (nature) it has nothing to do with size......when one understands the power of peng (westerner way of saying relax which is not really relaxing) then you can move the slightest weight around, not with physical force but with their own strength....Up to this day i am still practicing Tai Chi and still discovering more, it is endless martial art just like every martial art, there is always another level to get to.....
Not really Tai Chi related but involves traditional martial arts. My Sifu teaches kickboxing/Sanda but also teaches Southern style Longfist Kung-fu. I asked him why practice traditional martial arts if modern martial arts is more effective in a fight. He told me traditional martial arts teaches mastery over a person's body. The forms and the drills done are used to strengthen your body and familiarize you with yourself. Then apply it to kickboxing. I ended up taking a few sessions of the Kung-fu class. It wasn't for me. However I did learn how my body works better in a combat situation. I previously had a hard time cutting or taking angles when kickboxing. But learning footwork from kung-fu forms let me learn how far I can step with my body and which steps I prefer in movement. It actually helped me develop my angle for kickboxing. While I don't use Longfist style in kickboxing, I still apply some principles of it. Tai Chi is "cringe" because people associate it with old Asian people stretching. Then there are also those Tai Chi "masters" that think they're Jet Li.
Modern Martial arts has it's place. IF it weren't for traditional styles, and the openness it has today, there would not be modern martial arts. I also, don't see modern being more effective than Traditional. a Good fighter is a good fighter no matter the style. but the ground game is a different animal. one that can be dealt with when learning the ground game. but, traditional styles are learning ground game into their combat skills while staying TRADITIOINAL.
The forms are nothing more than a modern day USB stick. Forms are not a dance. they contain everything you need to know about your system if you know how to look. forms are the phsyical documentation of the art. muay thai has forms too. boxing has forms too. if its pre-arranged, its a form no matter how big or small.
@@hungsingkwoonusa650 What a ridiculous take. Traditional styles and training methods are dated otherwise there wouldn't be a need for modern styles. Only parrots with no critical-thinking will say "a good fighter is a good fighter regardless of style." A training system is a tool and a practitioner will not go as far with dated, inefficient tools. Also incorporating grappling to a traditional art IS the definition of refining it to a modern style.
@@Krypteian There isnt a *need* for either. The funny thing is that modern styles are actually things like TKD, Karate, Aikido, etc that people think are traditional whereas people think Muay Thai and Wrestling are modern when Muay Thai is CENTURIES older than every so called modern style and wrestling is the oldest! So what's really traditional here? What's funnier is traditional training methods are still used in (what you "think" are) modern martial arts. People still stretch, rotate their arms, do hip routines, etc to loosen the body and warm up, the same as fighters have done for 1000s of years. If you call that dated then I assume you train by loading data into your brain via the Matrix??
@@hungsingkwoonusa650 It took me a long time to figure out what the movements actually were. They were muscle memory exercises. Watching Kung Fu movies has rotted the brains of many and made us think that all those goofy looking poses were how Kung Fu guys actually fight but what I started doing was imaging them holding polearms in hand and that's when it made sense. All those "Flapping Goose" and "Crawling Rat" moves they were doing were to train their reflexes. They were fighting multiple enemies at once on a battlefield and needed to do the splits while simultaneously dodging a horseman's spear and impale the guy in front of them! 😂
I've seen push hands like this, I've been on the receiving end of someone like Sifu Niko. It takes A LOT of training to do what he does. It's an amazing thing to see and experience.
One of the first applications I had for martial arts was to stand on a moving subway/bus without holding on to anything. That’s a real demand on your ability to recent your center of mass over your base as you get constantly pitched around
He's always a joy to watch on video, and clearly fun to compete with. Your commentary "The other guy just pushed himself off Sifu Nico!" summed it up beautifully 👍😊
I never knew tai chi was anything other than fancy poses and fake videos of imposters making people pass out. I had no idea there were actual sparring rules, or applications like this. Really interesting stuff!!!
Going from this to more is very hard. That’s where the disconnect comes from. But I think Niko will be able to find something if he keeps exploring. I sure as heck will continue covering him on his journey.
Unfortunately, that's the misperception too many people have because they've only gravitated to the negative videos trying to slam Tai Chi Chuan by ignorant and insulting commentaries, deceptive video clips and general contempt. (Sure, there are many fakers, and too many high-level Tai Chi practitioners don't promote themselves like martial arts superstars.) But this push hands competition is what pretty good practitioners do and what a decent competition should look like. The higher level is more interesting but not easy to evaluate if you've never engaged with a real master with such skills. It looks fake to most people, but I can tell you from experience it is not fake--it's incredible and real, though not that many people promoting themselves are at that level. Still, it's nice to see a video that at least allows viewers to perceive some of the very subtle skills combining sophisticated body mechanics and a certain amount of internal power.
I do not know much about Tai Chi, but what I am seeing from an Aikido perspective is similar to our cooperative exercise called kokyudosa. Sifu Niku is keeping his elbows close, using a relaxed extension with strength coming from the underside of the arms, linking the extension of the arms to the lower body, and of curse redirecting energy used against him. I wish I knew more about Tai Chi as this competitive version of what I have practiced as an exercise looks very useful to grow as an internal martial artist. Much like Aikido, I don't think you will learn to fight by doing this, but it will definitely give you some useful tools if you already know how to fight.
If you have a Tai Chi schools nearby, some of them may offer Push Hands classes. With some Aikido training, and significant patience & restraint, you should have no problem with the classes. One significant difference is that in Tai Chi, gentleness is key, and the partner is Not expected to know how to fall or how to 'protect' himself from injury. Although competition is different, the goal in Tai Chi push hands is to learn sensitivity, to feel when your partner is Not grounded, to 'move' into his "emptiness", then lift him [break his root] and release him, allowing you to push him backwards with only 4oz. All of the English still doesn't get across the idea of Ting and Ti Fang, which is the goal to be learned through Push Hands. [Note that in training, you work with a *partner* not a competitor, and one well-known Tai Chi Teacher says that if you break your partner, you don't get another. ;-) ]
This is the type of push hands I've been trained to do. I'm still learning cause I'm no sifu, but this is true skill. Using redirection against force. Neutralizing. This is true push hands.
If you're looking for a better understanding of internal power, you might want to read the book "Hidden in Plain Sight" by Ellis Amdur. In that book, the author breaks down of the different body power types that tends to get confusingly lumped together as "internal power". When you separate them out, it makes more sense. The book does lean a little towards the aikido perspective (but not exclusively so), as the author practiced aikido prior to a couple different Japanese koryū that he is now certified to teach. (Finally, if it's just for reading, pick up the 2nd edition. There's some corrections and expansions compared to the 1st edition.)
@@FightCommentary He does a fair amount of police/law enforcement training and related psychology, based out of Seattle. He talks about it a little in his book, but, some years past, he moved to Japan in search of koryū training and ended up being the first non-Japanese person to train (and eventually became licensed) in Araki-ryū. He has a strong understanding of anatomy and body mechanics, but he freely admits in his book that it wasn't meant to meet the rigors of a scientific paper. At the same time, I find him to be pretty logical and well-reasoned, and I only disagree on a couple minor points here and there. He is also friendly with the somewhat well-known Aikido and BJJ instructor Bruce Bookman (also based out of Seattle). I've attended a number of Sensei Bookman's special classes, but I've yet to run into Mr. Amdur.
Through push hands you can understand how to connect with your self it's like opening senses that you never knew you had and not only taiji practices pushing hands it's actually a game in Asia very fun
Niko is very good and actually the first guy in red is decent too, he's got videos of himself as well (Shoreline Taiji). I think the fact that you see his body lose his linkage is evidence of Niko's skill in that he succeeded in breaking the structure. They both share the same teacher, Yang Jun though Niko also learned from his father and Chris (red) also learned from Xie Bingcan. In terms of techniques, afaik tuishou is not necessarily about taking specific movements out of the form, but different "jins" which is what makes it more "internal". So sometimes you may see peng jin, an jin, lu jin, cie jin, etc. All the movements in the form have different ways of expressing these jins among others, and the resulting dexterity and skill is what is applied in tuishou. In other words, the form cultivates the "force vectors" in the body in different shapes. Yang style has the simplest shapes while Chen has the most intricate and diverse.
yes very well put. In chen style the "8 gates" are modalities of rotations. Hong junsheng described them as like touching a wheel spinning at a high speed, depending on where you touch, it can create different effects like pulling, pushing, bouncing all stemming from a movement around an axis (rotations).
What the martial arts community needs to come to terms with is that Competitive Push-hands IS just as much a legit combat sport as, say, Judo or KIckboxing. Just because it looks more "peaceful" doesn't mean the skills are less practical in a fight. If anything, I'd say this "peacefulness" is what makes it infinitely useful in self-defense, since you escalate the force only as much as is necessary to unsettle the opponent, no more no less, so you can apply this skill in practically every self-defense situation without worry of going overboard. That is in contrast to going straight for an injurious move, as would be the habit if you'd been practicing a combat sport that *obliges* you to slam/bash/K.O. the opponent every time. That is good in the ring, but outside of the ring, are you *really* going to punch or slam every person that just happens to press or tug you the "wrong" way?
This is what I'm talking about. Empty jacket. I've no formal training, but I've used simulator techniques many times. Redirecting energy can be very very useful when applying such techniques. Blessings to you and yours 🍻 ps. I feel like this master is capable of redirecting even nonphysicaly, i.e., energies of conversions or that obnoxious drunk we've all been subject to, just redirect the energies 😊
I have studied Wing Chun for 4 month now. But I have used core strength and balance training routines for more than 10 years (I think 13). I had no idea what Tai Chi is, before seeing this video. Now I feel like I understand a lot better. I wish I could see a similar example for Wing Chun!
The guy in the first clip in red is actually not bad. I believe he is from Seattle WA. He does extremely well in the tournaments. It just goes to show you how good Sifu Niko is.
So maintaining soft contact and Not grabbing your opponent is key in Tai chi, you surf and ride your opponent like a ship's rudder to stifle their ability to strike and be explosive (( you gum them up)) While riding them you'll feel openings and muscle relaxations, holes and gaps in their structure, and that's where and when you insert strikes and viciously exploit those subtle gaps. You strike and throw by feel mostly and not by line of site, so it's crucial to stay soflty connected once engaged but not grabby, and then don't let opponent escape once engaged. No effective combat Tai chi from long range in my opinion, or once you've actually grabbed hold of your opponent with clenched fingers also no longer Tai chi.
Yes, Tai Chi is predominantly contact and short range. However, there are punches and kicks in the form, and there are pushes to move the combat from close contact to mid-range, where kicks might be effective.
This is fixed step push hands and the reason you see things clearer is the technique and movement are so restricted that it's virtually useless. This is more a drill than anything. The reason moving step push hands "looks like wrestling" is its freestyle with much more technique and movement. Regardless, focusing on WHAT LOOKS LIKE the taichi slow form is a huge mistake. Applied taichi and slow-form taichi aren't the same thing. Fixed step looks some-what like slow form so it conforms to what people *think* applied taichi should look like but only when it moves fast does taichi really become practical.
There is no such a thing as "slow form taichi". Speed is relative. What is slow at the moment can be fast in the next moment. Fixed step push hands exercise is just a basic exercise alongside many other exercises.
@@Steel9k actually there is a difference. The slow form and the fast form have different training purposes. The fast form and the related training are not just the slow form done at faster speed. Many of the things people train at slower speeds simply will not work when sped up.
If you like this look up Sam Chin of I Liq Chuan. I went to two seminars and worked with one of his disciples probably 15 years ago. I'm an Okinawan Karate guy but his tai chi was actually more based on combat and explosive power.
On the issue of cringe, I think a lot has to do with the nature of these subtle 'internal' skills in Tai chi. Many practitioners mistakenly equate their ability in these subtle skills in restricted push hands formats with the ability to fight. It is easy for instructors who are able to consistently unbalance or send their students flying to get the impression that they are capable fighters. It is precisely how refined these skills can get that gives a false sense of competency, and when some of these masters with decades of experience and highly refined push hands ability put themselves out there against a real fighter is when the sh1t hits the fan. Again, having these internal skills is great, but there is a great gulf between them and the actual ability to utilize them against a resisting opponent. Too many of us nowadays have no idea what the role and utility of the 'internal arts' are in combat and are the last ones to recognize when these skills are actually used/demonstrated simply because it doesn't look like the forms. This video in Mandarin ruclips.net/video/TJYZ-NkfMM8/видео.htmlsi=F4B9NDt0t5lNK__s is an interesting opinion piece on why you do not see taichi (or other internal arts) in the ring.
I don't know Mandarin, and he may say something like this: Tai Chi and Shuai Jiao were designed for combat, not competition with rules. The goal was to maim or kill the combatant quickly and decisively, frequently from a standing position. Although similar, Shuai Jiao much more explosive than Judo. Both Tai Chi and Shuai Jiao can shatter bones in short range contact. Most people don't really want to learn that level of destruction - they want exercise or competition, so you won't see many people with the skills devastating combat. One example that I saw was Grandmaster Chang Dongsheng in the mid- 1980s, and his demonstrations seemed more violent that similar throws in Judo.
i think just like how boxers train inside sparring and wrestlers train positions stuff like this is a great supplementary exercise that wont get you injured and will improve certain aspects of your game. In sparring everyone says i have very annoying parries and sticky hands and i credit alot to push hands
This way of using the body is also used in many lineages of wing tsun especially with chi sao, and dealing with pushes for self defence… also by being relaxed and using your body as one you can also generate strong punches not just wrestle.
I’ve actually learned to utilize this same concept without putting a stamp on it as tai chi. But the whole redirection of force is legit. Especially for no gi bjj
from my observations, in the first clip the opponent seems double heavy (and both are 'tossing' actually). Niko's method is creating a separation ("yin-yang split" as its called) between the opponents head from his centre of gravity when he leans in by taking advantage of the opponents double weightedness (which means having two or multiple centers of gravity at the same time, causing the body to lose balance).
@@tonbonthemon yep! The only school that I like, because its lineage is direct, authentic and its method is clear and logical with no b.s and hippie stuff
@@FightCommentary yeah sure, although I can only find (雙重) Double-weightedness. If you look on the Chinese website of practical method it should have more detailed explanations.
@@FightCommentary Also Jerry, here is a muay thai who trains same school as me. its a really cool fight so worth watching, lots of taiji mechanics expressed "Sun Yang (Chen Practical Method) Muay Thai fight (longer version)" (sorry cant send link cos youtube deletes)
I'm not much of a martial artist or anything, I just watch f8s, that's all. So please correct me if I'm wrong. From what I'm seeing, the sensei is kinda doing the enter the dragon thingy(the Bruce Lee dialog "when the enemy expand I contract ...." that thingy). What I mean is bro has excellent foot placement and since u can't move ur feet forward or backwards ur reach can go only to a certain length. And what I'm seeing with the other guys is they don't really lower their hips and push it backwards like the sensei is doing. They're standing with a relatively straighter posture than sensei. So most of their weight is on their lead foot while applying forward force and on the back foot while getting pushed back or pulling sensei. The sensei uses his hand placement to break their posture from the hip up. And when the sensei pushes forward, he's crouched with his hip going back and his head coming forward; thus having more reach than when in a more upright stance. The camera wasn't in a gud spot to show both of his hands at the same time, so this is just me coming up with theories. This might be what happened with the last guy on the last exchange of grabs. The big guy grabbed the left forearm of sensei from a parallel angle and tried to better control of it by grabbing with his left hand too(lyk what wrestlers do). At the same time sensei wiggled his left hand to try and pry open his grip by placing his forehand on the big guy's ryt forearm and applying pressure using the points of contact as leverage. But with the big guy's left grabbing him near his elbow, it wasn't supposed to be easy. That's where sensei's ryt hand comes into play. (All of this is head canon cos no visibility of his ryt hand). He places his ryt hand on the other guy's left elbow; moving it to compromising areas to relieve the force exerted by his left hand on sensei's left hand at the same tym pushing his left hand into his body and pulling his ryt hand after breaking his grip and collapsing his posture.
If you really want to know how to process and return those force vectors. I can show/tell ya☺️😁 In short it’s based on skeletal structure allowing grounding… grounding allows a return of the power impulse from the ground… the pathways (better term than vector, more accurate) of the power are felt and modulated by the texture of the tension in the tissue and that is itself modulated by the shifting of the tent ion in the fascia by the body weigh shifting and BREATH along with the compressive (still with adjustment) of the target contact and the ground. The sensing and the channeling of the power are one and the same. Power transfer becomes more and more loss less. Timings improve and FAJIN is achieved ❤
yes this was great to see jerry. its why i do tai chi and find it disappointing when people dismiss it outright. for 1 example, in chen style each part of your body that's in contact with a force vector should be 45% which makes your opponent unable to transfer any power. (FYI It's the same method used by stealth armour against sonar from submarines)
The "taller guy" is (Sifu? Don't know if he uses the title) Chris Marshal, from @ShorelineTaiChi. Who is, as an old professor of mine would say, "certainly no slouch," having won multiple championships in fixed and moving push hands. I wonder if he would have anything to contribute here?
in my opinion, the application is actually hidden in plain side in modern martial arts, the kuzushi in judo, most grappling martial arts actually do that in one way or another. i noticed the higher the skill level in judo (this one can be check with grading qualification test with IJF) or any other grappling or other martial arts, the smaller and more subtle the key movement, thats include muay thai too. but i think internal martial arts add another level to that, the breathing parts.. although deeper down its also goes deep into strength + health + healing + meditation+ taoism. the modern more scientific variation can be found in the teaching of Dr Li shao bo which can be explain with "nei jin tu" this picture believed to be printed in one of the lost TCM book (this section of the book still nowhere to be found). i think the one that will understand more of the internal aspect are those who practice accupuncture and martial artist at sametime. someone that i think get pretty close to what i have in mind is adam chan.
I wonder what you would say about Clear from „Clair‘s Internal Combat Arts“ or Adam Mizner. Both seem to think that Tai Chi is actually super powerful if you know how to do it right, but it must be done with internal power. To me this is interesting as both are people with kickboxing experience. They both seem to emphasize „sinking the chi“, standing practice and internal power over Body mechanics, so I wonder what they‘d have to say about this...
Of course he's using muscle. He couldn't stand up without using muscle. I think what you mean is brute strength. He's not using brute strength to just over power his opponent. He's using muscle...but in a very refined way. He's very good at this particular game. He's efficient, effective and his movements do not result in injury to himself. Those are my criteria for a good "t'ai-chi" type movement whether it's in combat, games, daily life, or sports. So yeah, in this game, this is good t'ai-chi...Can he translate this to fighting? No way to tell here. Is he graceful and injury free in daily life? No way to tell here. Can he throw a spiral? Can he hit a ping pong ball? No way to tell here. But within this game, he's very good.
My guy Tai Chi is an amazing martial art but it takes years and years to really understand, i have been doing it for like 13 years now and the true power that @sifuniko has is his peng when he sees this he will know what i am talking about, from my observation of the fights the guys are solid and it's that peng power they have to practicing more and song (relax) now those two powers is what makes tai chi an amazing art, patience and sensitivity.
Adding to that, the techniques that you would barely see @stfuniko do is roll back when he has to, but the fact his peng is so damn strong it hardly is being use, and the only way you use roll back is on someone is if they try to find your center and push down on your peng position. I will not reveal secrets in here but that is all i have to say.
Ive studied w Herman Kauz and I can tell Sifu Nico is legit. I've studied Hung Ga, Wing Chun, MMA, bjj etc. This is all connected if you want to become a real well rounded martial artist.
@@FightCommentary yes some sanda here ruclips.net/video/u4rSSFuBuvg/видео.html the channel is about a school he had in Spain a few years ago and stuff he likes
@@FightCommentary ruclips.net/video/JH3z5grgg0w/видео.html this is a Tai chi alumn, Borja, who is currently a tai chi coach, here is competing in Sanda
There is nothing at all unusual about this push hands competition although many people have probably seen the crude push hands that looks more like clumsy wrestling. This is what fixed step push hands is supposed to look like. It's very subtle, combining sophisticated body mechanics with great sensitivity to the opponent and some internal power applications from Tai Chi.
That bald guy is no joke, national champ I am fairly sure. This however is a drill and doesn't get into free sparring like moving step does, more parlor trick than actual technique.
If you watch sifu Niko's feet, and the other guys feet. his feet are really rooted. The other guys is not so much. look at their feet. I will admit, his lower half awareness is pretty good. he knows his body, and how to maneuver properly.. nice.
I’ve been intrigued by T’ai Chi ever since my sensei kicked me in the freakin head… from “Snake Creeps Up”, literally from the floor. Push hands is a very specific exercise that really forces you to listen and develop sensitivity, balance, neutralization, issuing, J’ing and Ti Fang. But aye, seen the cringe… dozens of aging and middle aged Chinese Masters getting their clocks cleaned in exhibition and challenge matches. Given the Taoist underpinnings of T’ai Chi principles, if your in a ring with an MMA fighter - whose JOB is to be a highly effective ring fighter - you have ALREADY LOST, dragged into the Octagon by your ego.
After a few years of good standing they should push themselves off you. Niko is rooted and his body is expanded to take force and repel it. If he is good he could drop his arms and just let them push his body. He is a good example for pushing the art and he always seems to enjoy himself and isnt competitive. Good skill and good character means he had a good teacher. Rare nowadays.
What I find that can be an issues with Tai Chi is that what we see of it is a slow moving exercise and even when we see actual combat its unfamiliar to combat sports or realism. They have long stances and hands out far. And, even when they train they talk about this high level skills of push hands which we can't see relate directly to fighting. It's the same kind of critisime that BJJ gets. People are like, just stand up and throw strikes.
In real Taichi (not slow long fifist) the body move opposite and you can see the opponent’s intentions projecting of there body like wire clouds before they move.
Great skill on show here, this to me is the essence of fighting. Fixed step push hands is the pinnacle of the fighting arts. Your " MMA" chuckleheads just don't get or even try to understand this subtle skill. The point is to stagger the opponent, in that stagger time, they are unbalanced, open, no defence, no strength behind attack, hit them they almost always fall over.
The stuff Mizner shows suddenly doesn't work when the partner is no longer compliant - ruclips.net/video/4eqJUy2usgM/видео.htmlsi=jzwOV7U_xTAvGk-3 Here, Mizner already has 9 years of experience, 4 years after he established his international school and a few years before his motorcycle accidents.
Look at the feet positioning; that is the key along with proper posturing. Again worthless in a cage or street but a fun exercise in biomechanics and learning how things work.
As a push hands master. I will say dude is doing proper push hands at a mid level. Be like a blue belt in a hard bjj gym. His arm is tight and shoulder becomes disjointed. He is lacking fluidity and would stiffen up and break form with more speed or power in the mix. His weight transfer is mid (tight hips) and would be where he falls short of being advanced. So like he does micro leverage at a basic level. Still it is actual push hands.
Ian Sinclair is trying to show how this works, all the time, in his videos. I think he does a pretty good job - he may talk too much for some people. It takes practice and this is how you practice. As you said, no-one's perfect.. that's why you practice.
The only move I see him doing is listening. All the other guys are trying so hard to get something and they are totally muscling to get movies that have already met a wall. They won’t change and they keep muscling to get the move then the master just adjusts a little and they are deflated of the wall of good structure.
The most important thing I've learned from participating in push hands tournaments is that it's a great starting point. However, I have now shifted my focus from push hands to jujitsu (grappling) and kickboxing training, along with stillpracticing Taiji forms. I strongly believe that Tai Chi is meant to complement and enhance other martial arts(if you’re practicing for more than just health benefits but to fight or defend yourself). For instance, imagine a Tai Chi practitioner facing a boxer. The Tai Chi practitioner may not measure up to the boxer who is typically physically fit, with endurance from running and strength training, and experienced in striking against noncompliant opponents. To truly understand the art of Tai Chi as a fighting art, one must also learn the fundamentals of stand-up techniques, takedowns, and ground fighting from other hard styles. I deeply appreciate the level of sensitivity, timing, and adaptability I've developed through my years of practicing Tai Chi and participating in push hands competitions. However, if one seeks efficiency in self-defense or fighting, it is not sufficient to solely focus on push hands, it’s a very tiny stepping stone. It is important to explore other aspects of martial arts with what you’ve gained from your push hands experience. Throughout my journey in push hands, my primary goal was to test my ability to remain internally relaxed and composed under pressure. While it is impossible to completely eliminate the use of muscles or tension, it is possible to utilize them in conjunction with relaxation, akin to the concept of "steel wrapped in cotton." I am immensely grateful for the exchanges, encouragement, and camaraderie I have experienced with fellow Tai Chi practitioners. Nevertheless, I humbly acknowledge that I am still a student and far from being a master. 😂😂😂 I once referred to myself as a master, but I soon realized that my ego was taking control. To confront this, I sparred with athletes in local jujitsu schools, which quickly humbled me. This is all part of the ongoing learning process. With that being said, I wholeheartedly love the art of Tai Chi and find great joy in observing and learning from others' reactions, perspectives, and insights. Each encounter adds to my knowledge and understanding.
How did you decide to start training other arts, or what made you decide you had taken taiji far enough on its own? Did you think you started cross training later than you could have?
Beautiful. The true spirit and intention of a martial artist. 🙏🔥❤
The father of MMA, Bruce Lee, listed all the pros and cons of each martial. Tai Chi was the only one without any cons.
I use to wonder what he meant, and now I think you’ve explained it.
I agree with you, only my journey is in the opposite direction.
I have had many streetlights, then Kyokoshin Karate, Fairbairn Sykes, then I discovered internal arts and in particular Yang Tai Chi helped me cultivate and preserve the fighting skills I already had.
Love your response there Nico.
Maybe you focused too much on push hands.
You should be able to do all those things you talked about with Tai Chi. 🙏🏼
As a wrestler (used in fighting), I can appreciate the subtle techniques and micro movements in this video and used by sifu. Really makes me want to get into this. Of course it’s not an “end all be all” (like all forms of mma, like wrestling), but this can have some serious uses in a fight if you know how to incorporate into your whole personal fighting style.
I'm looking to feature more wrestlers btw, so if you ever have any footage that is wrestling related, please send me any time!
Taijiquan & specifically pushing hands is supplementary even in BJJ both stand up & rolling
ruclips.net/video/rgJJQdPoz7Y/видео.htmlsi=vrjeLBZbKlwndsN0
Even rolling:
ruclips.net/video/_319JhJXEVk/видео.htmlsi=fQ1PXzUA1E37mYg0
Wow … how did you make a dance .. to a fighting system 😂
@@gomezgomez6299 who in tf are you talking to? These idiot punks on the internet just be saying stuff that don’t make any GD sense at all. 🤨
I told Sifu Niko about this video already, so we'll wait for his thoughts in the comments. In the meantime, check out his channel. It's in the endcards and description.
@FightCommentary :
ruclips.net/video/crDhuZwvfaE/видео.htmlsi=kUHLzgEuSteerARr
T'ai Chi Chuan is cringe because many who practice purports to being able to use it for fighting by exploring esoteric notions of great power without any true martial practice such as sparring or pressure testing, only practicing form routines. However, there are only few who actually practice the martial side to it's full extent. Even the many will rely on other arts to validate their martial prowess & taunt it as pure Taijiquan. In simplicity, it's form, rudimentary applications, pushing hands (variations/partner work), then sparring/pressure testing. Most stick to forms & applications, some go into pushing hands. Very few go beyond that! I'm one who practices the full gamut, including competing successfully in full contact & Pro San Da matches! It is truly misunderstood even by its own practitioners - majority are new-age practitioners seeking help benefits but speaking of the martial substance days of old!
Subtleties in balance, sensitivity, intentions:
ruclips.net/video/OyNemTqwebE/видео.htmlsi=p1wZmiprBpYs0x94
T'ai Chi Chuan being applied in full contact:
ruclips.net/video/63fF61YZdsw/видео.htmlsi=jlrdqP45ANuXvPIF
The "bald guy" is Chris Marshall of Shoreline Tai Chi who is also doing very good work in the IMA community.
www.youtube.com/@ShorelineTaiChi
Please do a video about that new viral boxing movie in China. Think it’s a ripoff of a Japanese boxing movie
did some tai chi push hands at my old school and i have to say developing sensitivity like this helps loads in jiu jitsu, hand fighting, reading movements etc. thai chi push hands is legit, and alot of fun to do too
Good comment. Of course, push hands is a basic training practice and not a free sparring that might be done later. I appreciate the fact that you point out that push hands is a lot of fun to do. That's something that most people don't emphasize. It's a bit like dancing combined with martial art principles. Too many people get ego involved and try to be macho competitive. Push hands can help to overcome that and start to appreciate the subtle body mechanics and energy that Tai Chi depends on.
Very refined technique. I never saw anyone moving like this before and for so long. He IS fully relaxed in all exchanges, force just passed thru him like electricity on a wire nearly all times. Just like my father described while teaching me. Seems to be a true master on my view.
Niko is doing it right. The "Bald Guy" is Chris Marshall of Shoreline Tai Chi, he is very good as well.
Thanks. Did not know his name but recognized him from Shoreline videos of push hands. Had never seen him lose and have always wanted to see him vs Niko.
I'm not seeing Chris using rooting. Not intending to be controversial here. Why isn't he rooting? Chris seems to be pushed very easily.
This is the art of kazushi for me as Judoka.
Obviously it’s different when footwork and grips are included, but when you add this sensitivity skill to your strength and agility, it really does feel aikidoish when playing takedown/throw games with beginner grapplers.
It’s an extra set of eyes when pummeling/gripping/hand-fighting. For literally blind grapplers, it is their only set of eyes.
You mean kuzushi?
from my understanding, kuzushi is about understanding offbalancing techniques and being able to exploit opportunities to offbalancing.
does kuzushi teach the entire body of technique to stay balanced and resist offbalancing attacks as well?
@@mengmao5033 Yes, there are specific counters to every "throw", unfortunately, not a lot of schools teach it. John Danaher talks a lot about the mechanics behind a lot of judo / jiu jitsu moves and he often implements a counter to the counter.
Judo and Shuai Jiao have a common ancestor in Chinese wrestling, and many of the throws are very similar. And, there is a Tai Chi style that uses throwing techniques.
@@hanksimon1023 what’s known as shuaijiao today derived from Manchu buku, which came from Mongolian bokh. It’s relatively low on content from arts indigenous to China. Traditional kungfu systems like taiji do have their own (frequently less intact or understood) grappling systems
Tai Chi Practitioners no longer seem to be taught that Push Hands practice is to learn Ting [learning to sense your partner], and Ti Fang [learning to Lift and Release your partner]. Not quite worded correctly, but when you can sense the emptiness in your partner, then fill it to lift your partner, then release or push him with minimal force [4 oz. ! ], then you are ready to continue to the next steps in Tai Chi.
Today, even most people who teach Tai Chi, have never heard of the term, Ti Fang...
You're mostly right here. But of course many Tai Chi Chuan classes are oriented to the "moving meditation" approach and not the martial applications. I'm generally fine with that but think students miss something very important if they don't do any two-person practice and develop sensitivity to an opponent/partner, application of Tai Chi principles, etc. The traditional expression as translated roughly into English is "three ounces (of energy) to move two thousand pounds". Someone who is at a higher level will feel like a brick wall wall if you try to push them, then they can throw you out with virtually no apparent movement on their part.
Him being built like a tank and the low center of gravity also help.
Yes and no, mass plays a part in the universal side, but from my experience, understanding and the principles of Tai Chi (nature) it has nothing to do with size......when one understands the power of peng (westerner way of saying relax which is not really relaxing) then you can move the slightest weight around, not with physical force but with their own strength....Up to this day i am still practicing Tai Chi and still discovering more, it is endless martial art just like every martial art, there is always another level to get to.....
@@taichipandabat6153 do you mean Peng "ward off"?
@@kepheramanjet3244 yes yes sorry lol
He understands where the fulcrum point is to redirect the force. Keeping the area pushed still, and moving the other part of the body.
Not really Tai Chi related but involves traditional martial arts. My Sifu teaches kickboxing/Sanda but also teaches Southern style Longfist Kung-fu. I asked him why practice traditional martial arts if modern martial arts is more effective in a fight. He told me traditional martial arts teaches mastery over a person's body. The forms and the drills done are used to strengthen your body and familiarize you with yourself. Then apply it to kickboxing. I ended up taking a few sessions of the Kung-fu class. It wasn't for me. However I did learn how my body works better in a combat situation. I previously had a hard time cutting or taking angles when kickboxing. But learning footwork from kung-fu forms let me learn how far I can step with my body and which steps I prefer in movement. It actually helped me develop my angle for kickboxing. While I don't use Longfist style in kickboxing, I still apply some principles of it.
Tai Chi is "cringe" because people associate it with old Asian people stretching. Then there are also those Tai Chi "masters" that think they're Jet Li.
Modern Martial arts has it's place. IF it weren't for traditional styles, and the openness it has today, there would not be modern martial arts. I also, don't see modern being more effective than Traditional. a Good fighter is a good fighter no matter the style. but the ground game is a different animal. one that can be dealt with when learning the ground game. but, traditional styles are learning ground game into their combat skills while staying TRADITIOINAL.
The forms are nothing more than a modern day USB stick. Forms are not a dance. they contain everything you need to know about your system if you know how to look. forms are the phsyical documentation of the art. muay thai has forms too. boxing has forms too. if its pre-arranged, its a form no matter how big or small.
@@hungsingkwoonusa650 What a ridiculous take. Traditional styles and training methods are dated otherwise there wouldn't be a need for modern styles. Only parrots with no critical-thinking will say "a good fighter is a good fighter regardless of style." A training system is a tool and a practitioner will not go as far with dated, inefficient tools. Also incorporating grappling to a traditional art IS the definition of refining it to a modern style.
@@Krypteian There isnt a *need* for either. The funny thing is that modern styles are actually things like TKD, Karate, Aikido, etc that people think are traditional whereas people think Muay Thai and Wrestling are modern when Muay Thai is CENTURIES older than every so called modern style and wrestling is the oldest! So what's really traditional here?
What's funnier is traditional training methods are still used in (what you "think" are) modern martial arts. People still stretch, rotate their arms, do hip routines, etc to loosen the body and warm up, the same as fighters have done for 1000s of years.
If you call that dated then I assume you train by loading data into your brain via the Matrix??
@@hungsingkwoonusa650 It took me a long time to figure out what the movements actually were. They were muscle memory exercises. Watching Kung Fu movies has rotted the brains of many and made us think that all those goofy looking poses were how Kung Fu guys actually fight but what I started doing was imaging them holding polearms in hand and that's when it made sense.
All those "Flapping Goose" and "Crawling Rat" moves they were doing were to train their reflexes. They were fighting multiple enemies at once on a battlefield and needed to do the splits while simultaneously dodging a horseman's spear and impale the guy in front of them! 😂
Push hands is such a good exercise! If u can get that sensitivity, ur grappling goes up by leaps and bounds.
Did anyone else notice the little kid in the background land that backflip?
I've seen push hands like this, I've been on the receiving end of someone like Sifu Niko. It takes A LOT of training to do what he does. It's an amazing thing to see and experience.
Softness can defeat Hardness. I'm glad you found this.
Sifu Niko's center of gravity looks like it's so low it's below the floor.
That's exactly what's going on. He's "rooting"; he's sending his center of gravity into the ground. Core training trait in internal martial arts.
This is perfect for fighting for space on the metro during rush hours
One of the first applications I had for martial arts was to stand on a moving subway/bus without holding on to anything. That’s a real demand on your ability to recent your center of mass over your base as you get constantly pitched around
@@mengmao5033 Interesting. It makes good sense and is similar to some training techniques that are more traditional.
Nico's pushing hands prowress is always a bliss to watch. Good stuff.
Niko is awesome to watch! Super impressive
Yah I really like his content as well, does well to explain Tai chi concepts to other fighters/athletes. Love this channel too 😁
I've never seen anything like this. His movements are so smooth and effortless
He's always a joy to watch on video, and clearly fun to compete with. Your commentary "The other guy just pushed himself off Sifu Nico!" summed it up beautifully 👍😊
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nick is one of the few Tai Chi guys out there that you can tell really got the goods. Always appreciate his push hands.
It looks like the beginning of learning the Force on a video game 🎯
Two great Taijiquan practitioners- their exploration is as a martial art. I always look forward to whatever they share with the community.
I never knew tai chi was anything other than fancy poses and fake videos of imposters making people pass out. I had no idea there were actual sparring rules, or applications like this. Really interesting stuff!!!
Going from this to more is very hard. That’s where the disconnect comes from. But I think Niko will be able to find something if he keeps exploring. I sure as heck will continue covering him on his journey.
@@FightCommentary honestly, just seeing this is more then I expected, that's how many preconceived notions I have around tai chi. Very informative!
Unfortunately, that's the misperception too many people have because they've only gravitated to the negative videos trying to slam Tai Chi Chuan by ignorant and insulting commentaries, deceptive video clips and general contempt. (Sure, there are many fakers, and too many high-level Tai Chi practitioners don't promote themselves like martial arts superstars.) But this push hands competition is what pretty good practitioners do and what a decent competition should look like. The higher level is more interesting but not easy to evaluate if you've never engaged with a real master with such skills. It looks fake to most people, but I can tell you from experience it is not fake--it's incredible and real, though not that many people promoting themselves are at that level. Still, it's nice to see a video that at least allows viewers to perceive some of the very subtle skills combining sophisticated body mechanics and a certain amount of internal power.
know yourself is half the battle
Nice to see your deepening understanding of Tai Chi and the internal. Still lots more there to discover.
I do not know much about Tai Chi, but what I am seeing from an Aikido perspective is similar to our cooperative exercise called kokyudosa. Sifu Niku is keeping his elbows close, using a relaxed extension with strength coming from the underside of the arms, linking the extension of the arms to the lower body, and of curse redirecting energy used against him.
I wish I knew more about Tai Chi as this competitive version of what I have practiced as an exercise looks very useful to grow as an internal martial artist.
Much like Aikido, I don't think you will learn to fight by doing this, but it will definitely give you some useful tools if you already know how to fight.
You have an epic handle! Aiki Biker ;)
If you have a Tai Chi schools nearby, some of them may offer Push Hands classes. With some Aikido training, and significant patience & restraint, you should have no problem with the classes. One significant difference is that in Tai Chi, gentleness is key, and the partner is Not expected to know how to fall or how to 'protect' himself from injury. Although competition is different, the goal in Tai Chi push hands is to learn sensitivity, to feel when your partner is Not grounded, to 'move' into his "emptiness", then lift him [break his root] and release him, allowing you to push him backwards with only 4oz. All of the English still doesn't get across the idea of Ting and Ti Fang, which is the goal to be learned through Push Hands. [Note that in training, you work with a *partner* not a competitor, and one well-known Tai Chi Teacher says that if you break your partner, you don't get another. ;-) ]
This is the type of push hands I've been trained to do. I'm still learning cause I'm no sifu, but this is true skill. Using redirection against force. Neutralizing. This is true push hands.
If you're looking for a better understanding of internal power, you might want to read the book "Hidden in Plain Sight" by Ellis Amdur. In that book, the author breaks down of the different body power types that tends to get confusingly lumped together as "internal power". When you separate them out, it makes more sense. The book does lean a little towards the aikido perspective (but not exclusively so), as the author practiced aikido prior to a couple different Japanese koryū that he is now certified to teach.
(Finally, if it's just for reading, pick up the 2nd edition. There's some corrections and expansions compared to the 1st edition.)
Very cool! Thanks for the recommendation. What is Ellis Amdur’s personal story. Is he a scientist? A martial artist?
@@FightCommentary He does a fair amount of police/law enforcement training and related psychology, based out of Seattle.
He talks about it a little in his book, but, some years past, he moved to Japan in search of koryū training and ended up being the first non-Japanese person to train (and eventually became licensed) in Araki-ryū.
He has a strong understanding of anatomy and body mechanics, but he freely admits in his book that it wasn't meant to meet the rigors of a scientific paper. At the same time, I find him to be pretty logical and well-reasoned, and I only disagree on a couple minor points here and there.
He is also friendly with the somewhat well-known Aikido and BJJ instructor Bruce Bookman (also based out of Seattle). I've attended a number of Sensei Bookman's special classes, but I've yet to run into Mr. Amdur.
That is a cool story! Thanks for the detail!
Another interview would be great!
I was actually competing here in this video! Obviously im doing the Taolu not what is being shown but I just thought it was interesting to see.
Through push hands you can understand how to connect with your self it's like opening senses that you never knew you had and not only taiji practices pushing hands it's actually a game in Asia very fun
Niko is very good and actually the first guy in red is decent too, he's got videos of himself as well (Shoreline Taiji).
I think the fact that you see his body lose his linkage is evidence of Niko's skill in that he succeeded in breaking the structure. They both share the same teacher, Yang Jun though Niko also learned from his father and Chris (red) also learned from Xie Bingcan.
In terms of techniques, afaik tuishou is not necessarily about taking specific movements out of the form, but different "jins" which is what makes it more "internal". So sometimes you may see peng jin, an jin, lu jin, cie jin, etc. All the movements in the form have different ways of expressing these jins among others, and the resulting dexterity and skill is what is applied in tuishou. In other words, the form cultivates the "force vectors" in the body in different shapes. Yang style has the simplest shapes while Chen has the most intricate and diverse.
Oh! That's shoreline Taiji. Thanks for that detail. I've seen his channel before.
yes very well put.
In chen style the "8 gates" are modalities of rotations. Hong junsheng described them as like touching a wheel spinning at a high speed, depending on where you touch, it can create different effects like pulling, pushing, bouncing all stemming from a movement around an axis (rotations).
What the martial arts community needs to come to terms with
is that Competitive Push-hands IS just as much a legit combat sport as, say, Judo or KIckboxing.
Just because it looks more "peaceful" doesn't mean the skills are less practical in a fight.
If anything, I'd say this "peacefulness" is what makes it infinitely useful in self-defense,
since you escalate the force only as much as is necessary to unsettle the opponent, no more no less,
so you can apply this skill in practically every self-defense situation without worry of going overboard.
That is in contrast to going straight for an injurious move, as would be the habit if you'd been practicing a combat sport that *obliges* you to slam/bash/K.O. the opponent every time.
That is good in the ring, but outside of the ring, are you *really* going to punch or slam every person that just happens to press or tug you the "wrong" way?
i mean, if you can stop yourself from falling over at all i would say that it's a great skill to have
....no
It’s a very limited and very specialized domain. Like arm wrestling vs wrestling. It’s legit but the audience and competition body will be more niche
6:15 this is pretty, very nicely done and shows how the seemingly innocuous movements are used to effect
Awesome stuff jerry - thanks for sharing this
This is what I'm talking about. Empty jacket. I've no formal training, but I've used simulator techniques many times. Redirecting energy can be very very useful when applying such techniques. Blessings to you and yours 🍻 ps. I feel like this master is capable of redirecting even nonphysicaly, i.e., energies of conversions or that obnoxious drunk we've all been subject to, just redirect the energies 😊
I have studied Wing Chun for 4 month now. But I have used core strength and balance training routines for more than 10 years (I think 13). I had no idea what Tai Chi is, before seeing this video. Now I feel like I understand a lot better. I wish I could see a similar example for Wing Chun!
Check out Nima King
The guy in the first clip in red is actually not bad. I believe he is from Seattle WA. He does extremely well in the tournaments. It just goes to show you how good Sifu Niko is.
I wanna see Sifu Niko vs Adam Mizner.
So maintaining soft contact and Not grabbing your opponent is key in Tai chi, you surf and ride your opponent like a ship's rudder to stifle their ability to strike and be explosive (( you gum them up))
While riding them you'll feel openings and muscle relaxations, holes and gaps in their structure, and that's where and when you insert strikes and viciously exploit those subtle gaps. You strike and throw by feel mostly and not by line of site, so it's crucial to stay soflty connected once engaged but not grabby, and then don't let opponent escape once engaged.
No effective combat Tai chi from long range in my opinion, or once you've actually grabbed hold of your opponent with clenched fingers also no longer Tai chi.
Yes, Tai Chi is predominantly contact and short range. However, there are punches and kicks in the form, and there are pushes to move the combat from close contact to mid-range, where kicks might be effective.
I think pushing hands improved my long guard drastically. So try this exercise
This is fixed step push hands and the reason you see things clearer is the technique and movement are so restricted that it's virtually useless. This is more a drill than anything. The reason moving step push hands "looks like wrestling" is its freestyle with much more technique and movement. Regardless, focusing on WHAT LOOKS LIKE the taichi slow form is a huge mistake. Applied taichi and slow-form taichi aren't the same thing. Fixed step looks some-what like slow form so it conforms to what people *think* applied taichi should look like but only when it moves fast does taichi really become practical.
Nothing becomes fast without being practiced slowly.
@@brendanbarrett8421Exactly. Ask any professional musician.
There is no such a thing as "slow form taichi". Speed is relative. What is slow at the moment can be fast in the next moment.
Fixed step push hands exercise is just a basic exercise alongside many other exercises.
@@Steel9k actually there is a difference. The slow form and the fast form have different training purposes. The fast form and the related training are not just the slow form done at faster speed. Many of the things people train at slower speeds simply will not work when sped up.
When black Tai Chi master understands the theories better than Chinese Tai Chi "masters"
Kudos to Sifu Niko!
6:48 "today I got up and I guess, I was just feeling a lil Tai chi today" the best 😅😂
Thanks for watching the whole video! We always got quotables ;)
Sifu B.A. Baracus is good cuz he prefers to be grounded rather than being up in the air.
I'm impressed that you actually appreciate this awesome skill.
Hope this inspires Tai Chi to be less cringe.
If you like this look up Sam Chin of I Liq Chuan. I went to two seminars and worked with one of his disciples probably 15 years ago. I'm an Okinawan Karate guy but his tai chi was actually more based on combat and explosive power.
I‘ll take a look. Thanks!
i have finally seen the actual magic of tai chi for the first time. you can see the energy connections pulled from the ground
On the issue of cringe, I think a lot has to do with the nature of these subtle 'internal' skills in Tai chi. Many practitioners mistakenly equate their ability in these subtle skills in restricted push hands formats with the ability to fight. It is easy for instructors who are able to consistently unbalance or send their students flying to get the impression that they are capable fighters. It is precisely how refined these skills can get that gives a false sense of competency, and when some of these masters with decades of experience and highly refined push hands ability put themselves out there against a real fighter is when the sh1t hits the fan.
Again, having these internal skills is great, but there is a great gulf between them and the actual ability to utilize them against a resisting opponent. Too many of us nowadays have no idea what the role and utility of the 'internal arts' are in combat and are the last ones to recognize when these skills are actually used/demonstrated simply because it doesn't look like the forms.
This video in Mandarin ruclips.net/video/TJYZ-NkfMM8/видео.htmlsi=F4B9NDt0t5lNK__s is an interesting opinion piece on why you do not see taichi (or other internal arts) in the ring.
I don't know Mandarin, and he may say something like this: Tai Chi and Shuai Jiao were designed for combat, not competition with rules. The goal was to maim or kill the combatant quickly and decisively, frequently from a standing position. Although similar, Shuai Jiao much more explosive than Judo. Both Tai Chi and Shuai Jiao can shatter bones in short range contact. Most people don't really want to learn that level of destruction - they want exercise or competition, so you won't see many people with the skills devastating combat.
One example that I saw was Grandmaster Chang Dongsheng in the mid- 1980s, and his demonstrations seemed more violent that similar throws in Judo.
i think just like how boxers train inside sparring and wrestlers train positions stuff like this is a great supplementary exercise that wont get you injured and will improve certain aspects of your game. In sparring everyone says i have very annoying parries and sticky hands and i credit alot to push hands
This way of using the body is also used in many lineages of wing tsun especially with chi sao, and dealing with pushes for self defence… also by being relaxed and using your body as one you can also generate strong punches not just wrestle.
I’ve actually learned to utilize this same concept without putting a stamp on it as tai chi. But the whole redirection of force is legit. Especially for no gi bjj
Fascinating!
from my observations, in the first clip the opponent seems double heavy (and both are 'tossing' actually). Niko's method is creating a separation ("yin-yang split" as its called) between the opponents head from his centre of gravity when he leans in by taking advantage of the opponents double weightedness (which means having two or multiple centers of gravity at the same time, causing the body to lose balance).
Do you have the Chinese characters to these concepts you're explaining?
You say "tossing"... do you practice Chen Zhonghua's "Practical Method"?
@@tonbonthemon yep! The only school that I like, because its lineage is direct, authentic and its method is clear and logical with no b.s and hippie stuff
@@FightCommentary yeah sure, although I can only find (雙重) Double-weightedness. If you look on the Chinese website of practical method it should have more detailed explanations.
@@FightCommentary Also Jerry, here is a muay thai who trains same school as me. its a really cool fight so worth watching, lots of taiji mechanics expressed
"Sun Yang (Chen Practical Method) Muay Thai fight (longer version)"
(sorry cant send link cos youtube deletes)
Wow, a very interesting and impressive ...
Maybe you could do a FCchat with Alan the Tai Chi guy you featured? I'd watch that! He's a rational Tai Chi guy and knows a lot
I'm not much of a martial artist or anything, I just watch f8s, that's all. So please correct me if I'm wrong.
From what I'm seeing, the sensei is kinda doing the enter the dragon thingy(the Bruce Lee dialog "when the enemy expand I contract ...." that thingy). What I mean is bro has excellent foot placement and since u can't move ur feet forward or backwards ur reach can go only to a certain length. And what I'm seeing with the other guys is they don't really lower their hips and push it backwards like the sensei is doing. They're standing with a relatively straighter posture than sensei. So most of their weight is on their lead foot while applying forward force and on the back foot while getting pushed back or pulling sensei. The sensei uses his hand placement to break their posture from the hip up. And when the sensei pushes forward, he's crouched with his hip going back and his head coming forward; thus having more reach than when in a more upright stance. The camera wasn't in a gud spot to show both of his hands at the same time, so this is just me coming up with theories. This might be what happened with the last guy on the last exchange of grabs. The big guy grabbed the left forearm of sensei from a parallel angle and tried to better control of it by grabbing with his left hand too(lyk what wrestlers do). At the same time sensei wiggled his left hand to try and pry open his grip by placing his forehand on the big guy's ryt forearm and applying pressure using the points of contact as leverage. But with the big guy's left grabbing him near his elbow, it wasn't supposed to be easy. That's where sensei's ryt hand comes into play. (All of this is head canon cos no visibility of his ryt hand). He places his ryt hand on the other guy's left elbow; moving it to compromising areas to relieve the force exerted by his left hand on sensei's left hand at the same tym pushing his left hand into his body and pulling his ryt hand after breaking his grip and collapsing his posture.
just curious -- what community/culture spells the works lyk and ryt that way?
If you really want to know how to process and return those force vectors. I can show/tell ya☺️😁
In short it’s based on skeletal structure allowing grounding… grounding allows a return of the power impulse from the ground… the pathways (better term than vector, more accurate) of the power are felt and modulated by the texture of the tension in the tissue and that is itself modulated by the shifting of the tent ion in the fascia by the body weigh shifting and BREATH along with the compressive (still with adjustment) of the target contact and the ground.
The sensing and the channeling of the power are one and the same.
Power transfer becomes more and more loss less. Timings improve and FAJIN is achieved ❤
yes this was great to see jerry. its why i do tai chi and find it disappointing when people dismiss it outright. for 1 example, in chen style each part of your body that's in contact with a force vector should be 45% which makes your opponent unable to transfer any power.
(FYI It's the same method used by stealth armour against sonar from submarines)
The "taller guy" is (Sifu? Don't know if he uses the title) Chris Marshal, from @ShorelineTaiChi. Who is, as an old professor of mine would say, "certainly no slouch," having won multiple championships in fixed and moving push hands. I wonder if he would have anything to contribute here?
Taichi is absorb force and follow the force and push it out.
If u timing it right, u absorb opponent force and push it back.
in my opinion, the application is actually hidden in plain side in modern martial arts, the kuzushi in judo, most grappling martial arts actually do that in one way or another. i noticed the higher the skill level in judo (this one can be check with grading qualification test with IJF) or any other grappling or other martial arts, the smaller and more subtle the key movement, thats include muay thai too. but i think internal martial arts add another level to that, the breathing parts.. although deeper down its also goes deep into strength + health + healing + meditation+ taoism. the modern more scientific variation can be found in the teaching of Dr Li shao bo which can be explain with "nei jin tu" this picture believed to be printed in one of the lost TCM book (this section of the book still nowhere to be found). i think the one that will understand more of the internal aspect are those who practice accupuncture and martial artist at sametime. someone that i think get pretty close to what i have in mind is adam chan.
I wonder what you would say about Clear from „Clair‘s Internal Combat Arts“ or Adam Mizner.
Both seem to think that Tai Chi is actually super powerful if you know how to do it right, but it must be done with internal power. To me this is interesting as both are people with kickboxing experience.
They both seem to emphasize „sinking the chi“, standing practice and internal power over Body mechanics, so I wonder what they‘d have to say about this...
Of course he's using muscle. He couldn't stand up without using muscle. I think what you mean is brute strength. He's not using brute strength to just over power his opponent. He's using muscle...but in a very refined way. He's very good at this particular game. He's efficient, effective and his movements do not result in injury to himself. Those are my criteria for a good "t'ai-chi" type movement whether it's in combat, games, daily life, or sports. So yeah, in this game, this is good t'ai-chi...Can he translate this to fighting? No way to tell here. Is he graceful and injury free in daily life? No way to tell here. Can he throw a spiral? Can he hit a ping pong ball? No way to tell here. But within this game, he's very good.
This is 100% out of my martial arts wheelhouse, don't understand it at all...but wow, that looks rad.
My guy Tai Chi is an amazing martial art but it takes years and years to really understand, i have been doing it for like 13 years now and the true power that @sifuniko has is his peng when he sees this he will know what i am talking about, from my observation of the fights the guys are solid and it's that peng power they have to practicing more and song (relax) now those two powers is what makes tai chi an amazing art, patience and sensitivity.
Adding to that, the techniques that you would barely see @stfuniko do is roll back when he has to, but the fact his peng is so damn strong it hardly is being use, and the only way you use roll back is on someone is if they try to find your center and push down on your peng position. I will not reveal secrets in here but that is all i have to say.
Ive studied w Herman Kauz and I can tell Sifu Nico is legit. I've studied Hung Ga, Wing Chun, MMA, bjj etc. This is all connected if you want to become a real well rounded martial artist.
Tell me about Herman Kauz
Small fraction of wrestling but valuable skills
I found it beautiful, I recommend the work done by the Belgian professor Johan Ducket who taught Sanda and Tai chi simultaneously.
Awesome, I will take a look. Got any links to videos of Ducket you like?
@@FightCommentary yes bro www.youtube.com/@shenyivalencia9712 this is a channel about the dojo he had in Spain.
@@FightCommentary yes some sanda here ruclips.net/video/u4rSSFuBuvg/видео.html the channel is about a school he had in Spain a few years ago and stuff he likes
@@FightCommentary ruclips.net/video/JH3z5grgg0w/видео.html this is a Tai chi alumn, Borja, who is currently a tai chi coach, here is competing in Sanda
That last one was awesome! Thank you for these links! Borja applied so much Taichi in the match!
To me its looks very effective when you and your ennemy is on ice. My assumtion is tai chi is use when grapling and wriestling on slippery surfice
Watch old videos of Master Huang Shen Xian it's excellent. Nico is well advanced.
this reminds me so much of the stuff we do in aikido
There is nothing at all unusual about this push hands competition although many people have probably seen the crude push hands that looks more like clumsy wrestling. This is what fixed step push hands is supposed to look like. It's very subtle, combining sophisticated body mechanics with great sensitivity to the opponent and some internal power applications from Tai Chi.
I agree with your definition. Efficient biomechanics
Yeah, i remembered being told many times these Tai Chi masters can make themselves unmovable if they have actually mastered the art.
Could you comment about push hand in Chen Style Taijiquan Shiyong Quanfa 陈式太极拳实用拳法 from master Chen Zhonghua 陈中华? Thanks
Tell me more. What do you like about that video to recommend it?
That bald guy is no joke, national champ I am fairly sure. This however is a drill and doesn't get into free sparring like moving step does, more parlor trick than actual technique.
Fixed step takes more skill than moving step.
If you watch sifu Niko's feet, and the other guys feet. his feet are really rooted. The other guys is not so much. look at their feet. I will admit, his lower half awareness is pretty good. he knows his body, and how to maneuver properly.. nice.
年初七...祝大家生日快樂 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂
Tai chi isn't cringe, low skill is cringe. Most high level practitioners are still in China but it's starting to spread.
I’ve been intrigued by T’ai Chi ever since my sensei kicked me in the freakin head… from “Snake Creeps Up”, literally from the floor. Push hands is a very specific exercise that really forces you to listen and develop sensitivity, balance, neutralization, issuing, J’ing and Ti Fang. But aye, seen the cringe… dozens of aging and middle aged Chinese Masters getting their clocks cleaned in exhibition and challenge matches. Given the Taoist underpinnings of T’ai Chi principles, if your in a ring with an MMA fighter - whose JOB is to be a highly effective ring fighter - you have ALREADY LOST, dragged into the Octagon by your ego.
I would love to see someone who doesn't know kung fu and try to challenge the Sifu, where thye just try all sorts of ways to push them
Center, balance, flow. All depends on the rules.
He’s breaking his internal core into pieces so that’s harder for his opponents to control his center.
After a few years of good standing they should push themselves off you. Niko is rooted and his body is expanded to take force and repel it. If he is good he could drop his arms and just let them push his body. He is a good example for pushing the art and he always seems to enjoy himself and isnt competitive. Good skill and good character means he had a good teacher. Rare nowadays.
What I find that can be an issues with Tai Chi is that what we see of it is a slow moving exercise and even when we see actual combat its unfamiliar to combat sports or realism. They have long stances and hands out far. And, even when they train they talk about this high level skills of push hands which we can't see relate directly to fighting. It's the same kind of critisime that BJJ gets. People are like, just stand up and throw strikes.
6:21 white guy went for a shove, and black guy went for a pull, perfect encapsulation
In real Taichi (not slow long fifist) the body move opposite and you can see the opponent’s intentions projecting of there body like wire clouds before they move.
Great skill on show here, this to me is the essence of fighting.
Fixed step push hands is the pinnacle of the fighting arts.
Your " MMA" chuckleheads just don't get or even try to understand this subtle skill.
The point is to stagger the opponent, in that stagger time, they are unbalanced, open, no defence, no strength behind attack, hit them they almost always fall over.
Check out Ian Sinclair Tai chi and I wonder what you think of Adam Mizner tai chi?
The stuff Mizner shows suddenly doesn't work when the partner is no longer compliant - ruclips.net/video/4eqJUy2usgM/видео.htmlsi=jzwOV7U_xTAvGk-3
Here, Mizner already has 9 years of experience, 4 years after he established his international school and a few years before his motorcycle accidents.
Legit.
Look at the feet positioning; that is the key along with proper posturing. Again worthless in a cage or street but a fun exercise in biomechanics and learning how things work.
As a push hands master. I will say dude is doing proper push hands at a mid level. Be like a blue belt in a hard bjj gym.
His arm is tight and shoulder becomes disjointed. He is lacking fluidity and would stiffen up and break form with more speed or power in the mix.
His weight transfer is mid (tight hips) and would be where he falls short of being advanced.
So like he does micro leverage at a basic level.
Still it is actual push hands.
Please show us how it's done. Always down to feature a black belt.
Ian Sinclair is trying to show how this works, all the time, in his videos. I think he does a pretty good job - he may talk too much for some people. It takes practice and this is how you practice. As you said, no-one's perfect.. that's why you practice.
The only move I see him doing is listening. All the other guys are trying so hard to get something and they are totally muscling to get movies that have already met a wall. They won’t change and they keep muscling to get the move then the master just adjusts a little and they are deflated of the wall of good structure.
You can't win if you're trying to beat the other guy.
"internal martial arts" isn't about chi or any of that other mystical stuff. it's about understanding the finer points of leverage.
The only people I have seen really use internal power aka structure in well in fights are guys from our lineage, csl wing chun.
He kinda jiggles his body when he moves the other guy
He is doing a lot of ball of the feet wobble then leans forward.