Expert: Ken Gullette - 9/11/2006

Question
Hello Ken,

I've practiced a number of arts over the years, but seem to be sticking with Taichi and Chinese internal arts in general these days.

But I find that I miss the level of interaction that I have experienced in other arts like Judo and Aikido.

I know that more advanced internal arts practice can lead to things like the two-person Taichi fighting set and even perhaps san shou. But that's a long way off and none of the schools near me explore that side of the art to any degree.

Actually, the only good school near me restricts that aspect of practice to their Praying Mantis class. Push hands is as far as it goes for Taichi.

The mantis techiques are pretty interesting, but my impression is that the practice diverges from the Taichi principles I am trying to cultivate. I guess the reason why I mention Judo and Aikido is specifically because practice in those arts appears to more closely embody many of the basic Taichi principles: rooting, yielding, sticking, following, and so forth. As well, uprooting/off balancing ones partner tends to take priority over striking in those arts whereas the mantis strategy seems to focus on striking continously and ferociously. Cool, but not my style.

However, with Aikido, among other things, there is a lot of qinna and practice learning to react quickly to variety of common attacks. With Judo there is good basic training with a non-compliant partner and a chance to practice keeping my root in a vigorous exchange.

So, I guess my question concerns the value of cross training in other arts (spefically Judo and Aikido) for the purpose of enhancing my Taichi experience?

Your comments are most welcome :)

regards,

- tim

Answer
Hi Tim,
I'm a believer in cross training. Frankly, it sounds like the tai chi instructors in the area aren't really teaching real tai chi -- otherwise, they would be teaching fighting applications.

In my school, we mainly practice the internal arts, but for fun, we also do some Shaolin-type forms, especially weapons forms, for tournament competition.

Some people say that if you practice other arts, it will ruin your tai chi. I don't agree. If you play baseball, it doesn't ruin your basketball game as long as you keep practicing both. And if you have a good tai chi teacher, you can incorporate some of the principles into other arts to make them more powerful.

I believe you should do what makes you happy, and what you think will help you achieve your martial arts goals. A lot of people take this stuff too seriously. :)) Go for it.

Ken