Gilman Studio On-Line Lessons
Yang Style Saber Application Form
Tai Chi Chuan
This Lesson Contains:
Transition: From A side to B side.
In this lesson I will show how A side performs the transition into B side. A goes from his final movement, Ride The Tiger and Cut Wrist, into B side, Turn And Chop Wrist. This move is a bit tricky because A needs to get over to his right quite a bit in order to get out of the way of B’s Chop To The Neck.
Ride the Tiger and Cut Wrist.
This is the ending posture for A side. The body faces slightly to the left of his starting direction. He is focusing to the right of the starting direction.
Stepping out of the way.
The opponent is transitioning into Chop the Neck, so the old A steps well to the right and forward with the right foot.
The saber starts to swing in a large circle on the right side of the body in order to gain momentum for the Chop to the Wrist.
Focus on getting out of the way.
Note: This is even trickier because A has to wait for B to commit to the Chop to the Neck before he moves. Only when B’s saber is coming down, does A step or jump to the side and chop the wrist. If he moves too soon, B will just follow his movement.
Turning the body and getting ready to chop.
Shift the weight onto the right foot and roll up onto the left toe. The torso is turning to the left. The body basically faces at a right angle to the starting direction.
The saber has circled up and is in position to chop down. Keep the saber hand relaxed. The left hand has moved in close to the left side of the chest.
Focus on the intended target.
The transition is complete. A is now into the B side movement pattern.
Replace the left foot into empty step on toe (Ding Bow on Toe). The body faces west (assuming the starting direction was north).
The left hand has moved to the right wrist and aids in the downward chop to the wrist. Keep the blade about parallel to the ground and comfortably in front of the right hip.
Focus on the cutting edge of the blade.