Grandmaster Tse’s Tàijí Fist 151

Chén Wáng Tíng’s Poem 陳王廷太極拳經總歌 Part 6

Chén Wáng Tíng 陳王廷 continues to say, “Pretend to attack the East, but strike the West – we must be familiar with this skill  聲東擊西要熟識. Attack from the top while pushing up from the bottom – this skill we need to remember上籠下提君須記.” Fighting is not simple, it is not just one punch or one kick, or a few techniques put together. The best techniques are the ones that the opponent does not expect and takes them by surprise. Pretending to attack the East but striking the West is the same as pretending to hit the left but actually hitting the right, or pretending to hit the top, but really hitting the bottom. These must become familiar strategies that we know so well and combines with unusual skills can win us the fight in the end.

“Attack forward – defend backward – this skill cannot be slow 進攻退閃莫遲遲.” Everyone body knows about attacking and going forwards, and defending when going backwards. These are ordinary skills. Advanced skills are the opposite, we attack when stepping backwards and defend when stepping forwards. This is the principle of Tàijíquán 太极拳, we can do things in many different and unexpected ways.