Brush Knee vs. Repulse Monkey

Here we are again working through our partner drills that are composed of pieces of the Tai Chi Chuan San-Shou form. This time Brush Knee moves foward, Repulse Monkey moves backward. In Brush Knee, we step to the outside as we trap the opponent's arms, then palm strike, which comes somewhat from the outside (it comes straight-on in the Yang form). Repulse Monkey retreats as in the form, with a palm strike. Of course, if you were really hitting, you would make heavy contact inside. This closes the distance and makes it a little difficult to keep the form in motion, so we choose to keep a comfortable distance for continuity.
This is the most linear of the pieces we have put together so far, the others work in loops which are even more interesting. Again, this type of practice is not as much fight training as it is exploring what the form is trying to teach us, and how to work in unison with a training partner.