A New Tai Chi Chuan Sword Form We Started Learning

"Tom Cannon and John Zietlow (City of Lakes Tai Chi) perform 2 person Yang style Tai Chi sword form as developed by Sam Masich. Performance as part of Chinese New Year Celebration at St. Paul Student Center."


Saturday we traveled to train with our Tai Chi Chuan instructor Michael Gilman in Port Townsend. On the agenda this time was to begin learning the above two-person sword form. The form was created by Sam Masich, a great instructor we had met in the past.
Like the two-person San Shou fighting form, this one will be tricky to learn. Lots of subtleties and a blade involved. Most of the students were using wooden training swords, but I did get my hair parted by the metal sword of one student.
Got to be careful...
The method of learning is first doing a few moves on the "A" side, then a few on "B". Finally you partner up and combine the two, and progress from there.
If you watch the video above, they start out slow and then reverse rolls and do the form again fast. These partner forms are said to demonstrate the highest levels of Tai Chi Chuan as an art.
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Nobody fights with swords anymore.
That's why we consider this training "Art". It's about self-cultivation and stretching your mind to perform in unison with a partner. In learning a form like this, you actually learn two solo forms and put them together.

Before beginning this, I reflected on the over thirty years I have been cramming martial arts forms into my head. Learning a new, complex form is a daunting task.
In Tae Kwon Do I probably learned about twenty forms and twice that number of one-step fighting techniques (Kibone).
When I started Kenpo Karate, I had to toss out the TKD forms and replace them with the same number of Kenpo forms.
Then I moved into the Chinese Internal arts of Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi.
Yup, I tossed out all the Kenpo forms to learn the Chinese arts.

So why go through this?
Well, times change. Our bodies change. Hard-style martial arts are very stressful on the body and injuries occur. I know I caused some hip damage in Tae Kwon Do with extreme kicking techniques. Very bad as you get older.

But also, various friends of mine that used to practice with us have dropped out now. They hit a plateau and never found something of interest to pursue in martial arts.
For me, it's like playing music; there's always another song or chord riff to learn.

So here we go, down another rabbit-hole in the quest for a higher level of martial skill and knowledge. I know some of you are also on the same path.

Sam Masich In 1988 Tai Chi Tournament

A few days ago we took a look at a short compilation video of Sam Masich, a great Taiji instructor from Canada. Here's a few interviews and some action from a 1988 tournament that Sam was in. The quality of the fighting is certainly not as great as some Karate tournaments, but Sam says in the interview that this was his first fighting tournament, and he clearly dominates his opponents.
All-in-all, this gives a nice flavor for the essence of Tai Chi Chuan.

Nice Sam Masich Video

Here's a nice little compilation video of Sam Masich, a really great Internal Arts practitioner from north of us in British Columbia Canada.
We had the pleasure of having a push hands class with Sam in a very small and infomal setting when he visited our island. Sam is one of the absolute nicest guys I've ever trained with, and has extensive knowledge in the Chinese Internal Arts.
In that class, he asked a Karate instructor from another school to try and touch his face. As the Karate guy reached and tried to simply touch him, Sam had siezed his center and had him on his heels. He backed him across the room and into a counter against the wall. There was nothing the Karate guy could do, as he had lost his base. Sam made the point, that everything in the room was his weapon in a situation like this. Every table, chair, stairway.
The point was well taken...

Let's All Take A Deep Breath...

Whew! After that last video We all need a cleansing, so let's relax and learn from Sam Masich a very simple self-massage that is used for high blood pressure and heart ailments. It looks like it would be great for getting rid of a tension headache.
Sam Mashich is one of the most talented martial artists I have had the pleasure to meet, and I hope to train with him again.
Over at Formosa Neijia, our friend Jose de Freitas has composed a lengthy and well-researched scientific study of the meridians and inherent bioelectricity. Please jump over and check it out, it fits well with the Qi Gong (chi-kung) theme of the day.
--Now, doesn't everybody feel better?

Da Lu; Large Rollback

Dave at Formosa Niejia has given me a homework assingment. In the previous post, we are doing some free-style push hands. My opponent is very strong, and is able to move into my center in a very rooted position. This forces me to back up and fight from a defensive position, and I am constantly loosing ground.
Dave has suggested I work on my large rollback as a defense, and it is a great suggestion. Here is part of a two-man form that utilizes the large rollback. The video is with Sam Masich, a great instructor from the Vancouver B.C. area. We were fortunate to have a push hands class with Sam several years ago, and he is a very skilled practitioner. This shows a nice example of how neutralization is used in Tai Chi Chuan, not force-against-force. Yielding and redirection of the opponents force and energy.