Cheng Hsin: Elusive Boxing Method

Last Post we looked at Peter Ralston in a really great push-hands session. The thing I clearly saw is that Ralston was elusive and mobile. The only time I saw him dig into his "Root" was when he was transfering power into his opponent, in some cases taking the opponent clear off his feet. Otherwise, he was extremely elusive and "cagey".
My Tai Chi Chuan instructor Michael Gilman (who is a push-hands champion) makes this comparison; Most Martial arts behave like a big dog- Dogs respond to touch by jumping on you and wanting to wrestle. Tai Chi Chuan push-hands should be more like a cat- you reach out to pet a cat and they are elusive, they back just out of reach and come to you on their own terms.
The video above is of Ralston's students demonstrating the slipping and dodging method rather than hard blocking against a Boxer. I'm sure there are some Boxers out there that will have some criticism, but let's face it; the objective is to not get hit.
Tim Cartmell told us that trying to block your opponent's punches is like throwing rocks at the rocks your opponent is throwing at you- at some point one of his rocks will get through and bean you. Tim's students are trained to slip and deflect from a covered position, a more modern approach compared to classical Kung Fu.

The thing I have taken away from these two Ralston videos is that his Cheng Hsin relies on evasive movement, whether in stand-up Grappling, or in Boxing.