Although combat Tai Chi can include both fist strikes and open handed strikes, the later are by far the most common kind. One reason open hands are so commonly used is because they are very versatile. A practitioner can be delivered so that it feels like a recipient like a whip. It can also be sent so that it is more like a piece of metal hanging from a rope. Furthermore, open-handed strikes can more easily double as defensive movements than fists. They are in a good position to ward off incoming strikes while at the same time they are well placed to send out hits.
However, perhaps the more important reason Tai Chi uses open handed strikes is that they can be used to deliver hits that bring the entire weight of the body to bear. These kinds of strikes are preferable to fists for using whole body power because they can be used to transfer large amounts of force in a way that is safer for the striker. At a certain level, a practitioner using a fist could easily break the bones in his or her hand because of the amount of force being put across.
Using the weight of the whole body, even small Tai Chi martial artists can learn to deliver devastating blows. Even if someone weighs only 100 pounds, if they learn to direct the force of their whole body into a strike, few people can withstand a blow of that amount of weight, especially if it is delivered to the weakest point in their body.
At a relatively early stage in students' development, when they have only learned to use their whole body power, an opponent will feel like they are being hit with a truck because of the force being sent. However, as a student develops the ability to sense the weaknesses in an adversary's body structure on contact, the opponent can still be sent flying across the room while not feeling the same level of force that they would have otherwise felt. Learning to exploit these structural weaknesses of opponents can help practitioners to create the same effect with much less force.
The best way to learn to deliver this kind of strike is to do a lot of work learning to feel into the bodies of practice partners trying to sense what is going on in terms of their structure, root, etc. With enough practice, you can learn to do this upon touch or even, at an advanced level, without actually touching an opponent. This kind of development is best done through practicing push hands.
Students who are learning to sense what is happening inside opponents and deliver strikes to specific weak points must be careful because they can injure their partners without using a lot of force and without their partner noticing what is going on right away.
The next time you practice your Tai Chi set, imagine that you are delivering open-handed strikes and following through with whole body power. You may be surprised at what you discover.
Author Resource:-
Sigung Richard Clear has over 30 years of continuous study in Chi Kung and Martial Tai Chi both in the U.S. and China. For more information, check out his website at: http://www.clearstaichi.com
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