推手 Tui Shou Master MA HONG

EN I publish this video to clarify. Over the years it has happened that some practitioners and teachers of Chen Taiji criticized, even harshly, the way of practicing Tui Shou in our schools as wrong or "not original", not "orthodox".
The basic repertoire of Tui Shou that I teach comes from M ° Ma Hong (Raging Horse).
In the nineties we had the opportunity, thanks to the commitment and dedication of M ° Flavio Daniele, to study directly with Ma Hong and for me, who had already studied with other masters, it was a moment of great understanding and deepening of Chen style Taiji. . Although not called Chen, Master Ma Hong was famous for the purity of his execution; for the simple fact that he was also a theater lover with remarkable mimic skills: a sort of "living camera". As M ° Guo Mingxu said, it was common in China for Taiji Chen lovers to make a "pilgrimage" to Ma Hong to see live (ie through him) how his teacher Chen ZhaoKui, the last Chen of the old woman, performed. generation from which most of the current heads of schools are descended.
In this video I have put some didactic excerpts of the teacher: they are exercises at the base of our daily practice and, as Ma Hong recalls also at the end of the video, they are the exercises that he remembers as "originating" of the Chen practice.
A video guide:
1) Calligraphy with dedication that Mahong did in August 1996.
2) Ma Hong with his Master Chen ZhaoKui
3) Exercise on stability: Ma Hong said that today's Chinese no longer have strong legs and loose hips. He said that this was due to the sedentary lifestyle and the use of chairs and sofas of the modern man. The ancient Chinese man, who lived a rural life in contact with nature, sat on the ground and had very loose hips. For this reason, to strengthen and loosen the lower part of the body, it is important to practice very low, without however losing the "thread" that supports us to Heaven (the teacher maintained a perfect posture, even in old age, with positions adhering to the ground) As important as in Chen, unlike similar exercises of other styles, you take the hand with the possibility of doing joint levers on the wrist, elbow and shoulder (Chen ZhaoKui was famous for Qin Na)
4) The exercise that we amiably call "taking off and putting on the dress". Here Ma Hong recalls the importance of adhering and gluing to your partner using all five fingers.
5) The exercise of the "four Taiji snakes" is very important more than others to test the "hold" in the four directions: forward, back, right and left. An exercise with which you learn a lot about yourself and your practice!
6) The emblematic exercise of Tui Shou, the four gates: Beng Lu Ji An. Here Ma Hong recalls the importance of elbow control and how Tui Shou is a great test of Fist practice (ie the solo form, Taolu). If we are with an off-axis knee in the practice of the Fist in the practice of Tui Shou we will be easily unbalanced. As his Master Chen ZhaoKui said: Practice of the Fist and Tui Shou are complementary and indispensable for a good gongfu. Finally, the Master shows how the beginning of Laojia (taolu) can be applied to Tuishou and this applies to "all" the techniques of Chen.
In conclusion to the video a calligraphy where the Master translates my name as 丹泰 Dan Tai, giving it the meaning of "Calm and Peaceful Center." A good wish and a good goal for a lifetime.
Those who know our way of practicing Tui Shou can see how you try to be consistent with what Ma Hong taught. All this is not to say that we are better than other practitioners or more "original": I am not so foolish and superficial as to think that I have the truth in my pocket or that I have encountered the only valid teaching. Except that Ma Hong's tradition has at least the same dignity and depth as the one that the various Chen leaders carry on today.
IT Pubblico questo video per fare chiarezza. Negli anni è capitato che alcuni praticanti e maestri di Chen Taiji criticassero, in modo anche aspro, il modo di esercitare il Tui Shou nelle nostre scuole come sbagliato o “non originario”, non “ortodosso”.
Il repertorio base del Tui Shou che insegno deriva dal M° Ma Hong (Cavallo Infuriato).
Negli anni novanta abbiamo avuto la possibilità, grazie all’impegno e dedizione del M°Flavio Daniele, di studiare direttamente con Ma Hong e per me, che avevo già studiato con altri maestri, fu un momento di grande comprensione e approfondimento del Taiji stile Chen. Pur non chiamandosi Chen il Maestro Ma Hong era famoso per la purezza della sua esecuzione; per il semplice fatto che era anche un cultore di teatro con notevoli capacità mimiche: una sorta di “cinepresa vivente”. Come diceva il M° Guo Mingxu, era comune in Cina per i cultori di Taiji Chen fare un “pellegrinaggio” da Ma Hong per vedere dal vivo (cioè attraverso di lui) come eseguiva il suo maestro Chen ZhaoKui, l’ultimo Chen della vecchia generazione da cui discendono la maggior parte dei capiscuola attuali.

[@DanteBasili]

Per Ma Hong la cosa più importante del Tui Shou era il praticare l'energia 劲 Jin. Non solo come Espressione, il rilascio di questa energia, il 发劲 Fa Jin, ma anche il suo Accumulo ed il suo Ascolto. Il Tui Shou favorisce la consapevolezza e la gestione del proprio ed altrui Jin.