In collaboration with Stephen Houston in English

“Tai Chi fighting is like kissing”. Does that sound interesting? I certainly don’t like to kiss

my opponent whilst fighting, so what does this mean? Why is Tai Chi fighting like kissing?

How can we put this principle into practice?

Well, based on what I’ve found over the years, I would like to briefly make three points

about my experience of practicing this old saying about “kissing” in Tai Chi fighting.

I am reluctant to use the word block when I contact an opponent physically for the first

time. I prefer words like redirect or deflect. By redirecting or deflecting an opponent’s arm

or leg, I can borrow force/power/energy from them, enabling me to move quickly toward

them. Simultaneously, this borrowing action can also destroy their balance, draw their

center of gravity forward, and shorten the distance between us. Now you can see we’re

getting ready for kissing!

What makes force-borrowing possible? The answer is in the Tai Chi silk reeling technique.

That is, the twisting rotation of the upper limb (hand and forearm) to generate shear force

and friction.

If we think about what happens to a small stone when it’s thrown at a big rolling ball, it is

redirected away at high speed. This is borrowing.

One example is the movement of Buddha’s Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar (Jin Gang

Dao Zui):

First I throw my left arm upward using the silk reeling technique to borrow and deflect

the opponent’s force/power while they are throwing a right punch at me.

At the same time, using the borrowed force/power, I quickly move right step forward

to hit their groin area with my thigh. I then thrust my right palm as an arrow toward

their throat.

Finally I bend my right arm downward elbowing their chest heavily as I lower my

centre of gravity.

Bringing people together face against face is essential for kissing. How can we achieve

this? The key is to occupy the opponent’s space, in other words displace them and take up

their original spot.

Another example is the movement known as Lazy Putting Clothes On (Lan Za Yi). Using

my right arm to redirect and deflect the opponent’s front kick leftward, I borrow their

force/power to quickly move my right leg forward meanwhile shifting my centre of gravity

forward to achieve two goals:

1. My right leg/foot overtakes the opponent’s centre of gravity

2. My trunk works against their trunk.

Now our bodies are overlapped —position occupation is next. I continue to roll my right

arm downward against their chest, shifting my body weight on their centre of gravity.

What is going to happen? They will be squeezed out of their place and collapse. They’ll most

Now our bodies are overlapped —position occupation is next. I continue to roll my right

arm downward against their chest, shifting my body weight on their centre of gravity.

What is going to happen? They will be squeezed out of their place and collapse. They’ll

most probably also be shocked by the kiss-like invasion of their personal space. This is

position occupation.

In order to occupy an opponent’s space, I need to combine all my force against them.

This is very important. Again I’ll use the movement, Lazy Putting Clothes On (Lan Za Yi)

as an example. I place my right leg/foot close against their rear leg/foot, my right hand

against their right shoulder and my elbow against their left ribcage. This means there are

now three points (my right leg/foot, hand and elbow) that have control over the

opponent, and it is time to conduct a combination process. In Chinese, we call it “Liu

He”.

I try to combine:

1. My right hand and right foot together         

2. My right elbow and right knee together

3. My right shoulder and right hip together 

Please remember there is still a person in between while I am carrying out the external

combination (Wai Liu He) process, and it acts as a sort of scissor movement by which

the opponent is cut, as it were, in half.

All in all, the old Tai Chi saying “Tai Chi fighting is like kissing” is a general fighting

principle. It explains a lot about Tai Chi fighting in a very plain and simple way. When

you practise Tai Chi, especially Chen Style Tai Chi, you will find there are many

movements that imply this principle. Remember, if you feel you haven’t used much effort

to overcome your opponent, you have surely mastered the “kissing” principle.

Master Xiaotong Huang

Unlimited Tai Chi Group (UTCG), Sydney

(If anyone is interested in discussing tai chi fighting skills with Master Huang,
use the contact form on the web site and it'll be passed on to him).

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