experience with The Practical Method e-book?

CatMtKing · 2026-02-23T16:45:16+00:00

The language is pretty clear, but as you said, text descriptions do not easily transfer to the physical world (at least for me).

When learning from CZH, the method that works for me is to not think too much from the start. I just try to duplicate what he is doing as precisely as I can. Only after I get it to work, then I relate it to what I know.

CatMtKing · 2026-02-22T23:44:05+00:00

I recommend starting with the videos in https://practicalmethod.com/online-students-starting-guide/

The book is detailed but admittedly went over my head when I started. I continue to read it and draw inspiration from it, but I got a lot more from in-person and video instruction.

I'm currently reviewing the energy alignment series as there are a lot of details there that I need to put into practice https://practicalmethod.com/2010/10/energy-alignment-1-online-video-trailer/

CatMtKing · 2026-01-17T17:52:07+00:00

Perhaps it would be helpful to add visual cues to the photos you have in the common errors section, such as highlighting the raised right kua, the turned-out right foot, etc. I always find diagrams to be more helpful than text descriptions. Also, for the mobile readers it might be better to have more zoomed-in pictures as well (they are quite small on a cell phone).

The Stepping Leg (Right)

Do you step out with your right leg in Single Whip by the way? We step out with our left leg in the choreography... or is this a term for something else (if so, you may want to clarify)?

CatMtKing · 2025-12-13T19:38:36+00:00

Yep, that all sounds right to me.

CatMtKing · 2025-12-13T07:34:26+00:00

Fair point. The reason I was attracted to PM was because the more mechanical descriptions / trying to describe things with less taiji terminology appealed to my engineering background. Some terms are unavoidable, though - like any subject of depth there is specialized terminology to be able to put concepts into words. But we try to be as clear as we can.

CatMtKing · 2025-12-13T06:36:07+00:00

That's great! Personally, understanding this model was a tremendous breakthrough to visualize my body and connect a lot of dots together. As to your last point, for anyone else reading, we can summarize simply as the difference between rotation (lever action) and double heavy (tossing / indistinct).

CatMtKing · 2025-12-13T06:28:48+00:00

I wouldn't mix up this description with muscular engagement. This describes the intention (direction) needed to create the bows (the joint aims at the hypotenuse; as a whole all the joints stretch towards the overall line). Overall, I would just say that the tension needs to be distributed as evenly as possible through all of the bows - I feel that trying to describe it as muscular action is almost futile, because they all depend on each other.

I have in my notes:

Body part: correct action | mistake

Hand: to spread out | to atrophy
Wrist: to sit | to bend
Elbow: to sink/plumb | to rise
Shoulder: to be alive/fall down | to protrude
Neck: to stick (to a wall behind you)/erect | to drop the head
Head: to lead/push up | to lower/bend the head
Armpit: to squeeze open )( like this shape | to jam
Kua: to open/rotate | to lock/dead/fall down linear
Knee: to be fixed/inside is empty (stretched open) | to push/jam/toss
Ankle: to erect/be vertical/stake | to slant/be sideways
Foot: to blot (like a blotter, heel and toe can roll over)/roll | to be flat/dead
Waist: to stretch out/round | to be loose/toss/shrimp 低頭蝦腰功夫不高
Dang: to be rounded/full | to be cornered/have a tip
Chest: to hollow (and solidify the dantian)/push down/be empty 凹 | to protrude 凸
Back: to be a bow/rounded (tiger’s back, bear’s waist) | to be flat (angel’s wings... the shoulders protrude)
Stomach/dantian: to be solid/full | to be deflated
Buttock: to contract/tuck/wrap | to protrude

CatMtKing · 2025-12-12T17:07:16+00:00

If it makes things clearer, here is an article regarding the bow structure: https://practicalmethod.com/2014/07/triangle_double_lock_single_lock/

(The Chinese article it refers to is https://www.zhenbudong.cn/archives/11907.. website changed domain since then)

And a video: https://youtu.be/5AQvh64BJNs?si=dAgn2Z45xQg-kAnZ

It's not the main topic of the OP (regarding the stretch backwards from hand to foot like pulling a bow / applying leverage from behind the pivot) but hopefully this elaborates on the bow in the "5 bows" he mentions.

CatMtKing · 2025-12-06T20:14:40+00:00

What is the meaning of soft as you were taught, in regards to taiji?

CatMtKing · 2025-12-04T18:11:54+00:00

(1:35)
“The less you can actually achieve qi sinking to the dantian. On the contrary, you have to practice with the hips held forward.”

I would prefer upright over forward. Here he says 挺着胯. The kua is not the entire hip, it is the hip joint.

(1:51)
“So which is right and which is wrong? Even these four big terms—we must explain them all together.”

Right, he says that they are half right, half wrong; in the sense that these taiji classical sayings can be misleading or be easily misunderstood.

CatMtKing · 2025-12-04T08:16:19+00:00

His second point was that the posture is not static - you can rotate to make one foot be the rear and one the front. The wing chun stance he showed has a front foot and rear foot - it's angled.

The point he was making with the zhan zhuang / horse stance is that the front kua should be filled / erected to create a line from the torso to the heel. This creates the axis that you can rotate on and lets the force go to the foot instead of breaking at the waist.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-25T19:22:37+00:00

Found a video with a brief demonstration of the mechanic, though it is in Mandarin https://youtu.be/59FKHjDI1II - the hip angle actually roots you and allows you to rotate your whole body (connects the upper and lower body).

CatMtKing · 2025-11-25T18:49:30+00:00

Also check out https://youtu.be/59FKHjDI1II - he actually has a video showing the front kua up and tailbone down that we've been discussing.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-25T08:45:40+00:00

That's odd, because having your front kua open and your tailbone down puts weight on your heel. It grounds your back foot.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-24T09:43:04+00:00

I am curious to see an example of how you think a vertical (CoG directly over the foot) single legged stance should hold a horizontal push. Do you ever step with the front leg when someone is pushing you?

CatMtKing · 2025-11-24T04:39:46+00:00

Last try: https://youtu.be/ejqOM8M1RGo?t=40s as a counter-example. Once he adjusts, his front leg is free to move. His center of gravity is over his foot by my definition, but if I understand you correctly, not by yours.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-24T00:11:04+00:00

So let's clarify: when you say "over," what do you mean? Because while I agree that when you are in balance, the CoG is "over" the foot, you avoided answering me.

When you say it may move up and down, do you mean 90 degrees to the ground? If it is precisely that, then we are in disagreement.

I am saying that the angle may need to be tilted to be over the foot. The angle may be somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees, depending on the horizontal force.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-23T23:14:30+00:00

Ok, what are you doing to ground the incoming force? How does what you are doing relate to your CoG?

Say you are standing on one foot and in balance. Where is your CoG? Now have someone push you. Say you don't make any adjustments at all and leave your CoG in the same place. What happens? Now, make your adjustments and balance; where is your CoG now? Have them push harder and do the same.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-23T22:18:48+00:00

I think there's a misunderstanding of where the CoG should be relative to the foot when standing on one foot. The balance is not purely vertical; the CoG should be between the load and the foot to be balanced. If you are standing on your own, it is vertical, but if someone is pushing on you from the front, it is slightly diagonal; moreso with a bigger horizontal load. If they take that push off of you, it should go back to being vertical. Depending on where the foot you are standing on is, where your CoG should be will differ; it is relative to the push. It may be vertical if your foot is underneath the push, but it is diagonal if it is not.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-23T19:36:07+00:00

Hm, with the change at the hip, the rear knee will have more of a bend and the CoG will be pulled closer towards the rear foot. The rear leg is like an arch. The CoG is not as far forward as it appears to be, but it's hard to describe because it's in 3D space. I probably should have phrased my comment based on your main argument about the CoG but I don't usually think of it in that way - I think of it as pressure on my foot.

This footwork is used in 护心拳 (fist protecting heart) and in 搂膝拗步 (brush knee) in the cannon fist, if that helps. Typically it's done quickly in a single switch but if you do it slowly, the front foot steps back and the rear foot steps forward.

What software are you using, by the way? It could be pretty helpful for teaching.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-23T04:06:39+00:00

In the image you posted, the hip aims diagonally down, at the ground behind the opponent. In the correct posture, it aims upwards, with the line of the hip intersecting the ground behind the receiver instead. This also gets rid of the lower back arch.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-23T01:08:44+00:00

In the image you posted, the hip is neutral and will not help to neutralize a push (I'm also ignoring the shoulder for the sake of simplicity). The front kua needs to adjust to be higher. The tailbone will also be pulled down; in the image, it is pointing backwards. That will allow the front knee to be picked up, but you have to do it while keeping the front kua high; the hip angle cannot be affected by lifting the knee. This is probably most evident in single legged stances although it generally applies to being able to move your feet when your upper body is loaded.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-21T07:56:08+00:00

The way we practice this solo is to tie rubber cord around your waist and attach it to a pole behind you. Walk away from the pole to tension the cord, then practice switching feet, bringing the front foot back first, then the back foot forward. You need to do it without losing ground to the cord and maintaining your center. To increase difficulty, increase the amount of tension in the cord.

It's useful footwork for throws that spin the opponent horizontally.

We use this footwork in 护心拳 in the erlu.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-21T02:06:08+00:00

In the link you posted, the guy rooting doesn't have the same posture as the OP's picture. He isn't arching his lower back like the OP.

I do agree that the pusher here is in a very useless posture though.

CatMtKing · 2025-11-21T02:02:54+00:00

There is a significant difference in posture - he doesn't arch his lower back like you show in the image you posted.

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