Not to hijack this thread or anything, but that toe-hold shown in lesson two looks positively vicious.
anyhow, good thread.
[Reputable] Taiji guys don’t picture what they’re doing as if moving slowly builds up a kind of energy which causes them to be dangerous when the move fast.
So you can’t just take that out of context and insert it into what you’re doing and expect to get the benefits of taiji… any more than someone could take up skipping and expect to become a talented boxer from it.
Moving slowly can be a useful approach to training within the context of a proper training regime. In other words, there’s alot of things you’re trying to do, and moving slowly is an approach to this. But moving slowly, itself isn’t the goal nor the method.
Certainly, if moving slowly helps you get your boxing technique down, that may be beneficial. And certainly doing some exercises for relaxation, breathing, and/or core strength may be beneficial. But none of these are the same as doing taiji or one of the other ‘internal’ arts.
Iv’e had a ‘performance-based’ chi kung regimen in the training I offer for ring-fighting for about 5 years. It’s the foundation of the way we train Tai Chi for MMA and sub-wrestling, and the results have been very good.
Iv’e had a ‘performance-based’ chi kung regimen…
can we hear more?
please?
yenhoi, I should make clear that when I use the term chi kung, I’m meaning ‘breath-work’…we’re just bunch of TCC wannabes and don’t have mystical energy skills like the real Tai Chi players. 
The breathwork we use under different types of performance demands involves the 4 main breathing patterns. Each of these is explored individually since everyone comes into the training each day carrying a different bunch of emotional and psychological baggage. We don’t try to analyse any of it. I stress the idea of developing an instinctual acuity to ones overall internal and using the appropriate breathing pattern for very immediate and practical needs.
I’d like to outline the process but I think you should make enquiries to some of the more authoritative people out there (and here at KFO!) who really understand Chi Kung as it pertains to the performance demands of combat athletics. Like I said, we’re just a crew of wannabes who wannabe just like all the real Tai Chi fighters out there. Let’s see…there’s umm…uhhh…hmmm…nevermind then. HA! 
I think you are doing wonders for the prestige of TCC in MMA.
Not that prestige matters, but it does.
The breathwork we use under different types of performance demands involves the 4 main breathing patterns. Each of these is explored individually since everyone comes into the training each day carrying a different bunch of emotional and psychological baggage. We don’t try to analyse any of it. I stress the idea of developing an instinctual acuity to ones overall internal and using the appropriate breathing pattern for very immediate and practical needs.
Good enough explanation for this medium, thanks alot!
Aren’t all qigongs from martial styles ‘performance based’?
yenhoi, thanks for saying so… 
Aren’t all qigongs from martial styles ‘performance based’?
Are they??? I haven’t seen anything in books, or online, offered up by any of the recognized Tai Chi ‘authorities’ which would address the performance demands of combat athletics for their players to use while under actual duress…wonder why that is… Perhaps this discussion will prompt some of them to consider enlightening us once they scramble to get a handle on the concepts from a traditional Tai Chi perspective. As I said, I would outline my process, but I don’t know $hit compared to the real knowledgeable Tai Chi folks who post here and elsewhere.
That doesn’t corrospond with my experience. What taiji authorities are you talking about?
As a martial art, taiji methods should deal with martial performance, yes?
Braden, please share your experiences then. I’m definitely interested in other sources of info regarding Chi Kung as it’s pertains to combat athletics.
As a martial art, taiji methods should deal with martial performance, yes?
Of course.