Taiji guys, what techniques have you found most useful in fighting, and are there any moves you do not find as useful, or, alternately, are there techniques that you find useful for your body type versus another and vice versa.
Solely fighting techniques, no iron body discussions/strength training, etc, solely moves you would use in fighting.
techniques as found, no.
but principles? yes!
Yang is the tcc i practice when i practice tcc which is no where near as much as i give to other martial arts practice, but hey, its a long road right?
the principles of tai chi are more relevant than the actual techniques for me.
push/ pull/ rollback/ ward off/ yield
important principles that can be used in any and all h2h training.
not necessarily at 3mph though. 
You can develop many useful moves from Taiji principles. When you use Lu (rollback) that your right hand control your opponent’s right elbow and your left hand control his right wrist, you can use your right hand to push on his waist, and use your left leg to hook/trap his back leg.
theres a really good technique in taijiquan called punch the face. u punch with left fist then with right fist. its really useful
also u can swing around big haymakers called single whip its good too
[QUOTE=bawang;1031358]theres a really good technique in taijiquan called punch the face.[/QUOTE]
People will say that you have
It’s very funny but this is the main problem for Taiji today.
who says that
[QUOTE=bawang;1031363]who says that[/QUOTE]
For those people who believe there is such thing as “high level” skill. They may believe defensive moves such as yield, Sung, sticky, follow, … are all high level skilll, and offensive moves such as kick, punch, lock, throw are all low level skill.
tai ji punch or strike
fist, elbow, shoulder, butt/chest/back, knee and leg-- some may be grouped into kao
yes if there is an opening, we may strike away or kao away.
yes people may focus on peng lu ji an. but do not forget about cai lie zhou kao.
there are many zhou elbow methods in tai ji. shun ying zhou (followed eagle wing/elbow) is most well known.
there are many kao fa (method) in tai ji, too.
you may punch face, groin, chest/abdomen, ribside
zhi dang chui (pointing to groin) , ji di chui (strike the ground, this could be throw or heat butt, too), —
beast head posture or shou tou shi may be double punches to chest/abdomen, face/chest etc.
for punches sake, I like beast head posture
other wise, I like elbow/zhou and kao methods in tai ji a lot.
too many I like.
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1031366]For those people who believe there is such thing as “high level” skill. They may believe defensive moves such as yield, Sung, sticky, follow, … are all high level skilll, and offensive moves such as kick, punch, lock, throw are all low level skill.[/QUOTE]
as divisions go because sometimes they need to be made, yes. this is yin/yang reasoning. 
as a demonstration of high level yeilding skill looky here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zUut60gfkU
dig it
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1031366]For those people who believe there is such thing as “high level” skill. They may believe defensive moves such as yield, Sung, sticky, follow, … are all high level skilll, and offensive moves such as kick, punch, lock, throw are all low level skill.[/QUOTE]
excuse my french, FUK THEM
what did you think of the video though?
real kung fu
[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1031387]what did you think of the video though?[/QUOTE]
You can’t “yield” your opponent to death. No matter how good your defense is, you still need offense move to finish a fight. IMO, over emphasis on defense is not proper. Most of the SC instructors don’t even teach the defense skill in 3 to 5 years. It’s better to attack, attack, and attack in the early training stage. I can’t speak for CMA, but in the field of SC, people respect those who plays offense and lose than those who plays defense and win. The reason is simple. One day your attack will be successful. If you always play defense, you will never be able to develop your offense moves. Without effective offense (finish) moves, your MA skill is useless.
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1031395]You can’t “yield” your opponent to death. No matter how good your defense is, you still need offense move to finish a fight. IMO, over emphasis on defense is not proper. Most of the SC instructors don’t even teach the defense skill in 3 to 5 years. It’s better to attack, attack, and attack in the early training stage. I can’t speak for CMA, but in the field of SC, people respect those who attacks and lose than those who defenses and win. The reason is simple. One day your attack will be successful. If you always play defense, you will never be able to develop your offense moves. Without effective attack (finish) moves, your MA skill is useless.[/QUOTE]
To my mind, when you yield, as opposed to retreat, you are in a more effective position, closer with your opponent perhaps off balance, to deliver an effective strike.
[QUOTE=Yum Cha;1031396]To my mind, when you yield, as opposed to retreat, you are in a more effective position, closer with your opponent perhaps off balance, to deliver an effective strike.[/QUOTE]
There are 2 different ways to train your skill. Some styles wait for your opponent to make the 1st move and then counter it (if you don’t move, I don’t move. If you move, I"ll …). Some styles like to initiate the 1st move and then lead your opponent into the area that you feel more comfortable (give before take). I prefer the 2nd approach. The reason is simple. The 1st approach has a lot of “unknow” (when you yield, your opponent may give you a nuts kick, round house kick, shoulder strike, elbow strike, knee strike, …). The 2nd approach is more predictable (when you kick, your opponent can only block it or step back).
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1031360]People will say that you have
It’s very funny but this is the main problem for Taiji today.[/QUOTE]
This is often heard in interviews with MMA trainers as well, developing offensive skills is easier than defensive ones. There are grades of skills in offense…but really good defensive skills I think take more work…its harder to anticipate and react to your opponent than it is to deliver your attack.
I prefer to punch face hard!
[QUOTE=Yum Cha;1031396]To my mind, when you yield, as opposed to retreat, you are in a more effective position, closer with your opponent perhaps off balance, to deliver an effective strike.[/QUOTE]
In some ways, I agree. But I also keep in mind that there is nothing taoist about the idea of things always being one way. Yeilding is great except when it isn’t, imo.
There is no “one” way to go about anything really.
To create a system, you need parts that work with and compliment and support each other.
Yes of course you have to follow up.
Just like if you really want to understand how to fight, you are going to need to get in some fights.
I’m pretty sure that Ali could deliver on the low level stuff as well lol
But his yeilding technique was Superior!
When you can’t touch a guy, his yeilding is overwhelming your attack.
When you can’t yeild and you succumb, you are failing under the drive of his attack.
to have the skill to do both is what is required to be “good”
founder of taijiquan didnt base it on taoism. he dedicated it to taoism. theres a difference
[QUOTE=bawang;1031480]founder of taijiquan didnt base it on taoism. he dedicated it to taoism. theres a difference[/QUOTE]
Which founder?