The Five Hammers are an important part of Yang Family Taijiquan that are often overlooked. Every time you see a fist in the public form, you are seeing an opportunity for one of these techniques. This is the first in a series of articles outlining the Five Hammers.
The Five Hammers are:
1. 正捶 Zhèng Chuí Straight Hammer
2. 横捶 Héng Chuí Horizontal Hammer
3. 栽捶 Zāi Chuí Plant Hammer (“Plant Punch”)
4. 降捶 Jiàng Chuí Dropping Hammer
5. 提捶 Tí Chuí Lifting Hammer
There is a whole form devoted to learning these techniques, called the Wise Hammers form. I'm releasing a book on this form in a few days, available from Lulu.com and my website, and there is also a VCD of the Imperial Yang version of this form. Plum Publications sells it under the title "Wisdom Fist." (I have no financial connection to Plum Publications, but I love what they offer. Google them.)
It’s important to understand that while on the surface these seem to be simple punches done at different angles, they are actually much more than this.
The word “Chuí” is a word commonly translated as “punch.” However, it includes a number of techniques that we wouldn’t consider to be punches, such as hammer fists. It also doesn’t include a number of techniques that we would consider punches, such as jabs. What’s the difference? This word means “to hammer,” or “to pound into.” A “Chuí” technique is one that uses striking mechanics, but hits with enough force to move whatever it hits. Jabs, for example, work by trauma to the nervous system: They aren’t designed to physically move the opponent.
So the purpose of a “Chuí” technique is to use the mechanics of striking to move something. That’s a deeper understanding, but there’s more. While each of these techniques is shown with a fist, they don’t have to be a punch. A lot of them are much more likely to be done with the elbow or the palm in a real fight.
On an even deeper level, they don’t even have to strike anything. This will be explained further on in the series.
The next installment will outline the Straight Hammer.
A quick note about The Imperial Yang Style Taijiquan:
Often when you read about this style, you will be told something like:
"Yang Luchan was pressured into teaching his style to the imperial family, and so he chose to teach them an inferior version of the art."
This is another example of how official histories of martial arts are generally just propaganda. It's cut from the same cloth as the silly story of "how Yang Luchan learned Chen Style through a hole in the fence." (I'll write a series of posts about history and propaganda soon.)
Yang Luchan, by all useful accounts, was thrilled to teach in the imperial household, because it meant good money. He taught them the more comprehensive earlier system with many different forms.
What most people learn now is the "Public" system, which has only one central form. (This isn't necessarily bad: The Public form is a beautiful concentration of the essence of the rest of the system, a sort of "short form" of the whole system.)
I've been getting a lot of questions about the Funei ("Imperial") Yang version of Yang style Taijiquan.
This is what I know.
I've reviewed a series of four videos, in Mandarin, on this style.
I'm very excited about Imperial Yang Style, because it has the same forms as the Indoor Yang Style, and so it's the first solid proof that I didn't just make the whole thing up.
According to these videos, which you can buy here (I have no financial connection to this website, but they're great people and one of the best sources for Chinese martial arts information), the Imperial Yang Style has exactly the same set of forms as the Indoor Yang Style that I learned.
The sequence of movements seems to be almost identical in the three forms on these videos.
The presentation is a little different: The frame is a little more conservative, which isn't necessarily bad.
There is also a lot more White Crane in the movements, such as Crane Hook Hands in unusual places. Taiji, like most Daoist styles, has a heavy dose of White Crane as its foundation, so this isn't surprising. (I've mentioned before that White Crane is the "lost mother style.")
The hand movements in general are more expressive, like many Daoist styles. The teacher's hands seem tight rather than loose, which would be bad, but I may simply not understand what I'm seeing. (The most important mantra for a martial arts seeker is "I don't know everything." Repeat 500 times per day for successful results.)
Here's a demo of this version of the Wisdom Fist/Clever Hammers form:
I'm posting video clips of the demonstrations of these forms on youtube here.
Jonty Kershaw is the head teacher for The Broken Circle School of Daoist Arts. He has 33 years of martial arts training, and has been ordained in several different sects of Daoism.
Face push:
Arm drag:
Hip push:
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