Tai Chi: Grab From Behind Defense

Video Transcript

"In this segment we're going to be showing a possible application of brush knee where somebody is trying to grab you from behind and having an awareness of them grabbing you. This is not done once they've already grabbed you, it has to be done while they're in the process of grabbing you and it's actually in the transition that this is important. It's coming here of what's called yin yang palms, step out and brush the knee. So if Ray were to come up to grab me from behind, as I come here and then I can throw. OK, is one possible application. Another possible application is he comes from behind, grabs, I step out yin yang palms, now see his body's already going this way, as I can't throw him this way but what I can do is step behind and pull him in this direction so it's always the idea of having an option of what we're going to do, so as he grabs me from behind, as I step out, now I have an option, I'm straight, I know where my weight is, I have yin yang palms. He is going behind me in that direction, I'm not going to try and bring him here so what I will do is step through here and pull him this way. So it's always the idea that we have to be willing to change what we're doing but in the idea of brush knee, again he grabs me from behind, I step out here, I step through and throw."