Serge Dreyer

During the second weekend seminar, Serge Dreyer presented tuishou from the combined perspective of three internal arts.  His training exercises focused on proper fajing (releasing energy) technique, creating “inner space” in the body for more efficient deflecting, and proper yielding without stiffness or muscular blocks.  He also used baguazhang stepping exercises to demonstrate circularizing in the context of moving-step tuishou.  New students benefited from a taste of advanced techniques while older students got a fresh perspective familiar principles.

Students found Serge to be modest, extremely skilled, and entirely focused on pursuing the essence of taijiquan.  Even though he was an international tuishou champion, he did not dwell on his successes but instead told us about particularly difficult matches he had had and how tournament anxiety affected his skills.  He shared these experiences to underscore how important staying calm and letting go of oneself is in developing good tuishou.

In order to cultivate this feeling of “letting go,” one exercise in particular stands out.  One student takes a short stance and allows two partners to push him from in front and behind.  The student’s objective is to yield and stay rooted as long as possible while using the arms to stay gently connected to the pushers.  Of course, under such an assault no one was able to hold their ground for more than 10 or 15 seconds.  What was instructive about the exercise was the mindset it instilled.  Serge exhorted us to accept the inevitable loss that we would be pushed over and to yield completely to both pushers, not resorting to any stiff-arm tactics to stay upright.  Serge’s point was that if we take this attitude into tuishou and truly accept an incoming force, our movements will be effortless and offensive opportunities will present themselves.  However, if we remain attached to the ego that doesn’t want to get pushed around, tension will make yielding impossible and stiff, muscular aggression will be the only alternative.

 
Serge’s presentation of fajin technique as “a wave” was also very enlightening.  He demonstrated how a pronounced “rolling” of the back and spine could transmit an energy wave through the body, much in same way energy is transmitted through a whip.  Serge then showed us how this wave is tightened during application so that there is less delay as the wave travels through the body and into the duifang.  For me, his demonstration clarified the difference between transmitting energy through the spine and merely catapulting one’s stiff upper body at the duifang.
Looking back on the seminar student’s found that many of Serge’s key points were exactly the same things Rodell Laoshi teaches us at Great River.  It was Serge’s slightly different perspective and manner of presentation that jostled us out of our comfortable rut and made us see things anew.  And that is perhaps the greatest benefit of his visit.