Tiaofa Drills, Setting Stake
1. In a mabu feeling stance, do repeat tioda on the same side hand. You need to get power from the body core, with just a bit of spring from the legs, as you can’t use stepping to find power. Concentrate on the elbows, not the hands, so that the power does not dissipate. Be sure to land the arms at the same time as you set to stance so that the power is united.
For a right tiaoda, you can bring the left hand over to gaizhang, then rotate and reach (tiao) so that it does an upward block (jia) as the right hand does the hit. To continue, bring the left hand down to the knee, back of the hand on the knee, then rotate and reach to tiao moving up to jia as you shift forward to strike (usually a zhuang) with the right hand.
Tiaofa Drills, Moving
1. From open hand with both hands down, step forward into tiaoda.
2. Sitting back and stepping forward. Set back, then step forward with tiaoda. The tiao arm goes up protecting the head, so tuck the head in a bit. This action is very natural, swing up keeping the head close to the arm. Set well into the rear leg and push from it, releasing the hip to keep power in the legs. The tiao gives power to the zhuang, and the zhuang gives power to the tiao, the arms must work together through the body and legs, united through the upper back. Note that when you do it carefully you remain upright and when you put more power into it, there is a natural tendency to push the shoulders through more.
3. Sitting back and stepping forward with a follow step. This is similar, but taking a full step. You may step into a zhuang or a chuan. This image also shows that the tiao/jia may turn the palm more up.
