Anybody reading this fourth part without first having read the first three should do so if possible, because if I keep having to return to basics we will not make the rate of progress that Chi-Sao deserves.
Before we begin our examination we must clarify what principles are to apply, so that we can assess what training behaviour has what advantages and disadvantages.
The defined rules we have in our possession are the four strength principles and the four fighting principles. To jog memories I will list them here, though we should be able to assume that any EWTO WT-student with the 1st SG knows these fundamental rules of behaviour.
 
The 4 strength principles are:
1 Free yourself from your own strength
2 Free yourself from your opponent’s strength
3 Use your opponent’s strength against him
4 Add your own strength to his
 
The 4 fighting principles are:
1 If the way is clear, go forward
2 If the way is obstructed, stick to your opponent
3 If the opponent’s force is greater, give way
4 If the opponent withdraws, follow
 
This is the basis which we will be considering, and other aspects we can add are the relevant physical and biomechanical laws. Since we are nowhere near the speed of light where our problems are concerned, we can restrict ourselves to the basic laws of conventional physics without taking Einstein or quantum physics into account.
 
Our scientific approach will be to formulate questions and answer them with reference to the relevant laws. Nonetheless, I am enough of a heretic to reserve the right to question even these laws if this is logical in terms of physics combined with common sense.
 
We also need to clarify our basic assumptions. What situation and what problem are we actually trying to resolve? I have always taken it that the WT student is weaker and lighter than his attacker, but that he must still be able to defend himself in such a way that he emerges from the conflict unscathed. The attacker should either be made to flee or must be struck and injured so that he ends up on the ground, unable to continue. As I have already mentioned in the previous parts, I will present things in rather black-and-white terms to sharpen my arguments and reveal the problem more clearly. So the WT student is to weigh 50 kg and be smaller and weaker, while his attacker weighs 100 kg and is taller and much stronger.
The non-technical parameters that can be changed by training are speed of movement and mental strength. Where these are concerned, we assume that by virtue of his training, the WT student can bring them to at least the level possessed by the attacker. How this is done will be the subject of a later article.
 
And now to the fundamental question: what are we supposed to be practicing in Chi-Sao? Purely theoretically, several training objectives are possible. Chi-Sao could for example be used to learn how to withstand high frontal pressure with the arms, training the not uninteresting group of muscles extending from the arms to the torso, and from the legs to the feet and into the ground. This might well be advantageous as a primary aim. It would give us greater stability if suddenly pushed from the front, we would not fall or be pushed back so easily, and when delivering a punch we would be able to put the stability of the body into the blow.
 
Let’s examine this training supposition in the light of the above principles, by trying to establish whether is it advisable with reference to the four strength and four fighting principles to push against the arms of our partner with a great deal of pressure during Chi-Sao, e.g. when rolling in Poon-Sao or in any other Chi-Sao situation.
 
Let’s begin with the first strength principle. This gives us no answer, as we can only free ourselves from our own strength if we are undisturbed by the external forces of a partner.
The second strength principle is slightly more helpful, as it tells us to free ourselves from the strength of the opponent. But if we resist this strength we are doing the opposite, namely measuring ourselves against it.
The third strength principle also tells us that we are in error, as we are not using the opponent’s strength but going against it – exactly the opposite.
Neither can the fourth strength principle be used, as it tells us to add our own strength to the direction of the opponent’s force, not to exert our own force in the opposite direction.
The first fighting principle cannot be applied either, as the way to the opponent’s target areas is not clear.
The second fighting principle can be applied, as we are sticking to our partner and meeting its requirement.
However, the third fighting principle clearly tells us that as the weaker party, we should give way. And since we have already defined our own weakness versus the attacker as a parameter, this is a failure criterion.  By way of an exercise, we could now argue that if we were stronger, we could collapse the opponent’s position with our pressure, however at that moment our partner would give way. A situation where both parties are equally strong by chance is impossible, therefore we would be training for an  unrealistic situation.
In any event, as we have already seen, this form of training is at odds with the second and third strength principles. In order to be advisable, however, our training method must not conflict with any of our eight principles.
 
Next time we will first define the goals that Chi-Sao training should realistically have, and then gradually check all the possibilities out.
 
I am well aware that there are many counter-arguments against what I have said today. I hope I receive a large number of critical e-mails from you which will stretch my advocacy to the limit, and I promise that if they contribute to our joint progress on this topic, I will take them all into account and include them in the next article, either anonymously or with names.
 
Until next month.

Your Sifu Roland Liebscher-Bracht,
5th Master Level WT,
Chief Instructor ChiKung EWTO/IWTO