I have been asked on more than one occasion for the self defense applicatioin of Play the Lute. In the form, it looks liike just a defensive posture.

Truth be told, it's more well-rounded than that.

When performing Play the Lute in form version, the left hand is slightly in front of the right and the left foot is held slightly off the ground. As you perform this skill, remember to stay rooted on the right leg. (More on that later.)

One self-defense application would be to combine this with Part the Horse's Mane. An attacker throws a punch, we neutralize with Part the Horse's Mane, then we slide past our opponent. Our right hand is on or near the right shoulder of our opponent as we slide past. Our left hand is on the back of their collar. Our left foot kicks out one of the knees of our opponent . We give the collar a tug and our would-be assailant hits the ground.

Another application would be to use our left hand against the elbow and our right hand against the wrist of an attacker as s/he throws a punch. At the same time, the left leg kicks out, breaking our attacker's knee

That's one of the beauties of Tai Chi: it doesn't look that devastating in practice, but every movement has a purpose — in most cases, internal and external (but that is another blog for another day).