How essential really is push hands? Can we not learn or advance in tai chi without it? Are we not doing real tai chi without knowledge of push hands?

Push hands is a defining characteristic of taijiquan. Along with qigong, forms and application practice, push hands contributes to the physical, mental, spiritual and psychological development of a taiji player. It is seen as a continuation of the practical development that begins with the solo routine and qigong.

Few schools teach tuishou to beginners.
Most schools have optional tuishou classes so that students who do not wish to engage in the practice are not required to do so. There is so much to be gained from the solo practice that most student of taijiquan do very little if any tuishou practice. Even among those who do, few approach the depth or intensity of practice that is possible.

If you are seeking high level martial skill in taiji, it is pretty safe to say that push hands is essential. But push hands is useful even if your purpose for learning taiji is more health and fitness related, or you practice as a means of achieving peace of mind.

Martial arts in general are often practised more for their benefits to mental and physical well-being than for pure combat skill. The reasons for this are deep and complex.

One thing that I tell my students is that push hands - like sanshou, suaijiao, and fencing - is an excellent form of biofeedback. If you want to know if your posture is correct, or to know if you mind is clear, or to know if you are in harmony with the universe then play push hands. If you lose your balance, use force, or get knocked over, then you will know that you have some work to do. Push hands can teach you what your mistakes are and help you to correct them, especially if you have a patient training partner.

If you don't have the opportunity to practice tuishou very often, then occasional practice will inform your solo practice. You can take the lessons learned in push hands and use them to refine your understanding of the forms and your qigong practice.

My teacher once told me that he doubted there were many high level qigong masters who were not also martial artists. I think this may be because martial study is a very efficient way of exposing the delusions, illusions and misperceptions of the ego.

Every thought carries an emotion, every emotion affects the physical body. Refining these things on our own is very difficult. It is like wearing a lamp on our foreheads and looking for our shadow. Solo practice just doesn't give us an objective point of view of ourselves the way push hands does.

There are many stages in push hands practice. And there are many ways to approach it. Beginners should practise in a co-operative and non competitive manner at least until they understand the basics of listening and following. Later it can be quite vigourous.

Having a good teacher, patience, and an open mind are most important.

Tags: tuishou, tui shou, push hands, pushing hands, Orillia, martial arts, tai chi, taijiquan, wushu, kung fu, self defence, qigong

Pushing hands, (推手, tuī shǒu), is a name for two-person training routines practised in internal Chinese martial arts such as baguazhang, Xingyiquan, Taijiquan and Yiquan.

Tuishou is the gateway to the martial aspects of taijiquan. It teaches students the methods and strategies for neutralising an attack without resorting to brute force. Pushing hands counters the normal tendency to react to force with fear and aggression, and allows one instead to respond with natural instinct, softness, and emptiness.

“Health oriented” schools that avoid the martial context of taijiquan still teach tuishou for several reasons. Tuishou is not only used to teach combat skills, but to help students to understand the internal principles of the solo form. It also gives very clear feedback as to the alignment, precision, and relaxation in the student’s posture. The tiniest error in posture can be measured in the pressure or tension that builds up between players or within a person’s own body.

This is why tuishou practice, while often very vigourous, can also be relaxing, calming, and invigorating.

Training with a partner allows a student to develop “tingjing” (listening power), the sensitivity to feel the direction and strength of a partner's attack and redirect it. Tuishou provides a safe environment in which to develop high level martial skills that normal sparring practice seldom allows.

Many students are intimidated by the thought of tuishou. But with the right partners and a good teacher, anyone can find a way to enjoy and benefit from it. Tuishou practice refines form and technique in limitless detail, beginning with basic movement patterns and progressing to profound details in the ways that thought, emotion and postures interact.

The practice of tuishou becomes like a dance the increases in speed and complexity while simultaneously deepening relaxation and awareness.
The students learn to defeat the opponent without using force. Instead of force one develops a profound understanding of the power of softness and emptiness. At a basic level one neutralises the opponent’s force by applying minimal force at right angles to the direction of the opponents attack. At a deeper level, one defeats the opponent by “becoming one with the Universe“ or finding the part of the opponent’s mind that wants to be defeated and allowing that to happen.

The expression used in some taiji schools to describe this is "Give up oneself to follow another."

Pushing hands also teaches students safety habits in regard to their own vital areas, acupuncture points, principles of qinna aspects of massage. At a certain point, pushing hands begins to take on aspects of qigong, as the students learn to co-ordinate their movements in attack and defence with their breathing.

Pushing hands is said by Taiji's Chen family to have been created by Chen Wangting (1600-1680) the founder of the Chen style Tai Chi Chuan and was originally known as hitting hands (da shou) or crossing hands (ke shou). Chen was said to have devised pushing hands methods for both empty hands and armed with spears. Other Taiji schools attribute the invention of pushing hands to Zhang Sanfeng.

In recent history push hands has become a part of modern martial arts tournaments, especially those devoted to internal arts. Within this context, pushing hands is not an exercise to develop skill but a competitive sport.

Training pushing hands

In taijiquan, pushing hands is used to acquaint students with the principles of what are known as the "Eight Gates and Five Steps," eight different leverage applications in the arms accompanied by footwork in a range of motion which proponents say will eventually allow students to defend themselves calmly and competently if attacked. Also known as the "13 original movements of tai chi", a posture expressing each one of these aspects is found in all tai chi styles. Training and push hands competitions generally involve contact but no strikes.

The Eight Gates (八門 bā mén)

• Peng (掤) - An upward expansive energy, forward or backward, yielding or offsetting usually with the arms, often translated as "Ward Off." Peng is also described more subtly as an energetic quality that should be present in every taiji movement as a part of the concept of "song" or relaxation, providing the strength to maintain structure when pressed and still avoid tension.
• Lü (履) - A sideways, circular yielding movement, often translated as "Roll Back."
• Jǐ (擠) - A pressing or squeezing offset in a direction away from the body, usually done with the back of the hand or outside edge of the forearm. Ji is often translated as "press" or “squeeze.”
• àn(按) - To offset with the hand, usually a slight lift up with the fingers then a push down with the palm, which can appear as a strike if done quickly. Often translated as "push" or “press.”
• Cǎi (採) - To pluck or pick downwards with the hand, especially with the fingertips or palm. The word cai is part of the compound that means to gather, collect or pluck a tea leaf from a branch. Often translated "Pluck."
• Lieh (挒, liè) - Lieh means to separate, to twist or to offset with a spiral motion, often while making immobile another part of the body (such as a hand or leg) to split an opponent's body thereby destroying posture and balance. Lieh is often translated as "Split."
• Zhǒu (肘) - To strike or push with the elbow. Usually translated as "Elbow Strike" or "Elbow Stroke" or just plain "Elbow." Zhou can include techniques with the knee.
• Kào (靠) - To strike or push with the shoulder or upper back. The word k'ao implies leaning or inclining. Usually translated "Shoulder Strike," or "Shoulder."
  

The Five Steps (五步 wǔ bù):

• jìn bù (進步) - Advance.
• tùi bù (退步) - Retreat.
• zǔo gù (左顧) - Look Left.
• yòu pàn (右盼) - Gaze Right.
• zhōng dìng (中定) - The central position, balance, equilibrium. Not just the physical centre, but a condition which is expected to be present at all times in the first four steps as well, associated with the concept of rooting (the ability to align the body and mind so that any force, whether internal or external is channelled directly into the ground through a relaxed body and a calm mind.

The Eight Gates correspond to the eight trigrams (Bagua 八卦) described in the Yijing (a classic of the Daoist Cannon.) The Five Steps correspond to the Wuxing 五行 (five elements) (metal, water, wood, fire, and earth.) Collectively they constitute what is referred to as the "Thirteen Postures" and form the essence of taijiquan. The late Master Jou Tsung Hwa presented the 13 postures as the “Master Key” of taijiquan, believing as many do that they defined the art. Following this train of thought, if anyone can embody the 13 postures in their art, whatever that art may be, they could be said to be practising taijiquan.

Important points:
Training is not Fighting

During practice, some element of real combat is always put aside, in order to enable students to practise safely. We may regulate speed, or accuracy, or intent, or power, or some other aspect. This is a matter of respect and common sense.

Your goal should be to develop profound skill and awareness. This can only be done in a relaxed state. Part of training is learning how to maintain this relaxed awareness in the face of increasing levels of conflict.

If you let your aggression take over, your pulse rate increases, epinephrine increases, you lose your general awareness and your fine motor skills. Without a calm mind and a relaxed body, there is no high level skill. In this state, you may get lucky and win a fight. But if you train this way you will learn nothing.

Sparring is not Fighting
Sparring is a way to develop specific skills. It must not be taken out of context.

Sparring has rules, is consensual, respectful, fair, and is done with respect for the safety of the training partner. None of this is true in fight.

Don’t come to class to fight! If you want to fight, enter a NHB tournament, and have all of your affairs taken care of.

Results depend on the goal.

If you train for health and fitness, you might not become the best fighter, and vice-versa.
If you train to become a better person, and keep that goal in mind, you will likely achieve your goal.

Martial arts are meditation

Meditation is the process of learning to understand and regulate your own mind. It is like learning to control your sails so the the winds and currents of thought, emotion, and physical circumstances don’t control your life. Martial arts training gives you instant feedback. Is your mind clear? Your opponent will let you know.

There is no best style.

There are superior students and superior teachers. There is no superior martial art. - End of topic.

You may look ridiculous when you practise.

Learn to live with that.

Sometimes you will also look like a god.

Don’t get hung up on that one either.

Train to be natural

Natural instinct is the ultimate weapon. Developing natural instinct takes lots of precise daily training.

Innovation is okay.

But it should be tested well. All ancient traditions were started by someone. The ones that lasted were the ones that worked.

Internal power includes external power.

Amongst the elite, there is often little talk about the superiority of internal or external styles. The elite will have mastered both. In fact, you can’t have internal power without the other.

Fight or Flight

Do one at a time. Don’t mix them up.

Compassion can be Fierce

Violence and suffering are often caused by fear and apathy. In the face of cruelty and suffering, we must be fearless and tenacious.

Balance is a Verb

Entropy wins when we take harmony for granted. And if we don’t constantly strive for better mental, physical, emotional and spiritual balance, we will meet defeated without meeting an enemy.

Respect

When we train with a partner, we salute our partner to indicate that we are each placing our safety in the hands of the other. This attitude is carried with us into the rest of our lives. We learn to take responsibility for others, and to trust them.