Double Push Hands

Students were usually introduced to fixed step double push hands once they started learning the long form. As if one hand pushing wasn't complicated enough, we now had another hand added into the equation.

The type of double push hands we learned is the same as in the Ch'eng Man Ch'ing style. The style is not really important;what is are the principles being explored. Typically these are the four sides, ward off, rollback, push and press. The four corners are  pull ,split, elbow and shoulder. Together with the four sides these make up the eight energies along with central equilibrium ,gaze left and right, step forward and back. In total these are the 13 postures or strategies of Tai Chi Ch'uan.

These 13 postures / strategies are in pushing hands and the forms. The practise is about understanding these.  The understanding gained from pushing hands feeds back into the form, from where further insight feeds back into pushing hands.

Laying Alongside

As part of his teaching of pushing hands, John  Kells introduced the concept of laying your energy alongside that of the other.

This means not to be in opposition to the other person and to yield in such a way that you have entered forwards and are alongside them. So instead of presenting a ward off posture which effectively is in opposition, your hand and forearm are alongside the incoming push as part of the yield.

To be honest, although I understood it in a conceptual, intellectual kind of way, I could never do. It wasn't until about 12 years ago when working with John on his developing Heartwork that I began to get a glimpse.

The key moment came when he berated me for not being able to do anything. Actually he used slightly different words.It was a crisis moment for me where I had to give up / let go of my assumptions and just go for it. And it happened. It was a key insight for me in my own development. Beyond Time. Beautiful!

The Hole Thing

One of the key concepts John Kells taught was to make a hole to draw in the energy of the other person.

It happens immediately upon sensing the intention of the other, before the physical action. Sink, relax, turn the mind so you can enter forwards.

The corresponding return of the energy appears out of time.

The Other

Always put the other person first.

Without this, you will always be using force to impose and one day this will not work.

The Beginning and the End

We were gathered in the basement mirror room at the Tai Chi centre in Upper Wimpole Street ( sadly long gone )

John Kells explained carefully about two important aspects of single push hands.

Pay attention to the end of your push. Don't just abruptly turn your arm into ward off. Instead, it is as if your arm is being pulled slightly so you enter into the other person to meet their push before it has got going and ward off to catch it.

Pay attention to the end of your Yielding. Don't just abruptly turn your hand over in your eagerness to push. Instead keep the yielding going as if you were going to pull the incoming hand. In this way you are sucking them in to push them.

Suddenly the boundaries become blurred.

Fixed Step Pushing Hands

Fixed step pushing hands means you don't take steps. You have to learn to yield on the spot.

I've come across a lot of people who gloss over single push hands in their hurry to do double push hands and push hands with steps.

They all have their place and value. Single push hands explores quite clearly the energies of ward off, roll back, push and press ( or squeeze). This needs to be practised with lots of different partners to get a feel for how different people are in terms of energy and physicality.

If you don't investigate and understand the energies of single push hands, what chance do you stand in the rush to do double push hands etc.

Whilst single push hands looks simple, it is actually very advanced.

Play with that!

Pearls on a String

The Tai Chi classic writings mention that the joints of the body should be joined as if they were pearls on a string.

Each joint should be able to rotate naturally. For example, if your arm is pushed upwards towards you, it should be able to rotate naturally at the shoulder and redirect the force back towards the attacker.

Each " Pearl " is capable of independent rotation or they can be linked in sections or as a whole.