Interesting Push Hands Drill

This is a push hands drill based on the figure 8, which is about joining and merging with the other person in a different range of movement than we might usually think of. It can lead to a wide variety of locks and strikes.

Leading Hip Sink 2

Here is a clip playing around with the idea of sinking into the leading hip, not just moving backwards and forwards.

Leading Hip Sink

I've been watching a number of pushing hands clip and am struck by how most of them involve transitioning backwards and forwards.

The problem with going straight back is that if the other person can follow you will find yourself trapped and the back foot and are sure to lose your balance.

If you sink first in your front foot hip without lurching forwards, you will then be able to make a hole and lead the incoming energy into your center so it can be returned.

You will also find yourself in closer proximity to the other person and be able to engage with them.

I'll try to film this at some point.

Double Pushing Hands

Pushing HandsTip

There are 2 key points to pay attention to in single pushing hands:


1/At the end of your push, enter as if being pulled to present wars off. Don't stop at the end of the push and just present ward off. This is too static and means you have lost connection.

2/At the end of your yield, continue by imagining that it is pulling. In this way you continue to keep connection before returning with a push.

Shadow Power

Scott Meredith, the author of " Juice " writes about the theory of Cheng Man Ching pushing hands

as taught to him by Ben Lo.

The article can be read here:  http://www.budojapan.com/spaceial-article/shadow-power/

The steps of discharge 1

" To adhere: Put out your hand and let it adhere to your opponent's hand lightly. Your body and leg should go forward with your hand simultaneously. If you have put out your hand without following your forward stride, you have no way to hit your opponent's hand and may possibly be pulled by him. As the Proverb says: " When ones foot cannot keep in step with his body he will find himself in trouble."


Dr Chi Chiang Tao

Quoted from West & East Monthly,1965.

Liao Zhen Xiang

Liao Zhen Xiang is an old calligrapher who studied with Cheng Man Ching

Dr Qi Jiang Tao: tuishouwith John Kells and others

One with the Tao

Speaking to John Kells the other day, he reminded me of the key message he gave during my early days at the Centre, to be one " One with the Tao".

I'm prettty sure this went over the heads of most of us as we struggled to get to grips with our deadly, slow movements, wondering which arm and leg went where and when.

What did it mean? The beauty of T'ai Chi is that it was a physical and mental manifestation of Taoist philosophy. The key was to be natural and not get in the way of things. This is best demonstrated through pushing hands. When the other person pushes, neither resist nor collapse. Simply accept and follow the direction of the push leading to a transformation which allows a return of energy.

Of course what happens is that we may accept and follow for a little bit, then fear strikes that we may get pushed so we tense and try to use force to pull the other person's hand aside. As we work with different partners we learn to accept/follow differing forces. We start out as a rough block of stone which is gradually transformed through the practise.

There is more that could be said and probably there are better explanations. But I think single push hands is a great way to work on this. It's no use just having an intellectual, clever comprehension.

Gradually we give up our preconceptions and tension to become more natural, with no seperation from our partner with whom we are working.

We become one with the Tao.

Resistance is Futile

John Kells taught Pushing Hands right from the beginning. Sometimes you will not do that until you have learnt the Form.

Having experienced different approaches to Pushing Hands with practitioners of other styles, I value John's approach even more today.

Most seem to involve resistance at some point, then trying to force your push to one side. That is the point at which they become exposed. It becomes a game all about "winning" that can rapidly degenerate into a show of strength and little more than a wrestling match.

Pushing Hands is a training method. What are we training to do?

Accept.

This does not mean weakness. Acceptance means not to resist, especially in the Mind. In the beginning our training focused on taking in the other person's push as far as possible to empty it, making a "hole" and then turning. It is interesting to see how far each person will accept and at what point this all goes out of the window and stiff force is used. I include myself, using feedback from pushing with others.

At the point at which it becomes uncomfortable and we are going to lose our balance, we should still accept.

This is not about winning or losing, because that is missing the point.

It is a training method to work on a principle.

Pushing Hands and Stuff