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Rokukan Tai Chi - Push Hands

 

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PAIRED EXERCISES
Push Hands
Tui Shou

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Preliminary Consideration

PUSH HANDS - This is a simplified form of sparring popular with students of Tai Chi.

Since Tai Chi lacks the punches and kicks common in the practice of many external martial arts, this Push Hands exercise is a gentle sport where success is achieved by simply upsetting the balance of one's opponent.

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PUSH HANDS
Directions

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1. Two people face each other with the same foot forward:

2. The forward hand of each participant (^) is raised to chest height with the palm facing in, and the back of the hand lightly touching the same part of the other player's hand.

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3. The rear hand can be placed in (^) various positions.

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4. In the beginning, the rear hand (^) is usually placed gently on the elbow of the other player's leading elbow, so that both players are in an equal starting position.

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5. Feet should be comfortably placed (^) so that each player feels balanced and stable from the start.

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6. The players use their hands to push (^) against one another, seeking to control the other's energy. Sudden or forceful shoving is forbidden. The victor should be the pusher with the greatest skill, not the greatest strength.

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7. Later, their hands may go up and down (^) as each tries to control the other's energy. Sudden or forceful shoving is still forbidden. The victor should be the pusher with the greatest skill, not the greatest strength.

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Sometimes the players (^) can get very low.. . ..
Most people do not have this flexibility.

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Success is achieved by upsetting the balance of one's opponent
Sometimes a player (^) is projected away.

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PUSHING HANDS
And the use of Chi

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Advanced practitioners are able to throw or push away opponents simply by projecting their Chi, and with little or no physical effort involved.

This concept is sometimes hard to believe, so we are herewith providing moving pictures in order to demonstrate the point.

This is a demonstration by Grandmaster Ma Yue Liang.

He was documented at the age of 91 by Bill Moyers in the PBS series
Healing and the Mind.
The first session was entitled
"The Mystery of Chi"

But PBS did not really show Master Ma in action.

So here he is, in 1993, 91 years old, in two amazing demonstrations of applied Chi:

And don't miss this one :

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To see the whole video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_gmMqzf2I8

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A Basic Rule of Push Hands is:

"Never apply more than 4 ounces of pressure; . . . . .
. . . . .never accept more than 4 ounces of pressure."

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Go to Final Considerations

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