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An extract from Tai Chi International America
by Chris Bennett
I was standing in the park. Waiting for him. I felt confident. After all, I had many years of experience in push hand and had won several contests.
Then he appeared. He slowly walked across the park towards me. As he approached, I immediately noticed the physical differences between us. He was six inches shorter and weighed about 20 pounds less than me.
Our meeting was arranged by a mutual friend and I found out he was an experienced Tai Chi teacher, recently arrived from Taiwan. We greeted each other and had a short conversation about Tai Chi.
Then the contest began. We linked arms and started to push hands, the free style way. It felt different from what I was used to, but I quickly adjusted.
The first few seconds was spent testing each other’s responses. Fifteen minutes later my confidence in my ability dissolved. He had controlled and redirected every one of my moves with ease. I felt like a rag doll in his hands.
I did not know it at the time, but I had ‘invested in loss’ in my understanding of push hands. The ‘loss’ was obvious. I had been controlled by a Tai Chi player with superior skills. The ‘investment’ from that experience would come later.
I became very friendly with the Taiwanese gentleman and we pushed hands often, with the same result as our first encounter. I enjoyed being ‘pushed’ around because I was learning the value and effectiveness of free style push hands.
One day he suggested we start a push hands club. The aim was to create a friendly environment where all Tai Chi players could test their push hands ability. At that time, several of my friends and myself were pushing hands with the Taiwanese gentleman on a regular basis.
So we got together and formed the Melbourne Push Hands Club. Over the next few years we attracted many beginner and experienced Tai Chi players, external martial artists and other interested people. We had the ideal opportunity to test the theory of Tai Chi in a practical way.
The ‘investment’ from those years of experience and the knowledge gained are as follows.
The Benefits
Free style push hands is easy to do. The high stance makes it ideal for those who have difficulty in adopting the lower stance required for traditional push hands.
It is a realistic form of training for self defence because its higher posture is more of a natural stance. Please note: Push hands is a training method and not self defence in itself.
It is a great leveller for all Tai Chi stylists. Not all Tai Chi players push hands the same way. Free style push hands eliminates the differences because of its simplicity.
Disadvantages
Its simplicity can cause it to be undervalued.
Beginners may be tempted to avoid traditional push hands and focus on free style push hands because it is easier and requires less work.
This is a mistake. I strongly recommend beginners learn and practice traditional push hands (stationary and moving). Free style is not meant to be a substitute for traditional push hands. It is a complimentary method and natural extension of traditional push hands.
Some of the beginner students I have pushed hands with do not practice traditional push hands and it shows. They become good at free style techniques but do not develop the deeper understanding traditional push hands teaches.
How to do Free Style Push Hands
Face your partner with the opposite foot forward. Stand upright in a natural stance with the knees slightly flexed. Most of the weight should be on the rear leg when you start.
Both players extend their arms towards each other, about abdomen level.
Place your left palm and forearm on top of your partner’s right forearm. Place your right palm and forearm under his left forearm. This is the neutral position. You may reverse these arm positions if you prefer. Move the arms around slowly. Make sure you adhere to each other’s arms at all times.
Now try to gently nudge your partner off balance. Do not use force or over-extend your arms. Practice without moving your feet to start with. Then practice moving your feet in any direction.
Seven Training Tips
1. Make sure the waist leads the arms, ie the waist initiates the arm movement.
2. Concentrate on ‘listening’ energy.
3. Avoid patterns.
4. Use an observer.
5. Use larger arm circles when you start free style push hands.
6. Invest in loss.
7. Use offence versus defence.
Have a go at free style push hands and discover how you can ‘invest in loss’ and become a winner.
Chris Bennett teaches Wu Style Tai Chi in Melbourne, Australia
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