Tui Shou
Pushing Hands ‘Tui Shou’ for Health Seminar
Pushing Hands ‘tuishou’ for Health or Playing Hands ‘da shou’ helps us comprehend the ebb and flow of qi similar to the rise and fall of the tide. The boat does not resist the changing tide; it rises and lowers naturally with the water.
Pushing Hands (Tui Shou) is a partner exercise, which involves the practicing of the drills such as 7 stars, 4 direction or single pushing hands in a playful and enjoyable manner this is a gateway for the students to experientially understand the martial aspects of the internal martial arts (內家 nèijiā): leverage, reflex, sensitivity, timing, footwork, coordination and positioning will all be developed. This results in a free-flowing movement developed with training; as a beginner all movement are done square, as you advance the movements become round until you can preform exercises with eye closed then finically with stepping movements with eyes closed using application. Pushing hands works to undo a person's natural instinct to resist force with force, teaching the body to yield to force and redirect it. Push hands allows students to learn how to respond to external stimuli using techniques from their forms practice. Among other things, training with a partner allows a student to develop jing (listening power), the sensitivity to feel the direction and strength of a partner's intention. In that sense pushing hands is a contract between students to train in the defensive and offensive movement principles of their martial art: learning to generate, coordinate and deliver power to another and also how to effectively neutralize incoming forces in a safe environment.
The offensive and defensive nature of reeling silks whether done in a slow or fast manner integrate all the aspect of tai chi hence full use of techniques learnt are applied, this allows your imagination to expand during practice with all shapes and sizes whether a powerful opponent or oneself. The application and replication of form during the function of combat validates the effort to continue to cultivate strategy and tactic to the point of supreme confidence.
The image showing the hand pattern is example of how the hands move when reeling silk.
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To become a joyous healthy and happy human being we need to become a dynamic and harmonious mixture of all the aspects of chi.
Chi is in a state of continuous flux, transforming endlessly from one aspect of chi into another. It is neither created nor is it ever destroyed, it simply changes in its manifestation.