Quick responses in Pushing Hands

Many people know the basic techniques of pushing hands and do everything correctly and yet when someone goes to push them they cannot apply their responses quickly enough.. why is this?

When receiving the force of another there is no time to prepare. All preparation must have been completed before your opponent begins the attack.

If you have not sunk your substantial feeling to the feet then it is too late.
If you have not connected to the feet to advance or retreat then it is too late.
If you have not brought the 'sensing ch'i' to the surface of your body and extended towards your opponent then it is too late.
If you have not separated full and empty then it is too late.
If you do not meet your opponent before they touch you then it is too late.
If you did not balance your opponent's action before touch then it is too late.

It is a state of readiness, alertness and responsiveness. It is also 'light spirit.'

San Sau Part 2

The second part of the two-person form.

San Sau Part 1

A reminder of the form

Releasing an arm lock

If our elbow joint is attacked and we feel force from an opponent we must relax so that the force does not meet with resistance. During the act of relaxing the opponent's force moves to try to maintain the force. When the movement occurs you must introduce a rotation of the arm to move the elbow joint away from the force.

It is important to note that when you relax the arm you actually relax the whole of the body and especially the upper body. It is not sufficient to just relax the arm muscles. If you do this you will not be able to release your opponent's force.

It is also necessary to match your opponent's speed.

Finally if an opponent is able to apply a force towards your joint it is a little too late and so improving your sensitivity, whole body coordination and lightness will avoid such problems.

Active Steps

We practise changes of direction with active steps so that we develop the muscles to be able to do so as well as the habit to have a low centre of gravity and most important the mind that is coordinated and able to lead the body movement.

When we have developed the habit to be able to change from forward to back, back to forward, or to dodge to the side, without being awkward we no longer need to work on the technique. We always have the potential to move from the feet without disharmony and maintain the feeling that we can do so.

Anticipation and expectation

When we practice with a partner for martial application we should not anticipate their movement or intention. We remain open to them without expectation. We match their slightest movement exactly. If they shift their weight we adjust our weight accordingly and so on. After many years of sticking to their movement we can interpret their mind intent. Anticipation destroys our feeling connection with an opponent.

When we practise the form we complete the posture we are doing and create the appropriate forces. We do not think of the next posture until we reach the end of the posture we are performing. The intention moves at that moment.

When we practise an exercise like the solo version of wo bu there is the intention to change direction after every three steps. We are not following a partner and we do not need to complete postures and create forces, therefore we do not practice leaving the mind open without expectation. We are practising to develop our technique and so we check if the substantial feeling is sunk, the change of direction is crisp and clear, the rhythm is fluid, and so on.

In daily life we give up thoughts about the past and future. When we check up we cannot find anything that we can recognise as the past and the future has not happened. Of course we can have mental events which we believe to correspond to past events but we cannot say that our memories are actually the past. If we really take time to check carefully we cannot even find anything that we can identify as the present! In daily life experience unfolds.

Practising the form for pushing hands students

When applying the techniques which have been understood from the experiences of pushing hands we should not try to match up the experiences exactly.

When we are relating to another person's energy in a pushing hands situation we follow the other person's force.

When we practise the solo form we exercise and move our own internal forces in an ideal situation without any other concern. The objective is to increase the force and become familiar with the force. To train the force to follow the mind intent.

However, of course there are features in common. The rotation of forces correspond to physical turning of the waist and rotation of the elbows and hands, etc. but the orbits for these turning forces is a matter of coordination and correspondence. Generally we practice to simplify all the features of our movement through the postures to serve our intended application of the forces.

So we do need to understand the application of the postures but when we practice we do not need to imagine another person we only need to understand which aspect is yielding and which is attack and then we can maintain a fluid circulation of forces.

Equal and Opposite

When we empty one side of the body to yield to an opponent's force there is a corresponding force which comes to the opposite side. This force can be issued or stored. It increases in strength as we turn and empty on the yielding side.

The body behaves like a seasaw. When one side moves back there is a pivot point which may be in the centre of the body, and then, on the otherside, there is a forward movement. The force from one side must be transmitted without a break so that there is an equal and opposite response on the other side. It is like a revolving door.

If the body is too loose then this force will be dissipated.

P.S. Anyone who says that "nothing is impossible" has never tried to slam a revolving door!

Deep stances in the sword form and squatting single whip

When going to a low positions the force is directed downwards when the body sinks. The legs must be relaxed and especially the hip joints. The downward force is achieved by emptying the upper body and following the force down. The force increases as it accumulates in the lower position.

The tailbone should be vertical. The forward knee in line with the foot, and the back leg is straight in the final position. Be wary of the lower forward leg leaning forward. This lower leg should be vertical.

For those people who spend a lot of time in a sitting position it is important to stretch the front part of the pelvis to allow the tail bone to go down to the vertical position. Deep stances in the sword form are useful to open the top leg joints.

Pushing Hands Class : Rollback, Press and Single Whip

After learning the basic techniques of movement and contact this was then applied to rollback.

A variation of single whip was used to empty the press.

It is a basic idea that force is not opposed by force. So when feeling the force of press towards the chest, the chest if emptied of substantial resistance and the hips and legs soften to further empty the force. Then the right hand aligns with the bones of the opponent and adds a gentle force along the line of the bones and introduces a turning force as you turn at the waist and pull using the hook hand.

This description is intended as a reminder rather for those students present rather than a complete explanation.

Pushing Hands Class : Review

To move correctly the foot must push the body so that the body movement is controlled by the feet. In this way the body can move as one piece and then there is internal quiet and the movement of an opponent is easy to detect and respond to.

The method of using the foot is as follows : if the right foot is forward and the left arm presents ward off, then, when your opponent pushes towards your arm, you respond by pushing back from your right foot and sinking the hip crease on the front of the body and allow the force of the push to turn your pelvis to the left whilst moving the weight back.

Touch, Stick, Follow and Join.
The basic qualities of contact are touch, stick, follow and join."Touch" is simple contact, skin to skin. "Stick" means that you keep contact as your partner moves. This enables you to "follow." "Join" is more difficult to master in practice but it is important to be clear what it means.

When you 'join' you are able to feel within the contact of your partner a substantial quality which corresponds to the actual force which would push you over if it were allowed to. This quality is dynamic and changes constantly depending on the intent of your opponent. To be able to read your opponent's force you must have a clear perception of this force and be able to 'join' with it. This really is like a kind of energetic sticking at a deeper layer.

When your opponent makes contact, you do not allow them to 'join.' However, you 'join' with them.

If you are able to 'join' with your opponent's force you can then learn to empty their substantial force whilst maintaining contact with them. This called 'neutralising' your opponent's force.

In some cases you empty their force through your own body and in other situations you may lead their force away from you body.
Bristol 15.02.09

Letting go of the physical body

When we relax we let go of holding and allow the natural state to be there without interference. To let go of the physical body we can contemplate why it is so difficult at the beginning.

We think we are our physical body or at least we feel that we own our physical body. If we have a stomach ache we say "I have a stomach ache." or, "my stomach aches." We don't usually say "there is an ache in the stomach."

We identify with our body. The sense of who we are gets mixed up with the experience of body sensations. In order to relax we have to find a way to disentangle this mix up. So we can allow the body to feel like it does not belong to us, that we have little control over it, that it is unpredictable in the way that it moves. Well... this helps a little but we still have this habit to hold on to something.

When we have managed to 'get the ch'i' and have a sensation in the body that the ch'i is everywhere we can cultivate an identification with the ch'i. When we feel that we are fully connected to the ch'i we can let go of the physical body more easily.

To let go of the ch'i we can progress to the next level and let go into 'mind states.'
Bristol 2.2.09

Central Equilibrium : How to develop naturally.

First it is necessary to align the body physically over the foot before taking a step. Only when the body is perfectly vertically aligned can you relax downwards to produce a force which passes through the centre of the standing foot (Kid 1). The fullness of the standing leg increases in this way and at the same time allows the stepping leg to empty.

When the fullness has increased sufficiently the other leg will empty and move with minimum effort.

To avoid the mind loosing contact with the t'ai chi force and to achieve a dynamic responsive attitude during the application it is important to relax the leg muscles completely. The muscles around the ankle and feet are the most difficult to relax. When the full and empty of the legs is achieved completely internally using relaxation and sinking the t'ai chi force and application will increase their function.
Bristol 24.1.09

Forming the fist : punch down and brush knee punch

The coordination of brush knee punch downwards is timed with the stepping leg. The fist should not be formed too early. Every movement is timely. When deflecting and sticking the hand does not begin to form the fist. When stepping the left wrist is substantial as you stick to your partner, as the substantial feeling moves through the leg as you shift your weight, the puch is formed and the force increases as the weight shifts.

In brush knee push, again it is the hand that brushes the knee that has a substantial force during the step. The force for the push arrives during the weight shift. When the shoulder relaxes the elbow feels substantial as the hand moves forward. The downward movement of the elbow creates a spiral to the hand movement.

The spiral force moving through the forearm is common to many postures although has different functions - not always when a force moves through the arm to produce a strike.
Bristol 17.1.09

High Pat on Horse

A question arose about the difference between the two variations of 'high pat on horse.'

Stepping forward, adjusting the back foot, going into the posture : joining with your partner's punch from your right side, make contact above the elbow with a deflecting force into the path of the left hand. The waist is constantly turning to the left. Then whilst still turning to the left moving the weight back to the now adjusted right foot, apply a force to your opponent's elbow.

In the variation where the weight goes back, without any adjustment to the feet, the elbow is contacted without deflection. The movement backwards is evasive.

With both variations the ball of the foot contacts with the ground and enables the final turning of the waist to be controlled from the feet.
Bristol 8.1.09