John Ding International Academy

of Tai Chi Chuan Guildford Branch

Tui Shou, literally translated as Push Hands, is a fluid set of hand and body movements performed between two people together.  Push Hands is where you start to learn to apply Tai Chi in a more dynamic way that goes beyond the more static posture testing.  To explain this in more detail, during posture testing only one person is trying to apply Tai Chi principles and the other person (the tester) is using linear, somewhat muscular force.  In Push Hands, both people are trying to apply Tai Chi principles against the other person, so it becomes more of a contest.  That said, cooperation is an important part of the training, because if both people start to fight (i.e. directly resist or fight against the other’s force), the exercise quickly degenerates into low quality wrestling, something that is seen all too often!

Tui Shou therefore demands interaction, cooperation and trust between the two participants.  It requires a willingness to concede part of yourself to your partner in order to gain its full benefits, that is to let go of the will to ‘win’ and follow your partner’s force in order to merge with redirect it.

Through regular practice of Tui Shou, something quite extraordinary develops.  Consistent correct practice allows the skin on the hands, arms and the rest of the body to become more sensitive and receptive to touch.  With your heightened senses you become more aware of yourself and others.  You develop sensitivity to your partner’s forces and intentions, with your reactions speeding up as you rely less on sight and more on touch  

to respond to your partner’s movements.  You also slowly acquire the ability to project your energy directly through your partner, using it to push them away on contact.  These abilities and more are due to the development of a special form of internal energy known as ‘Jing’ (also written, ‘Chin’ or ‘Geng’).  Jing can be described as the essence of power.

Some of the fundamental energies developed in Push Hands are as follows:

• Teng Jing (listening energy): the ability to feel precisely the direction of the push on contact
• Nian Jing (adhering energy): the ability to stick and keep in contact with your partner
• Far Jing (neutralising energy): the ability to neutralise the force directed towards you
• Fa Jing (explosive energy): the ability to project your own chi and throw your partner away.

To see what this looks like in practice, please click on the video clips to the right, which demonstrate these energies applied in Single Push Hands.

* Adapted from ‘Tui Shou’ section in the ‘15-minute

Tai Chi’ book by Master John Ding.

JDIATCC Guildford

T: 07812 469133

E: alex@guildfordtaichi.co.uk