Seminar taiji pushing hands, level 1

with Erik Elsemans

April 18-19, 2009, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.

Push Hands

The YMAA pushing hands system can easily be adopted in its entirety into any taijiquan style. Therefore, this seminar is open to all, no matter what school or style you are from. We particularly welcome those who do not train at YMAA and would like to learn pushing hands but cannot find it in their own style or school. No prior experience is required to participate in this seminar as we will start from the very basics.

Taijiquan training (without weapons) consists of six elements which eventually have to be applied all together in a free fighting situation. If your goal is to learn taijiquan as a martial art or for self-defense, each of these elements is essential:

  1. qigong (learning to control your qi or internal energy)
  2. the solo sequence or form: performed slowly but also fast
  3. pushing hands
  4. training the martial applications of the solo sequence with a partner
  5. the fighting set (or san shou), a set two-person sequence or form
  6. fa jin training (= power manifestation)

Pushing hands (推手 tuī shǒu) is a very important part of taijiquan training. It teaches you how to react as soon as you have made contact with your opponent's arms or body after he has attacked you, how to neutralize his attack, and how to gain control of his center to put him in a disadvantageous position to attack him.

Taijiquan is made up of 13 patterns or energies: the "8 gates" and "5 steppings".

  • The 8 gates (八門 bā mén) are 8 energies that are mainly manifested in the arms, hands, and upper body. They include two times 4 energies:
    • péng, lǚ, jǐ, àn (ward off, roll back, press/squeeze, and push), the four main energies
    • cǎi, liè, zhǒu, kào (pluck, split/rend, "elbow", and bump), the four assisting energies
  • The 5 steppings (五步 wǔ bù) are moving forward, backward, to the left, to the right, and also central equilibrium (中定 zhōng dìng), which is not a displacement but is included because it has to be present in the four steppings as well as in everything you do in taijiquan.

The 8 gates and 5 steppings together constitute the 13 original patterns or energies (十三勢 shí sān shì) around which taijiquan is entirely built. From these 13 movements are derived a total of 37 different movements that exist in traditional Yang style taijiquan. Longer forms simply contain repetitions of these 37 movements (the YMAA form, for example, is made up of 133 movements if you include all repetitions).
However, even though the 13 original patterns are present in the solo sequence, to thoroughly familiarize the taijiquan practitioner with them, pushing hands training is essential, putting the 13 patterns into practice, in contact with a partner, in progressively more complex patterns of movement. If you understand and master these 13 patterns, you have reached the martial essence of taijiquan.

For the seminars, I've divided the YMAA pushing hands system into six levels. In this seminar only the first level is introduced. Below is a summary of what you will learn.

YMAA Pushing Hands Level 1: Yang side, crossed hands, stationary

  • Understanding the practical use of pushing hands and how to apply it in reality.
  • Making and keeping contact with your opponent, and learning to feel and follow his movements.
  • Understanding the 4 major energies in taijiquan: peng, lu, ji, an (ward off, roll back, press/squeeze, push)
  • Single pushing hands (a practical exercise on peng, lu, ji, an): 4 Yang neutralizations
  • Double pushing hands (same exercise but two-handed): 4 Yang + 2 extra neutralizations
  • The Yang side of the Yin and Yang Taijisymbol (also known as Taiji Silk Reeling)
  • Coiling and spiraling, Yang side
  • Centering and rooting
  • Basic training for power manifestation (fa jin)