Intro to Free Pushing Hands
video
Here I am talking about and demonstrating how I introduce students to the T'ai-Chi training game that I call "Free Pushing Hands". I'm calling it this in order to differentiate it from more choreographed pushing hands drills. This game, which involves trying to preserve your balance while trying to upset your partner's, is often played competitively but I find that doing this encourages strategies that may help you win the game but don't necessarily translate to what I would call good T'ai-Chi. For instance, people train to not move their feet, which is usually how points are scored. You move your opponent's fee and you score a point. In order to do this, many players take wide and deep, very stable positions which again, may help you win the game but don't translate well to developing the responsive, mobile, unforced balance that I associate with T'ai-Chi. And martially, training to not move your feet seems kind of misguided at best since there are very very few situations in life or ...