This year (2025), I will be doing a number of tai chi workshops and seminars in Canada and Europe. Some will focus on internal principles and qigong / neigong. Others will be all about tuishou (pushing hands). In these, I will be focusing on methods for improving the way students train, and avoiding the many pitfalls that I have witnessed in tai chi and martial arts classes.
I have had the good fortune to teach and train with some highly skilled teachers and students of many different martial arts, and most styles of tai chi. My specialty is the subtle biomechanics and internal principles that make techniques and strategies work, in martial arts, other sports, and daily life.
Over the years, I have found that most students limit their development by making three fundamental mistakes.
1. Confusing the exercise with competition. The goal should NOT be to defeat the opponent but to improve the skill and understanding of both participants. The goal of each session should be to (non-verbally) improve your partner’s skill level without overwhelming them. This helps you to see more deeply into your own skill. This comes with an extremely important rule: “If you break your training partner, you dont’ get another one.” Tuishou practice can be gentle and safe, while still exploring limits.
2. Ignoring the mundane skills. Aiming for profound and mysterious abilities without first mastering the mundane skills can cause us to go through the motions without acknowledging fundamental realities. There is a tendency for students to believe so strongly in their high-level skill that they are easily overcome by someone with low-level skill.
3. Mistaking the partner’s cooperation for their own skill. There are types of tuishou practice that are so cooperative that students become delusional. If your training partner is so good at finding your correct alignment that they go flying across the room whenever you do something correctly, that is about their skill, not yours. Furthermore, that skill of theirs could be used to defeat you just as easily, if they are not deluded themselves. This is why tai chi practice can easily go from looking cool, and profound, to appearing just plain silly. Silly can be fine, and even useful, but only if the truth is understood.
That is why I focus on teaching non-competitive exercises that are designed to improve practical skill. Testing of such skill must be done carefully to avoid self-delusion.
I teach simple tuishou exercises and free-flow practice to explore mechanical principles. Later, we look at practical ways that these can be applied to tactics and strategy.
The state of mind is of great importance. I like to focus on the most useful attitudes for improving your own skills and the skills of your training partners. This requires us to pay attention to ways in which we might delude and deceive ourselves and each other.
The discernment we learn in tuishou is especially useful for martial arts. But it has applications for sport, science, and conflict resolution.
Tuishou practise can have profound effects on your daily life, your solo tai chi practice, and your meditation.
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