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| Chen Xiaoxing and Chen Xiaowang pushing hands in the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School |
To use Taijiquan
as a combat art, both form training and push hands must be seen as
complementary and vital. Training the form without doing push hands, while
giving some exercise benefits, will not equip an individual for combat and self
defence. Conversely, if an individual just does push hands without the
foundation of form training, while they may develop certain techniques, they
will not be able to use these to their full potential. Therefore, the
experienced practitioner should train form and push hands concurrently, without
favouring one over the other. While the less experienced practitioner must
accept that form training is the basis and foundation upon which any future
push hands success is based.
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| "Tuishou and form training are inseparable" |
In the words of Chen Xiaowang:
“Tuishou and form training are inseparable.
Whatever defect a person has in the form will be revealed during push
hands as a weakness that can be taken advantage of by an opponent. That is why Taijiquan requires one to have
the whole body working in unison. One
must practise tuishou frequently.
Tuishou is a practical application and is the only way of accurately
testing the form. Learning Taijiquan and
its postural requirements is like manufacturing the different parts of an item
of machinery. Tuishou is like its
assembly. If all the different
components of the machinery are made to requirement, then it is easy to
assemble the machinery. However, if the
parts are wrongly built and are either too big or too small, or if they are
simply the wrong parts - it will be impossible to build the machine”.
(Source: The Essence of Taijiquan)
