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Words of Wisdom on Push-hands ---Part one
By David Chen, 2002.
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Practice the solo form to know yourself; practice push-hands to know others.
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Push-hands is a game of insight, a game of discovering our true self beneath the surface of Taiji.
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The toughest opponent in push-hands is our ego for resistance.
The most dangerous moment in push-hands is the moment of our retaliation.
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We get to learn our weakness through the physical and emotional conflicts of the game.
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Bow to the strong players; they are valuable training partners for our softness---both mentally and physically.
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He pushed me five times and I pushed him six times--- this is sport.
He pushed me hard but I neutralized and bounced him softly--- this is Taiji.
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You have to understand the strong in order to keep the gentle.
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Don't put it blame on your partners, they are only a mirror of your mistakes.
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No force can land on a yielding curtain.
It is one's resistance that attracts a push.
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One’s hands can hide force but cannot hide intention.
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A four-ounce push can not work if you have a ten-pound force in your mind.
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It takes years for junior students to melt their egos, but it often creeps back as they become more senior.
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To be soft in soft playing is not true softness;
To be soft during rough playing is true softness.
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It is not that softness doesn’t work; it is that we are not soft enough.
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Softness without rooting is limpness.
Rooting without softness is resistance.
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To be unpushable is powerful, but to be untouchable is marvelous.
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Throwing an opponent to the ground is easy;
Breaking an opponent's arm is not hard either;
But bouncing him without hurting him is rather difficult to do.
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A relaxed body with sensitive mind is the only technique you need for all techniques.
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Sensitivity is what Taijiquan gongfu is all about.
Without sensitivity, every inch of your body would be double-weighted.
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Pushing is easy to learn but yielding takes a life time to practice.
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Correct timing is everything, and it is difficult to teach.
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The fun of pushing-hands is in getting to know people's true personalities---and your own, too.
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