The Form（拳架） and Pushing hands （推手）and Sparring （散手）

The Form（拳架） and Pushing hands （推手）and Sparring （散手）

As mentioned earlier, this form of taijiquan is also called 3 in 1 taijiquan. The form itself is the practice of the techniques of pushing hands and sparring. All the strokes are applicable during pushing hands and sparring.

Most practitioners have a misconception that once they have learnt the form, they proceed to learn pushing hands and eventually start to neglect practicing the form. This is the biggest mistake a practitioner can make.

Pushing hands starts with learning the parity circle, whereby, neither of them have an advantage over each other. Within the parity circle both parties will begin to look for each other’s center of gravity and through the applications of the strokes within the form, uproot (leading the opponent to the state of unstable equilibrium) and expel the opponent out of the parity circle. Pushing hands should only be viewed as a yardstick or a check on one’s accuracy and flow (roundness, 圆) of one’s form, its does not improve one’s skills. It’s a tool of measurement of the whole spectrum of taijiquan. It serves to help you identify which part of the component within the spectrum is missing. After which, one should go back to practicing the corrected form relentlessly in order to enhance one’s skill.

Most practitioners , fails to understand this point .The moment they start doing pushing hands , they think that practicing the form is for beginners, so they stop practicing the form and concentrate on just doing pushing hands .Eventually, their skills gets stiffer and stiffer, ended up relying on brute strength which completely defies the principles of taijiquan.. The form and pushing hands serves as a bridge over to the level of Sparring skills. The level of accuracy and the flow (roundness, 圆) of one’s form will dictate one’s skills in pushing hands and sparring.

－ TaichiBug