Grandmaster Tse’s Tàijí Fist 270

Soft Controls Hard is a level we train to reach during Tuī Shǒu 推手 – Pushing Hands. We must let our partner push us and attack us in many different ways, and when they do we need to be able to make them lose their balance. This is how we learn to overcome their attack using Tàijíquán 太極拳 skill. A lot of solutions are based on the movement of the waist and footwork. When they strike we must move to the side, so that we are safe, we just need to move at the right time, then we can use the energy they have use to strike use and add our own to it making us even more powerful, and then we can cause the opponent to lose his or her balance. Using the opponent’s force is the best and then it does not matter how strong and powerful they are. If we use our energy all the time we will quickly become exhausted.  Imagine if there are five opponents around you and each time they attack you use their energy against them, then even when you have finished the fight, you will still have a lot of energy to spare. So, we need to do a lot of Tuī Shǒu with a lot of people. Then at the end even when you are not in contact with them you can read them and you can push or pull, or strike or break with just one touch.