(I) Sixteen Upper-Body Methods
Peng (ward off), lǚ (roll back), jǐ (press), àn (push), cǎi (pluck), liè (split), zhǒu (elbow), kào (shoulder); zǎn (grasp), kòu (hook-lock), suǒ (seal-lock), juē (snap), dié (fold), cuò (grind), chě (tear), zhì (throw)
① Peng (Ward Off): “Peng is in the body and arms.” “Peng must prop and support.” Peng is the foundational skill of Taiji push hands. Peng is present everywhere, at every moment, it is the universal force that runs through the entire movement process and must never be lost. Peng skill is the basis of adhering, connecting, sticking, and following. Peng is a living force and must absolutely not be understood as unyielding resistance or hard collision.
Peng force is a force that is like loosening without fully loosening, soft yet containing hardness, lively yet weighty, full of elasticity and resilience, possessing the ability to adhere, neutralize, press, and bind. Peng force must be trained until it carries the power that, when applied, causes the opponent to have no choice but to yield. The maxim says: “Wave it away, and it cannot but go.”
Taijiquan is the art of softness containing hardness and hardness and softness complementing each other, and peng force is the most important of all. The combat principle of Taiji is to listen, neutralize, control, and issue, using the opponent’s force against them, overcoming the hard with the soft. Therefore, whenever contact is made, peng comes first. It is like a vigilant scout and like a fortified line of defense, often meeting the incoming force with appropriate resistance, limiting the opponent’s advance to a certain distance, capable of attack when advancing and defense when retreating. It is also a force that is both firm and resilient: applied to the opponent, they can neither easily withdraw nor successfully attack. Some have summarized Taijiquan’s character by saying: “Taiji is peng force; movement follows the spiral”, and this holds considerable truth.
The higher the quality of peng force, the greater its adhering, connecting, sticking, and following function in push hands, the easier it becomes to use the elbows and palms to shift the opponent’s center of gravity, disrupt their balance, and avoid being flattened when drawing in and neutralizing force. This preserves one’s own advantageous position and gives full expression to the principle of “draw in, create emptiness, then release.”
② Lǚ (Roll Back): “Lǚ is in the palm.” “Lǚ must be light.” Roll back is a classic example in Taijiquan of using a small force to overcome a large one, drawing in to create emptiness and responding after the opponent commits. “Draw them in, and they cannot but come”, this poses the greatest threat to the opponent. The common sayings of following the momentum, borrowing force, drawing in to create emptiness, leading by the nose, and four ounces redirecting a thousand pounds all essentially describe the lǚ method of lightly guiding the incoming force so that the opponent falls unwittingly into a trap. The applications of Lazy Binding of the Coat and Flash Through the Back work in exactly this way.
③ Jǐ (Press): “Jǐ is in the back of the hand.” “Jǐ is in the body and arm.” “Jǐ must press sideways.” The press method is an offensive technique in Taijiquan. Because it typically uses both hands combining force to issue, the force is considerable; properly applied, it can bring the opponent down immediately, producing excellent results in push hands. Jǐ implies pressing and squeezing to seize position, causing the opponent to lose balance and topple. In all pressing, one should move in spirals throughout, so that the opponent’s contact point encounters a spiral and is dispersed by it, causing them to fall backward involuntarily, as in Diagonal Walk and Joined-Palm Press.
④ Àn (Push): “Àn attacks through the center.” “Àn attacks from the waist.” “Striking a person is like kissing them, the hand arrives and the body must surge forward.” Using both hands to push outward simultaneously is called àn in Taijiquan. It is used by pushing with both hands toward the opponent’s lower abdomen or chest, or after the opponent’s peng posture has been sealed and closed. “When the push hand is applied, it is like a toppling wave” , it means using both hands to push while urgently stepping into the opponent’s center, simultaneously surging the body forward, adding body force upon the opponent’s already destabilized frame to accelerate their fall. Although the push method appears externally as pushing with the hands, the power is primarily the body’s integrated whole-body force. In particular: the body must surge, the step must pass through, the waist must press forward, breath sinks to the dantian, the heel pushes the ground, calm and released yet with a propping-upward force, forming a unified whole-body force. The maxim states: “When the root section moves and the tip section issues, with the middle section arriving simultaneously, a marvelous method is born”, uprooting the heel and wrenching out the foundation so that the opponent’s heels leave the ground and they fly out. Examples include forward push, flip push, splitting push, upper-lower push, rotating push, deflecting push, leg-scoop push, cutting push, and hook-leg push.
⑤ Cǎi (Pluck): “Cǎi is in the ten fingers.” “Cǎi must be substantial.” Plucking is Taijiquan’s distinctive seizing and controlling method, divided into single pluck and double pluck, yet different from other arts’ seizing methods. Although it also employs pointing, seizing, locking, hooking, cutting, wrapping, levering, and pressing, it emphasizes clamping, trapping, pluck-releasing, and guided tripping, so that following the opponent’s changes, borrowing their force, the opponent falls without awareness. The maxim states: “Cǎi in the ten fingers must grip firmly; its wonder lies entirely in the twist.” Plucking and seizing exceed the normal range of the opponent’s joint movement, creating intense pain they cannot endure, freezing the whole body in stiffness, unable to move, unable to stop, unable to control themselves, and in severe cases, separating the tendons, grinding the bones, and tearing apart joints, muscles, and ligaments. The maxim “within a straight line, seek the curve, that is the essence of cǎi” points precisely to this. Examples include Small Seizing, Cross Hands, Vajra, and Single Whip.
⑥ Liè (Split): “Liè is in both upper arms.” “Liè must be startling.” “When force comes fierce, split breaks it.” The split method issues force diagonally forward, or to the side-rear, a transverse force typically applied at two ends in opposite directions, one forward and one backward, one upward and one downward, like the rotational or lever force of tearing an object apart. Liè is entirely a joint-reversing method; its primary target is the elbow joint. When applying liè, first relax then suddenly tighten,“liè must be startling and springy” , swift as lightning, crisp and clean, snapping the arm instantly. It is one of Taijiquan’s most refined and distinctive techniques, as seen in Vajra, Deflect, Parry and Elbow, Cloud Hands, and Step Back and Whirl Arms.
⑦ Zhǒu (Elbow): “The elbow is used when bent.” “Elbow must thrust.” “Elbow strikes can be used freely at any moment.” “Far, use the hand; close, use the elbow.” “Better to take a fist than an elbow.” Elbow techniques are used when close to the opponent, when fists and feet cannot be freely deployed. Elbow strikes are easy to conceal, land at close range, emerge urgently, and primarily target the head, solar plexus, and ribs — among the most powerful and devastating of all striking techniques. Examples include rib elbow, heart-shaking elbow, chest-piercing elbow, crown-of-head elbow, heart-penetrating elbow, back-of-heart elbow, temple elbow, and back-of-skull elbow, many of them lethal and ruthless in application.
⑧ Kào (Shoulder/Body Press): “Kào uses the shoulder and back.” “Kào is in the shoulder and chest.” “Kào must collapse and burst.” “Far, the fist; close, the elbow; body and hip for the shoulder press.” The shoulder-body press is used when the limbs are in close contact with the opponent, or when part of one’s own body has been trapped and cornered and turning one’s back converts a disadvantage. Because kào is short, explosive, and powerful, combined with whole-body-force collision, its force is large and ferocious, like pushing a mountain into the sea. In practice, accompanying it with the hēng and hā exhalations enhances its power greatly.
Kào uses the shoulder and arm, back, chest, hip, and buttock to collide, and requires well-coordinated body and footwork, with shoulder and hip coordinated and upper and lower body following each other. The body centered and upright, stepping in line, is most effective. Its techniques are numerous: T-step shoulder press, back-folding press, facing-door press, through-the-crotch press, body-clinging press, shoulder-collision press, all sharing with elbow techniques the characteristic of fast, springy, jolting force release.
All combat hand techniques in this art are evolved from the eight methods of peng, lǚ, jǐ, àn, cǎi, liè, zhǒu, and kào. In particular, when cǎi, liè, zhǒu, and kào are applied with complete fluency in combat, one can act with total freedom regardless of the opponent’s skill. In applying hand methods, the overt hand is displayed openly in front, while the covert hand conceals its momentum behind and within; when the overt hand fails, one immediately converts to the covert hand, adapting to changes, changing again and again, until the opponent is issued out. All such endless variations must follow the opponent’s momentum and borrow the opponent’s force, expressing the combat principle of “abandoning self and following others, borrowing force to strike.” Combined with spiraling advances and retreats of body method, footwork, elbow method, and leg method, seizing, controlling, elbowing, pressing; startling, springing, jolting, splitting; opening, closing, rising, sinking; covering, sealing, inserting, pressing; intercepting the force pathway; crushing the pulse points and misaligning bones; evading, extending, leaping, and shifting; feet and hands advancing together; soft neutralizing and hard issuing, all interwoven and cleverly varied, leaving the opponent overwhelmed and unable to defend, trapped in constant passivity and constant attack from all sides.
Taking the Vajra posture as an example: this posture begins with the four primary hands of peng, lǚ, jǐ, and àn; in the process of the unified-origin circle spiraling downward, with a slight variation it can become roll-back-pluck, ward-off-split, roll-back-push, or roll-back-pluck. These hand methods can neutralize the opponent’s seizing techniques applied to one’s own body, and can be used to throw and trip the opponent, while also possessing the power of a thousand-pound drop.
As the waist and spine turn right and sink, the rolling hand transforms into right roll-split; turning left and pressing down becomes left press-push. At the moment of turning and changing, one can suddenly release the left-right startling-split and head-strike-shoulder-press-body-press contained within the posture; at the moment of extending the left leg, one has hook-foot trip, cover-seal-insert-press, stomp-tread-point-strike, both hands restraining the opponent’s arms, so that when the leg technique succeeds, one issues following the direction of the opponent’s fall.
Subsequently, when the right hand sinks in an arc and presses forward, the press converts to a split, to shoulder-elbow-hand, to split-elbow-hand, then converts again to pressing-jolting hand, intercepting hand, and seizing hand. When the left leg covers and seals the opponent’s right leg from behind, or the inserting-pressing leg steps into the opponent’s crotch, combined with the shoulder press from the left shoulder, the opponent’s leg is entangled and they cannot escape being slammed and toppled.
When the right foot steps forward, the knee can collide into the opponent’s crotch or lower abdomen, or the foot can kick the opponent’s shin, the choice between these leg techniques depending on one’s distance from the opponent. The right hand initially is a groin-scooping hand; when the opponent retracts their crotch, one follows the momentum and converts it to an upward strike straight to the opponent’s chin, or changes to a heart-scooping punch, or a fruit-offering posture attacking the chest, throat, and face.
Finally, as the right fist falls closed and rises open, this is simultaneously a method of dissolving the opponent’s seizing technique and a technique of applying one’s own seizing hand and clavicle-locking hand. Hidden within it is also a back-fist strike with the right fist to the opponent’s right temple or right ear root, as well as a stomp of the right foot onto the top of the opponent’s front foot.
In this one posture alone there are dozens of variations in overt hand, hidden hand, leg method, and body method, which shows that the saying “everywhere in Taiji is a hand” is no exaggeration.
⑨ Zǎn (Grasp): Refers to gripping, pinching, and hooking-rolling the fingers, primarily used in applying or breaking joint seizing techniques, or in the striking methods of separating tendons, misaligning bones, and sealing acupoints and gates. The maxim “when seized, close the fist” is one expression of the zǎn method.
⑩ Kòu (Hook-Lock): Refers to sealing, covering, encompassing, or clamping the opponent, most commonly seen applied through the fingers.
⑪ Suǒ (Seal-Lock): Refers to sealing, closing, clamping, and managing one or several of the opponent’s joints, preventing their free movement.
⑫ Juē (Snap): Refers to suddenly and unexpectedly bending, snapping, and jolting apart the opponent’s joint.
⑬ Dié (Fold): Refers to folding, a back-and-forth, come-and-return action of folding, plucking, and splitting.
⑭ Cuò (Grind): Refers to the application of folding and misaligning in motion, sudden grinding, separating tendons, misaligning bones, twisting, tearing, and wrenching.
⑮ Chě (Tear): Refers to the use of one seize, two thrust, three intercept, four grab, five twist, six coil, seven rip, and eight jolt, tearing and breaking apart while gripping the skin, lifting the tendons, and pinching the flesh.
⑯ Zhì (Throw): Refers to covertly applying a sinking force to spring the opponent’s center of gravity upward and lift them high, then casting them airborne and slamming them down — suddenly high, then suddenly low.
(II) Sixteen Middle-Body Methods
Rise, fall, advance, retreat; leap, evade, circle, turn; contain, pull up, pass through, brace, loop, manage, swallow, release
① Rise: “Rise begins in the sole of the foot.” To go upward, the intent of going downward must first be present. One must also raise the full spirit. The whole foot is planted, five toes gripping the ground, the crown of the head led upward, lifting the opponent’s body and borrowing their force — drawing them to the front of one’s body, where force begins to accumulate. One loosens one’s own force without allowing it to become bent and blocked; at the moment of release, waist and foot are precisely aimed. Or: at the instant before the opponent’s force emerges but has not yet been issued, one’s own force has already entered the opponent’s force, arriving neither late nor early, like spring water gushing forth, like flames touching gunpowder, suddenly erupting.
All initiating of movement follows the other’s movement, following curves to extend, not losing contact and not resisting, not self-extending or self-contracting. Where the opponent has force, I also have force, and my force leads; where the opponent has no force, I also have no force, yet my intent still leads, always prepared, raising the full spirit. At every moment attend to which part is touched; apply the heart to that place. Seek the information within the approach of neither losing contact nor resisting, and working from this, within a year and a half one will be able to apply this skill to the body.
② Fall: “Fall lands in the hollow.” (The tradition holds that the human body has thirteen hollows; the maxim says: “The Taiji force method is boundlessly wonderful; its wonder is entirely stored within the hollows.”) Stored in the dantian, suspended above, sinking below. In push hands, inhaling naturally lifts the opponent, also capable of raising them up; exhaling naturally sinks downward, also capable of releasing them out. In push hands, a rapid action draws the opponent’s center of gravity, like lifting an object (a short inhalation) , then suddenly, as the opponent’s center of gravity becomes unstable, the force is released: the whole body’s force sinks downward in an arc with a slight upward-forward trajectory, “adding to it the force of grinding; then the root will naturally sever” (a short exhalation). Examples include Three-Step Punch, Harrier Hawk Turns Over, and Stride the Tiger.
③ Advance: “Advance finds its origin.” “Advance is in Cloud Hands.” To advance into the person, first advance the body; hands, feet, intent, breath, and force all arrive together, that is true advance. Intent rises from the heart, the hand drops toward the tip of the nose, issuing force like a cannonball. Examples include Three-Step Punch, Cloud Hands, and Wild Horse Parts Mane.
The advantages of advancing the body with upper, middle, and lower levels moving together are as follows: advancing the body makes strikes powerful, allowing the full integrated body force to be expressed with the power of the seven stars. Advancing the body stabilizes the center of gravity: with the body’s center between the two legs after advancing, the foundation is stable and difficult for the opponent to displace. Advancing makes strikes fierce: the body has advanced, hands and feet arrive together, striking above and kicking below, or pushing above and tripping below : the attack is fierce, the issuing far-reaching, and difficult to defend or neutralize. The maxim states: “When the hand arrives and the foot also arrives, striking a person is like pulling up weeds; when the hand arrives but the foot does not, the strike above gains no advantage.” Advancing the body keeps the opponent from mounting any effective defense: after advancing, one’s own attacks can change unpredictably , defend above and be struck below; defend left and be struck right; defend badly and be struck above and below simultaneously; defend the fist and be struck by the elbow; defend the elbow and be struck by the shoulder; defend the shoulder and be struck by the hip; defend the palm and be struck by the head, leaving the opponent with no adequate defense. Advancing enables effective defense: after advancing, the opponent’s long arms and legs cannot be freely deployed, while one directly controls the middle and root sections of their limbs, effectively disrupting their attack while oneself being difficult to hit. After advancing, the path for one’s own sideways evasion is shortest, making it easy to dodge to the opponent’s side or rear ,advantageous for one’s own attack. Advancing breaks the opponent’s seizing: when the opponent seizes me successfully, they must necessarily use force toward their own body to control me, and if I resist by pulling in the opposite direction, that plays right into their hands. But if instead I follow the momentum and advance to attack, not only do I easily break free, the opponent finds themselves controlled in turn.
④ Retreat: “Retreat is in turning the forearms.” “Victory lies in advancing to seize position; not being defeated lies in retreating to avoid the point of attack.” “Advancing without the opponent knowing how; retreating with a speed the opponent cannot fathom.” For every advance there is a retreat; advance and retreat in proper measure. The ancient teaching says: “Die without retreating; retreat and you must strike the person.” The posture Step Back and Whirl Arms is precisely a method of striking within retreat.
With long practice and pure skill, rise, fall, advance, and retreat rotate freely and naturally; light and heavy, empty and full, hard and soft all issue together; the whole body arrives gathered as one; spirit and breath do not scatter, and only then does one force flow through and protect the entire body.
⑤ Leap: “Leap is in pliability and resilience.” Light, lively, round, and agile, changes quick and light, so that whatever is raised immediately rises and whatever is pressed immediately drops. Breath sinks to the dantian, drumming and surging upward. As seen in the Jade Maiden Passes Through the Shuttle posture.
Leap also means teng-nuo, which is spirit and essence. Essence, breath, and spirit are infused into the two feet, two legs, two hands, and the front sections of the two arms. When one can feel teng-nuo, the marvelous application of empty-empty-full-full and full-full-empty-empty becomes ever more refined with practice. The saying “leap and shift, entering emptiness at will” points precisely to this.
⑥ Evade: “Evade the center, seize the cross , and within the evade there is always an opening.” Contain the chest, compress the bones, swallow and yield, evade and shift and leap. As in Step-Away White Crane Spreads Wings, Diagonal Walk, Leaping Diagonal Walk, Upper Pipa, and Lower Pipa.
Evade means shǎn-zhàn: flash combat. It is the method of avoiding the solid and entering the empty with the smallest possible movement, suddenly redirecting direction, angle, and force point, releasing force rapidly. This is “flash combat”, a kind of force full of elasticity, a jolting force. Eyes, body, hands, waist, and legs all follow in sequence, completing in one breath; force issues forward, swift as lightning, irresistible. Its characteristic is that it does not collide with incoming force, barely touching yet not touching, then suddenly redirecting, avoiding the solid and entering the empty. For overcoming large force with small force, this leaves the opponent’s power with nowhere to apply its technique. The saying “flash combat wastes the strength that could move mountains” points precisely to this.
⑦ Circle: “Circle is in the rotating axis.” Alive within it, neither convex nor concave, centered and comfortable, neither colliding nor leaning nor losing contact nor resisting — turning fluidly and at just the right measure. As in White Crane Spreads Wings and Low Exploration Horse.
⑧ Turn: “Turn is at the waist.” “Walk, turn, and change — moving through without obstruction.” Turning must use the waist; the waist is the pivot of the whole body, the hub that regulates balance throughout. “At every moment apply the intent to the waist.” “The waist is the first and foremost master.” It drives the four limbs and coordinates the body’s posture and motion. Its primary purpose is to develop the innate original source and consolidate the innate foundation, with the special effects of health cultivation and combat skill development. As seen in Vajra, White Crane Spreads Wings, Single Whip, Diagonal Walk, High Pat on Horse, Cloud Hands, Wild Horse Parts Mane, virtually every posture contains the marvelous use of turning.
The deeper meaning of yuán-zhuǎn (circle-turn) is that Taijiquan movement everywhere contains spiral force. This spiral force is a multidirectional spiral: the slightest movement of any part of the body involves spiral force. This force arises because during any movement, all large and small joints must maintain a supporting force, and all parts of the body form obtuse triangles; at this point force seeks to expand and also to contract, and the result is that every part of the body produces spiral force, including in the legs. When applying this force, the entire body must form obtuse triangles, then suddenly change the direction of force, like an explosion, “bang,” and spiral force erupts. What is commonly called “going straight” is in fact still spiraling as it goes , one might say it spirals around a straight-line force; the spiral and the straight line are a unity of opposites. In outward appearance this may not be visible, but internally it all contains rotating spiral force, forming a wave-like advance. “The hand going out is like a steel file, the hand returning is like a hook-pole”, this refers mostly to the concentration of spiritual force, not merely external imitation of a shape. The force issued spirals outward and spirals back, not linear motion. Even where it appears linear, this is very brief. The rolling, twisting, bracing, and wringing forces used in push hands are all spiral-curve, form-curved-force-straight movements. What is called form-curved-force-straight is force without a flat plane — absolute force. Every muscle of the whole body must be kept in the state of a “pearl rolling inside a bowl, reaching every minute point, never stopping.” Force-straight can also be called force-round , it does not mean linear motion; force-straight means having active potential in all eight directions. In learning this art one should learn to trace circles: large circles are inferior to small circles; small circles are inferior to circles so small they show no outward form; circles with no outward form are inferior to the full-body simultaneous movement of complete intent and complete unified force — this is the way of seeking center and using center in the art of boxing.
In summary: there is no purely linear motion; there is always some degree of “circular flavor” — “entering and exiting in spiral form,” “the waist is like a wheel, the legs are like drills” , all convey this meaning.
⑨ Contain: The sense of concealing and storing. Here it refers to containing the chest to softly neutralize an incoming frontal attack, or concentrating intent in the spine to spring-issue an attack coming from behind.
⑩ Pull Up: The sense of drawing, pulling, and lifting out. Here it refers to raising the full spirit, the crown of the head lightly led upward, pulling up the back to spring-issue an attacker’s force, or to move nimbly and neutralize.
⑪ Pass Through: Refers to unobstructed flow — internal force passing through without any blockage whatsoever, all manner of transformed forces fully available.
⑫ Brace: Refers to the courage and spirit pressing forward, the upright and lifted quality, the waist force fully infused, strong and powerful — the heroic bearing that should be present when issuing and releasing force.
The four words contain, pull up, pass through, and brace summarize the Zhaobao Three-in-One Taijiquan theory of “contain the chest and pull up the back, pass through the spine and brace the chest” — the distinguishing characteristic of the internal practice of hēng and hā breath drumming and issuing force through the air, the inner cultivation whose expression is the drumming and surging of internal breath.
⑬ Loop: Roundness. Refers to the quality of every movement in Taijiquan being arced and round — here primarily referring to the push hands method where the waist and hips, with the four limbs coordinating, excel in the drawing-in-to-create-emptiness and uprooting-the-heel methods of vertical and oblique-vertical circle inversions and foldings.
⑭ Manage: Originally meaning to restrain and control. Here it primarily refers to using the body to draw in and adhere — like glue and lacquer — to control the arm or body of the opponent who dares to attack, so that they cannot attack, cannot stop, cannot maintain stable footing, cannot control themselves, cannot maintain their center of gravity; their arms cannot withdraw from my body; and meanwhile I have freed both my hands to strike the opponent freely at will.
⑮ Swallow: Originally meaning to absorb and engulf. Here it primarily refers to using body method to swallow and absorb the opponent’s strike, achieving the effect of drawing in to create emptiness, swallowing and neutralizing — causing the opponent to fall as if off a cliff into a valley bottom.
⑯ Release: Originally meaning to emit, surge, and spray out. Here it refers to the explosive, surging, spraying, and directly launching force after force has been stored — with the power of breaking through whatever stands in its way. The technique of using hēng and hā breath to spring-issue and release force through the air is one expression of swallow and release combined within “contain the chest, pull up the back, pass through the spine, brace the chest.”
(III) Sixteen Lower-Body Methods
Wrap, kneel, pry, scoop; chop, wall, hang, stomp; hook, pry open, intercept, point, spring, scrape, roll, coil
The purpose of applying the sixteen lower-body methods in push hands is to extend adhering, connecting, sticking, and following to the legs — seeking to strengthen leg force and sensitize the touch — as a means of controlling the opponent. These are the uprooting-and-tripping methods used in coordination with hand techniques to topple the opponent, such as using a sweeping-leg chop to destroy the opponent’s root stance, or using a kneeling-knee pry-scoop to cause the opponent’s body to fall backward.
① Wrap: “Wrap is in the loose coiling.” Like a vine wrapping around — adhering, sticking, loosely clinging, abandoning self and following others, with the method residing in its own use. When an opponent attacks the outer side of one’s leg or strikes low into the inner crotch, one first uses the skill of loose coiling to defend; then, following the direction of the incoming attack, one uses outer-wrapping or inner-wrapping rotational leg technique to move in the direction of the incoming leg, following its tendency, borrowing its force, riding its momentum — using one’s own softly rotating leg and coiling method and sticking-connecting artistry to control the incoming leg within the crook of one’s own leg, applying the techniques of rotating, wrapping, folding, stacking, grinding, and twisting — inevitably causing the opponent’s leg to be snapped and their wrist-equivalent joint broken, separating the tendons and grinding the bones. As in Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg and Step Back and Whirl Arms.
② Kneel: “Kneel is in the knee.” Seek it both horizontally and vertically. The value is in the intent — when the skill is achieved, follow the heart; seek the straight from the curved, store and then issue; when the issue lands on the right point, success is achieved. As in Three-Step Punch and Stride the Tiger.
③ Pry: “Pry is in the tip of the extremity.” Like a seesaw — the root section sinks and relaxes, the tip section springs upward. As in the Turn and Look at the Painting posture.
④ Scoop: “Scoop is in following to fill.” Scoop following the gap to fill the empty space, rotate to lead into emptiness, causing the opponent to lose their center. As in Cross Hands and Stride the Tiger.
⑤ Chop: “Chop is in the direct collapse.” To chop, first relax — form like a pendulum clock, used both horizontally and vertically, cold and crisp, fast and ruthless. As in Step Back and Whirl Arms.
⑥ Wall: “Wall is in standing at the root.” The primary aim is to control the root — clinging close and advancing by inches, nothing that stands firm cannot be broken through. As in White Crane Spreads Wings.
⑦ Hang: “Hang is in the hook-loop.” Adhere and cling, bring it back — the moment it lands, apply it; when the foot arrives, success is achieved. As in Cloud Hands, Step Back and Whirl Arms, Front Shine, and Back Shine.
⑧ Stomp: “Stomp is in extending the heel.” The wonder is in the hip joint — combining stomp and tread, its power demonstrates the spring force. As in Leaping Diagonal Walk, Magpie Mounts the Branch, and Spinning Foot Stomp Root.
⑨ Hook: Originally meaning to draw away, wipe off, and scrape away. Here it refers to using the toes to hook-hang the opponent’s supporting foot — in one application or in a continuous chain — when the opponent’s center of gravity is unstable, in order to cause the opponent to topple rapidly. The hook method is often used in coordination with passing-through steps, scoop-under-steps, and sleeve-catch-leg methods. The maxim “hook, coil, scissors, grind — how many know it? Roll, sleeve, underpin, intercept — how few recognize it!” shows that hook leads these methods.
⑩ Pry Open: Originally meaning to break apart and split open. Here it specifically refers to using the knee to split and deflect in push hands — opening the opponent’s lower-body gate, stepping into the center door and into the crotch to enable the use of the wall-leg; or using the toes to pivot outward or hook inward; or using the heel to press forward-upward and then pivot outward, managing the opponent’s step; or reversing the front-back direction to facilitate drawing-in-neutralizing-controlling-releasing combat methods.
⑪ Intercept: Originally meaning to block, cut off, and sever. Here it refers to using the footwork below to intercept and block the opponent’s force pathway in push hands, preventing their attack from being effective, so that one’s own side gains the opportunity to issue the hand.
⑫ Point: Originally meaning a rapid stabbing strike. Here it specifically refers to the unexpected collision of the kneecap against the opponent’s rib or other vital area.
⑬ Spring: Originally meaning a sudden explosive springing, preventing shrinking and wrinkling. Here it refers to the action where the empty foot touches the ground at the toe, and the heel suddenly stamps the ground, producing a sudden straightening of the knee joint. The purpose is to jolt and collide against the opponent’s supporting leg wherever it touches one’s own, suddenly causing the opponent to lose their center of gravity and topple rapidly.
⑭ Scrape: Originally meaning to step on something and slide it aside. Here it refers to using the front of the foot to stomp down onto the opponent’s shinbone below the knee and slide downward, then stamping onto the top of their foot. The effect can cause the skin and flesh of the opponent’s lower leg to split open and the bones of the foot to shatter.
⑮ Roll: Originally meaning to move by rotating. Here it refers to the roll-underpin leg technique in push hands: when the opponent’s supporting leg rests upon one’s own leg, one’s leg acts like a rolling log acting as a prop beneath their leg, with internal force infused into the leg like a roller-axis rolling — then prying and scooping obliquely upward, at which point the opponent is inevitably thrown. The clearest example of this method is the Turn and Look at the Painting posture.
⑯ Coil: Originally meaning to wind and curve. Here it specifically refers to the technique in push hands where the opponent’s leg enters beneath one’s own leg, or one’s own leg enters the opponent’s crotch, and one uses the empty leg to curve and wrap, coiling and locking the opponent’s supporting leg to bring them to the ground. The maxim “Coiling the leg contains within it separating, wrapping, hanging, and treading — bind the enemy’s foot, spring the knee, and press with a kneel” expresses exactly this.
IV. The Three Levels of Taiji Push Hands
What boxing prizes most is spirit, willpower, and the cultivation of internal force. Stated comprehensively: causing the self to harmonize with the greater atmosphere of the universe. Stated specifically: taking the principles and laws of the cosmos as the foundation, cultivating force that is round and power that is square, form that is curved and force that is straight, emptiness and fullness never fixed — training the innate capacity for sensitive tactile awareness.
Push hands is in reality not about chasing the opponent’s arms or passively clinging to their hands, elbows, and body — it is about “listening” to the opponent’s force pathway, transforming one’s own force method, and with single-minded focus thinking only about how to “push the person.” Merely following the opponent’s arms and tracing circles has no real meaning. One must achieve the mutual use of pushing, pulling, hooking, and tripping — while making it true-and-false, empty-and-full — wanting to pull but first pushing, wanting to push but first pulling, folding back and forth, maintaining the whole body in a spring-like state. For example: to pull the opponent, first perform the opposite motion of pushing — the moment the opponent uses force to push forward and their whole body tightens, one can immediately follow that momentum to issue force downward, causing the opponent to fall forward. The requirement for issuing force is: touch and immediately issue, issue and immediately stop — while maintaining flexibility for continuing to issue. If in the situation above the opponent reacts quickly and does not fall forward but works hard to control their balance backward, one can then follow the momentum to issue force forward, causing them to fall backward — this is the general principle. So the first level is the contest of internal force. At this level, both partners in push hands use the sensation and feeling of the hands and body to process the other’s force. This level is primarily about the skillful change of center of gravity and the transformation of the body’s mechanical structure — balancing one’s own center of gravity, manipulating the opponent’s center of gravity, using the transformation of one’s own body to neutralize and attack.
The second level is the transformation of jìn (refined force). Jìn is a further deepening of lì (raw strength) after martial skill has reached a higher state — it carries within it an element of gōng (cultivated ability), and only one who possesses gōng can deploy jìn. This jìn is not dead strength but living force — it is the sublimation and elevation of strength, a force that has been refined and transformed. The refined forces of Taiji push hands and their transformations number in the dozens or even hundreds. One who can fluently deploy these forces has already reached the level of a first-class master.
The third level is the stage of shénmíng (divine clarity) in Taijiquan — using intent, using the heart; from the tangible to the formless, from having methods to having no method; acting at will, moving from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. This state is in general extremely difficult to achieve. This level of skill is expressed not only in the various transformations within the body but even more so in the processing of all kinds of information outside the body. At this level, the dimensions of space are greatly expanded. Through one’s own intent, one can inwardly regulate oneself and outwardly control the opponent; the moment contact is made with the opponent, they immediately feel as though caught in a net of heaven and snares of earth — unable to use their hands, unable to move their feet, spirit frozen and breath stagnant — and when force is issued upon them it is like striking a scarecrow. The core of this is processing the relationship between emptiness and fullness.
The three levels of skill have three key elements.
The first is the constitution of emptiness and fullness in space. Each of us as a physical body is an objective reality , yet in Taiji push hands we become one side of a contradiction, or what might be called a form of information. High-level push hands between two people is in reality a processing of spatial information. To control the opponent freely and naturally, one must transform the space of one’s own physical body into emptiness (meaning information-space), while finding fullness within the empty space outside the body. This way the opponent finds no footing: when neutralizing, one is light, soft, and round, receiving no force, causing the opponent to lose balance and feel as if weightless in the air. When issuing force, because of speed, precision of landing point, sufficiency of internal force, and the sudden release of the adhesion point, the opponent cannot feel it or neutralize it before they have already been sent flying into the air, achieving the high-level technique of “storage and release transforming into each other.” This is the essential meaning of “draw in, create emptiness.” To achieve the emptiness-fullness transformation of space, one must sensitively grasp the structural components of space , the trajectories of points, lines, and surfaces, something that can only come through scientific training.
The second element is emptiness. This is the advanced stage of “releasing and softening.” When all joints and muscles of the whole body have been released and relaxed section by section, and one perceives the communication between one’s own body and the outside world, completely removing all stiff and clumsy force from oneself , that is the state of “emptiness.” One typical expression of “emptiness” concerns the question of “the root is in the foot.” Many people misunderstand this saying, believing that the more firmly the stance is rooted in the foot the better , so they sink the breath and pour force downward, causing a blockage of force. In reality, its true meaning lies precisely in “emptiness”: when “emptiness” is achieved, there is no dead force anywhere in the foot; it is completely relaxed and open; the whole body is unobstructed. This “root” does not refer entirely to the root of force — it means “fundamental” and “key.”
The third element is agility. With the experience of “emptiness” and the ability to process space, the conditions are in place but to apply them freely and naturally requires spiritual agility. Agility is a kind of transformation, a kind of means. In movement, one lightly attaches to the opponent’s body, receiving whatever comes and moving with it; matching however much force the opponent uses; at every point of contact preventing the opponent’s force from passing through the contact point into one’s own body, making it impossible for them to know one’s own shifts in center of gravity or to control one, while oneself turns the empty into full and the full into empty, seemingly as void as nothing, yet as deep as the ocean, transforming without end. Exactly as the boxing saying goes: “The opponent does not know me; I alone know the opponent.” The core of these three levels of skill is “intent” , deploying “intent” is the highest and most marvelous state of boxing skill. “The great Way has no form” , that is precisely this meaning.
