| Push Hand Tactics | Web information |
Value of Push Hands In martial arts, the “hand” is used in defense (blocking, intercepting, stopping, etc.), and in combat the hand has the capability of striking (stab, thrust, chop, scoop, etc.), controlling (grasping, throwing, pinning, etc.), and using objects (staves, swords, guns, etc.) The Chinese character for hand, (“te” in Japanese, “shou” in Chinese) is often used as a suffix to denote martial arts, e.g. Kara-te, Kumi-te, Okinawan Naha-te, Shuri-te, etc. The “hand” has two major states: the palm (“zhang” in Chinese) and the fist (“quan” in Chinese). There are styles such as Bagua Zhang, Pigua Zhang, Soft Palm, Shuttle Palm, Iron Palm, etc. which utilize the “palm” character. Chinese Martial Arts generally use the character for “fist,” e.g. Tai Ji Quan, Shaolin Quan, etc. “Fist” is used in other arts as well, such as Tae Kwon Do (kwon = fist) and Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do (kune = fist). As important as the hand and its components of palm and fist are for human beings, they are not used to full extent in contemporary martial arts and combative sports. Simple One-Way thought dominates the field, and thus the use of the hand is limited to fixed form, either the clenched fist or open palm. This is a result of the absolute subjectivity, competition (profit-making performance) orientation, and political imprinting of “point & line” consciousness, i.e. point = uniform, intensive, and fragmentary, and line = one-sided and repetitive.) In martial arts and combative sports, without Contact (Crossing) and Connection (Crossed) there can be no use of technique. Generally, martial arts styles express the idea of “contact-crossing” and “connection-crossed” through various names combined with the character of “hand,” e.g. Push Hands in Taiji Quan, Free Hands in Xing Yi Quan, Coiling Hands in Bagua Zhang, Bridge Hands in Southern Shaolin Quan, Connecting Hands in Northern Shaolin Quan, Sticking Hands in Wing Chun, Water-Fire Hands in White Crane Kung Fu, Hooking Hands in Preying Mantis Kung Fu, etc. In addition, other martial arts contain Contact-Crossing practice methods, such as those in Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga, and Silat, as well as in throwing/grappling systems in general, e.g. Sumo, Aikido, Judo, Jujutsu, Shuai Jiao, Greco-Roman Wrestling, Sambo, etc. However, the fashion and influence of competition martial arts and performance grappling create a contemporary situation in which Contact-Crossing Method and Connect-Crossed Method are largely undeveloped. This results in the following problems: (1) Predominance of Direct Attack in striking Essence of Evolution raises the issue of Contact-Crossing ? Connect-Crossed in order to present a solution and process to elucidate their meanings. Style is the entrance to martial arts, and a system is but a part of combat. In practicing Contact-Crossing method, one is then able to deploy the Connect-Crossed method. To discover Universal Fact through Actual Physical Proof is of utmost importance. Contact-Crossing Method The Extension of a Point is a Line ? Technique: point & line method / Tactics: direct attack method. Classification according to physical state traverses the distances between styles and system, while separating and clarifying Technique and Tactics. In contemporary combative sports, the purpose is performance; there is a predominance of direct striking (point & line technique). In mixed martial arts, the dominant element is ground technique/grappling (spiral method.) The current popularity and advancement of competition destroy the meaning and substance of self-defense, and obscures the consistent continuation of crossing > crossed technique, focusing only on offense. Within this present condition, Essence of Evolution arises to exceed the framework of style and system, demonstrate proof of principle and physical basis, practice combative law based on universal fact, and present a technical system and tactical method, abbreviated as:
Crossing Method = essence of process = defense through contact: One-Point Crossing - Addition Method, Crossed Method? = essence of step = control through connection: Single/Double Crossed Method, Crossed Method Deployment in Essence of Evolution ? (EOE Original) Competition Push Hands: Taiji Quan has a conservative tendency, because of the deeply-rooted traditional thought of Taiji Quan, manifested in such styles as Chen, Yang, Sun, and Wu. If every style stubbornly defends their particular method of Push Hands, then the public understanding of Push Hands is not clear. Competition Push Hands was created by Chinese National Authority, in order to create a more objective means of evaluation and credibility. Competition entails performing under fixed rules. As such, the shorter and simpler the rules, the easier it is to spread the practice to the public. As the competitive base grows, a player’s level will naturally grow. Moreover, progressing from Taiji Push Hands to Competition Push Hands suggests further evolution, to the attainment of Taiji Free Hands and Martial Arts Application Hands Competition Push Hands Taiji Push Hands: Although the establishment of Push Hands rules enables the spread of Competition Push Hands, there is a limit to the research one can perform in Taiji Push Hands, in the context of martial arts. Various systems and opinions?complicated by the authority of style and tradition?make the study of Taiji Push Hands difficult. Without exceeding the framework of style, one cannot discover the essence of Taiji Push Hands. A style is the entrance of a martial art; in stopping at one style, one can never graduate one’s school. Taiji Quan originates in the “Taiji 13 Postures.” Expansion, Pull, Press, Push, Pick, Tear, Elbow, and Leaning are the “Eight Postures,” which combine with the Five Elements?Center, Front, Left, Right, Back?for a total of thirteen. The first step of Taiji Quan application is the training of Push Hands, which is its Connection-Crossed method. Therefore, discovering the physical basis of Push Hands is an important subject of study. The first order of business is to examine the present condition of Taiji Push Hands. Push Hands training begins with Single Hand and progresses to Double Hand. It is an established fact of Taiji Quan doctrine that Double Hand training embodies the “Four Sides,” i.e. expansion, pull, press, and push. However, this doctrine excludes the remaining “Four Corners”?pick, tear, elbow, and leaning?as well as the Five Elements (front, center, left, right, back). Is this the result of a deficiency in training methods? Or is it homework for the research-minded practitioner? This is left to the judgment of the individual. Master Su Dong-Chen of EOE analyzes the “Taiji 13 Postures” through the following process of elimination. We may immediately subtract the Four Sides, expansion, pull, press, and push, as they have been previously established as the components of Double Push Hands. The Four Corners may also be deducted; pick represents gathering, tear represents tearing, elbow must be concerned with training of that joint, and leaning is concerned with leaning. This leaves the Five Elements?center, front, left, right, back?as the focus of study for Single Push Hands. In EOE Single Push Hands, there is the Five Element Plane of center, front, left, right, back and the Five Element Vertical Field of center, left, right, up, down. With these components we attain tactical application and deployment of technique at Center (Straight-Side), Inside, Outside, Up-Side, and Low-Side.
   
Taiji Quan’s Single & Double Push Hands, as with every style and system, consists of static posture and motion. It is natural to practice form and technique; however, blind repetition of motion without verification is Blank Practice. The basis of Crossed Method in Essence of Evolution is Taiji Push Hands. The EOE training system clarifies the basis of operation and principles of motion in Single & Double Push Hands, researches essence and principle beyond the framework of style or system, and contains pair training and practice methods of Push Hands. The process of methods of application, defense, striking, and control are the foundations of a martial art. Foundations of Taiji Quan: | Push hand Strategy Seminar | Value of Push Hands | Step of Push Hand | Push Hand Five Elements | |
