London Pushing Hands Competition June 2022

In June 2022 I entered a Tai Chi Pushing Hands (Tui Shou) competition. I only entered the moving step pushing hands because from previous experience I don't feel . I didn't do any specific training for this competition

I have written two posts about my experiences. This one which covers my experience in the competition from a Taijiquan perspective, how I felt about my matches, and internal skills. And another post that covers my thoughts about Taijiquan pushing hands rules sets as relating to MMA.

I had entered this competition once before, in 2018. I was curious to see how my additional 4 years of Tajiquan training might impact my experience in the competition. I was also interested to see how my limited experiences in MMA training might inform the experience.

The brackets in this competition were very small, with only four people in my weight category. It was a knockout format, so I only had two matches, the semi-final (match 1) and the final (match 2).

The first match was interesting in that it felt more “external” in nature. My opponent wasn’t really utilizing Taijiquan body mechanics (shen fa); I didn't feel any song or peng in his posture, he felt very stiff and tense and his approach felt like he was trying to overwhelm me with fast disconnected entries, which largely goes against the tui shou principle of staying connected to the opponent. He was also using techniques more commonly seen in judo or jiu-jitsu, including sacrifice throws. This was a little surprising because, under the rules of this pushing hands format, a takedown that involved following the opponent to the floor didn't score any points. Still, somehow he did get awarded points for an attempted throw where he ended up lying on his back with me standing over him.

I spent much of the match in a defensive mode, focusing on using my shen fa to be heavy and stable, making it difficult to be unbalanced or uprooted. I felt satisfied with this approach, as it seemed my structure and balance allowed me to neutralize the majority of his takedown attempts. And I did successfully use my shen fa to throw him to the ground on one occasion. In the end, I won the match by a single point.

While I was pleased with the result, I didn’t enjoy the match as much as I had hoped. What I had really been looking forward to was testing my Taiji skills against other practitioners attempting to use the same skill set, because that’s the only way to truly gauge where one's abilities stand within the context of Taiji’s skill development framework. Pushing hands in that context allows you to see how your skill with song, peng jin, ting jin etc compares to someone else working with the same principles, which is essential for evaluating and deepening your practice.

At the same time, I do recognize that martial arts cannot exist in isolation, and to be actually effective one's skills must reach a point where they are applicable beyond the art itself, against people who are “playing a different game", who might have different strategies, rules, or approaches. Experiencing both contexts - practicing within the Taiji framework and testing against other styles, is essential to developing a well-rounded, applicable martial skill set.

Tui Shou Match 1

The second match was more interesting for me because my opponent was most definitely using a Taijiquan shen fa. He wasn't focused on winning by whatever means necessary; he was also clearly trying to win through utilizing Tai Chi principles, which made for a very different experience from my first match.

Even though I ended up winning by a much larger margin, this actually highlighted the value of “playing the same game.” His Tai Chi was far more refined than my first opponent’s external-style approach, yet because we were both engaging within the same Taijiquan framework of sensitivity, rootedness, and internal body methods, it allowed me to leverage my skills more effectively and control the match. This experience really reinforced for me how essential it is in the skill acquisition process, to work within these constraints and rule sets, developing one's foundation of abilities fully before attempting to apply them against opponents who aren’t “playing the same game.”

It's worth mentioning that I had a 5kg advantage over my second opponent, so was one weight class bigger than him. Still I was very happy with my use of Taijiquan shen fa in this match, and I didn't feel that I 'muscled' my way through the bout.

Tui Shou Match 2

Overall, the competition was a positive and interesting experience, giving me two very different matches that each offered valuable insights. The first match challenged me to maintain my shen fa while under pressure from a strong and fast opponent using an approach and techniques that were unfamiliar to me. The second match, against an opponent clearly working with Tai Chi principles, highlighted how essential it is to develop skills within a shared framework, allowing for the development and refinement of timing, sensitivity, and coordination in a controlled environment.

Together, these two contrasting experiences provided both confirmation of the gradual development of my internal abilities and plenty of food for thought about the challenges of adapting them to different opponents. Each match offered feedback I can take forward into my ongoing practice, deepening my understanding of Taijiquan and the process of cultivating practical, adaptable martial skills.