Hey I am doing yang style tai chi and have been doing push hands for a while I was wondering are there any solo exercises i could do that i could find online. thanks in advance.
I am no expert but I have been told that qigong helps develope your push hands. I was specifically taught to this exercise for atleast 15 minutes. And there is another one where you hold your arms out to the side. Of course you are trying to keep relaxed while you do this. http://www.flickr.com/photos/savethepicture/542277265/sizes/m/ I was also told to practice cloud hands more. BUT the main thing is that there really isn't a substitute for push hands, nor sparring, ect...
thats hold the ball posture. So you just stay in that posture the whole time? yha we meet once or twice a week and practice the yang 103 and push hands for 3 and a half hours so its not a substitute but i just want something to practice with when I don't have.
Yup, It' get's kinda boring so sometimes I'll turn on some music, but some might say that detracts from the meditation part of the exercise. DO you mind if I ask, are you doing more free style or choreographed push hands?
At the moment i am doing choreographed push hands strait single and double, vertical single and double, and figure 8. although choreographed we still battle a little. For instance if you miss a transition or your timing is off you are going to get pushed across the room or thrown on the floor. however we do a little free style as we progress.
the more experianced people do it for nothing other than a warm up then they go in to freestyle. The choreographed helps some of the beginners develop. You have to be shown how to do it before they let you go freestyle. i am still learning push hands.
Here's a trick that I like to play! If you want to develope your listening power, do just that. It helps chi sao and push hands.... watch people doing their thing: at work, between classes, whatever. Watch where their chi's at. Try to see them move before they move, see what part of their body their in without them giving verbal cues. It'll help! the more sensitive you become, the stickier you're gonna get. Try following people when you have conversations.... empty your mind out and just be a mirror man. Follow them when they move, follow their eyes, you know! We all do it, but that's gonna help win push hands without using strength. It's that split second thing, you know? Do hands wave like clouds, really get that tingly thing going on. Condense your chi (just don't go nuts with it!). Try to direct other people's movement (without them being aware of it!) with your jing... push out, watch em move, bring chi in, watch them move toward you! just don't give verbal clues! if you're doing this, i bet your push hands is really good.
Yeah, you know? It's not some big special thing. Just look and listen. Do you practice chi excersizes, too?
No, man! It's not a waste of time... it's all what you intend for it's uses. The deep breathing is great for circulating oxygen.... it's really low impact so you won't screw your joints up! If you combine it with stretching and strength training, it can be beneficial all around. chi training is rad. it's just as much about YOUR health as it is about other peoples health, whether it's giving or taking it. I use chi in my shiatsu all the time (i'm a massage therapist)... you can sense where trigger points are without even palpating. I just sense for soft or hard spots over the body with my hands. I use qi gong to sensitize my hands first. I've found it very useful, and extremely effective. You just find a spot with too much chi, press the thumb in and, hey imagine that... there's a big lump in the muscle. never have to palpate, really (even though i always do)... dig? it's about balance.
Here's one for the tally ticker: why are you posting in the Taiji thread? You obviously don't think there's much more to life than what the eye can see. You're wasting your own time! It's not fantasy. It's a time honored technique that has proven itself successful over and over again. You're telling me that when you practiced qi gong, you felt nothing? you couldn't feel your chi? the pressure, the tingling? the heightened awareness within yourself? I guess some people don't want to be convinced. For someone who has practiced taiji regularly, it can be like convincing someone the sky is blue. What does blue look like to you?:hat:
May the force be with you. Chi is a metaphysical description of normal biomechanical processess. Nothing more, unless you have evidence to the contrary? The Bear.
