“Every push is a pull” Online Video Trailer

Every push is a pull in Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method. Learning this is difficult for a beginner because, from my brick-jade perspective, this rule of action or principle rears its head in different ways, e.g., in stretching actions using 45°, in with elbow out with hand, going over the 3, 6, 9, 12 o’clock marker, in sinking, in hollowing the axillas, bie, and even silk-reeling that is pulling and going over in three dimensions. Thus, it is difficult for a beginner to pin-point the critical aspects underlying this principle. This “Every Push is a Pull” video shows how it is down and the explanation is unveiled at the end. The critical physical requirement to “convert” a push into a pull is the relative positioning of two points: a reference contact point with an opponent and an extreme dot position that one has created BEYOND the contact point to lead the pull away by stretching. In short, a push is felt like a pull because it is indeed a pull, which is camouflaged with a steady push first to create a contact point and induce opponent’s focus and resistance at this reference position. What one sees is an illusion; what one feels is the actual. An inexperienced opponent does not know how to deal with it.

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