This morning at training on the small square of Daqingshan, Master Chen had us all write down the following points to remember for push hands and when making contact with an opponent:
- Hand must be fixed on opponent
- Elbow must go down and horizontal (towards dantian).
- Elbow cannot be lined up with hand. (Master Chen had to elaborate a little more on this one: “The elbow cannot push towards the hand. It moves inward towards dantian but the force generated lines up with the hand”).
- Shoulder must go straight down
- Front foot steps in, rear foot follows
If there was any more elaboration on these points, I missed it unfortunately, due to my lacking Chinese language skills, but I hope these points can help you in your training!
Gavin
(Australian on the mountain)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you,Gavin!I have one question:Why can’t the elbow be fixed up with the hand? Thank you!!
Hi Sarah, we had to double check with Master Chen with what he meant with that one too, here’s what he said:
“The elbow cannot push towards the hand. It moves inward towards the dantian but the force generated lines up with the hand.”
Also another thing to note is that all these points are in reference to push hands and making contact with an opponent.
Hope that helps.
Thanks for the notes Gavin