Push Hands Competitions-Why
Bother?
(first published in Inside
Kung Fu, August 2001)
Chinese martial arts tournaments
in this country have included taijiquan push hands competitions
only since the late 80's. It has been controversial from
the start.
There
are those for whom taijiquan is strictly a "moving meditation",
and the very idea, I say, the very idea, of introducing "competition" of
any sort is quite disturbing.
The opposite
end of the spectrum is occupied by those who feel that
anything
less than a trip to the Steel Cage is the work of "nancyboys" in
frilly collars.
The colors
in between are those who object to this or that rule
or style of
play. Or that the restrictions of a match foster "bad
martial arts". Or that the judges aren't fair. Or
that "winning at any cost" is rewarded over
good taiji principles. Or that push hands champions can
get an over-inflated view of their martial prowess.
There is some validity
to each of these criticisms. And others. Tournaments
of any sort are decidedly imperfect. They attempt to
give a certain experience to all participants, providing
a sense of authenticity while operating within agreed
upon bounds of safety. Everyone can find something about
a tournament that they don't like. But if it is your
cup of tea, it can be a useful tool to expand your martial
arts experience without having to start a bar fight.
What is Push Hands?
Push hands, is a two-person
exercise designed to give students an opportunity to
explore and integrate taiji principles, generally in
a non-threatening manner. There are many types of exercises
ranging from choreographed patterns (to show what types
of moves are possible) to free-style (stressing spontaneous
responses utilizing taiji principles). It can look like
a graceful minuet or a sweaty sumo fest, depending on
the intentions and inclinations of the participants.
Generally there is no striking. Some styles encourage
sweeps, joint locks, throws. Most do not.
At its simplest, you try
to keep your balance while causing your partner to lose
his. It's really a contract with another to test and
improve each other's abilities. You try to maintain your
central equilibrium despite gradually increasing challenges.
Taijiquan
emphasizes that you do that while using the least amount
of muscular
effort. That is a key element in taiji training: do what
you have to do using the least amount of gross physical
force. This helps you to develop your internal energy
and connections by discouraging dependence on old programmed
responses. At lower levels the need to dominate at any
cost will naturally be emphasized. And early on you can
often get more obvious results by using other techniques.
Some get so enamored of these early successes that they
never embrace the core elements of taijiquan. But as
you get more confidence in your skills, you have the
opportunity to advance by "investing in loss"--
placing yourself in more vulnerable positions to see
how to handle those.
The
Place of Push Hands in Taijiquan training.
Taijiquan has a wealth of tools to assist the student in developing martial
skills. A variety of empty hand forms, weapons training, internal energy
cultivation, push hands, and sparring all contribute. Few, if any, can go
from form training to apply those skills in fighting. Push hands provides
an opportunity to check out what you learned in form class with some immediate
feedback from a partner. The internal connections of taiji are subtle and
not immediately apparent. Push hands lets you know when you are connected
enough to do you some good.
A very small handful of
athletes benefits from being thrown into the deep end
of the pool. But for most of us, a gradual slope of learning
lends to integration without overwhelm. Push hands lets
you contact those subtle internal energies and physical
connections without the added stress of someone smacking
you upside the head. What we seek in taiji starts out
as a small ember that must be cradled and nurtured. Too
much stress and that ember is put aside in favor of cruder
tools that are at least familiar, even if not terribly
effective. It takes years for most of us to develop confidence
in the power of these internal skills, with many temptations
along the way to discard them for ones more easily gotten.
My Experience.
I am a middle-aged white-boy
of modest athletic gifts. My interest in taijiquan lies
primarily in the areas of healing and consciousness studies.
My native gifts will never be confused with those of
a Muhammed Ali or a Carl Lewis. But I'm not bad at push
hands. After winning a number of push hands championships
as a middleweight, I competed in the superheavyweight
classes and won there. The taiji classics encourage us
that size, speed, and strength are not the most important
factors in an encounter. I wanted to test that and am
happy with the results.
For over ten years I have
been involved in various tournaments, as competitor,
coach, judge, spectator. I have seen things evolve (devolve?)
and witnessed the numerous missteps along the way. I
have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Consequently,
I have some opinions about what push hands competitions
are and are not. What they should and shouldn't be.
"He who wrestles with
us, strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our
antagonist is our helper." Edmund Burke
Tournament
Push Hands. What it is. What it isn't.
In his
book, Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi writes, "The
challenges of competition can be stimulating and enjoyable.
But when beating the
opponent takes precedence in the mind over performing
as well as possible, enjoyment tends to disappear. Competition
is enjoyable only when it is a means to perfect one's
skills; when it becomes an end in itself, it ceases to
be fun."
The rules have varied
somewhat over the years. Getting players to agree on
them is like counting ballots in Florida, but certain
conventions have been more or less accepted over the
years.
The three most popular
formats in the U.S. are Fixed Step, Restricted Step,
and Moving Step. In Fixed, the feet stay planted and
any movement is penalized. In Restricted, one step back
and forth is allowed (provided you keep the same foot
forward at all times), with points awarded for making
an opponent take one off-balance step. In Moving, you
are allowed free movement within a small circle, with
points given for making an opponent take two or more
off-balance steps, leave the circle, or fall down.
For those involved in more wide-open combat, the limitations of taiji push
hands could be stifling. For those of us who like to let the beast out on
occasion, but still have to go to work tomorrow, the mayhem of a Fight Club
just doesn't work. In push hands you can vigorously explore the fighting
energies of taijiquan without much danger of injury.
What tournament push hands
is: An opportunity to play with players of various skills
and styles in an energetically charged atmosphere; a
way of testing what you will actually do when faced with
an opponent intent on pushing you into the cheap seats;
a test of how effective your taiji form is when faced
with opposition; a test of how well you have integrated
your taiji principles; a chance to display your stuff
before your peers; an opportunity to experience the rapture
of pure timelessness that comes from having your entire
consciousness focused in the NOW of competition; a chance
to say that on such and such a day, under certain rules,
you were able to defeat those players that showed up
and competed in your event; an opportunity to FACE YOUR
FEARS (fear of failure, of performing before others,
of another body in close proximity, of that much energy,
etc.), and purge a few demons.
Probably the most important
thing that tournament play provides is the chance to
meet and connect with taiji players from the four corners
of the globe at a deeper level than seems to be possible
in a workshop, a convention, or a class. You exchange
information and insights in the backrooms and hallways
before and after your events, often more valuable than
the matches themselves.
What tournament
push hands is not: Proof that your taiji is "better" than
anyone else's; proof that you do anything that remotely
resembles taijiquan; proof that you are a great martial
artist or that you can defend yourself competently; an
open door to fame and fortune; proof that your teacher
is the greatest; an example of the "right" way,
the "best" way, or the "only" way
of doing push hands.
In China and Taiwan, winning
major tournaments is your ticket to ride. Winners are
awarded cash and university educations, much like we
treat football, baseball, and basketball players in the
U.S. When I was in Beijing last year, I showed some of
my tournament footage to Huang Kwang Hui, eight-time
National push hands champ of China and professor of Taijiquan
at Ti Yu Da Xue. He was impressed by how traditional
the rules were in the U.S. (more so than China), and
even more impressed by how much fun we were having. In
China, it is very serious business, and can make or break
your career.
So, Why Bother?
So, winning a gold medal
in your weight class probably won't get you fame and
fortune. The way most tournaments are run, most of the
crowd and other martial artists will have gone home before
you even get to play. You have to pay to enter and you
won't see any cash prizes. You may object to the rulings
of the judges and the rules of play themselves.
But you will have an opportunity to hang your butt out a bit and show your
stuff. You get to see what you actually will do when you are threatened with
losing a point or a match. You see how much you really trust the taiji you
learned in class and how easy it is to revert to schoolyard bullyboy push-and-shove.
If you are really lucky, you will get to play someone much better than you,
and get a chance to see how much more is possible in the art you study. You
can see if you can win gracefully and lose gracefully. You learn a little
humility and that the taiji universe does not begin and end with walls of
your school. It is really global and push hands is a language spoken everywhere
they play taiji.
And you
may make a bunch of new friends that may turn out to
be friends for life.
As one friend described the special bond we share, "Because
we met IN THERE!"
