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Written by Master Wong · 15 years of Tai Chi & Qigong practice · Reviewed by WikiQigong Editorial Team

Tui Shou (Push Hands)

What it is: Push hands (推手, tuīshǒu) is tai chi's two-person training exercise in which partners keep light arm contact and practice sensitivity, yielding, and rooted balance — the "conversation" that lets the solo form's principles be tested against another body.

Literal meaning

Tui (推) means "to push." Shou (手) means "hand" or "hands." So 推手 is literally "pushing hands" — a descriptive name for the exercise's visible surface. Under the push, however, the real training is in listening, sticking, and yielding rather than in shoving.

Historical context

Push hands developed within tai chi as a safe, controlled way to train the art's martial sensitivity without full-contact fighting. It is practiced in all five major tai chi styles (see tai chi styles), and its principles are documented in the classical tai chi writings — most famously the idea of "using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds." The exact historical origin is not firmly documented and should be read with the same uncertainty as tai chi's own origins.

Traditional interpretation

Traditionally, push hands trains a cluster of skills named with vivid Chinese terms: listening (聽勁, tīngjìn) — sensing a partner's force and intent; sticking (黏, nián) — maintaining light, unbroken contact; following (隨, suí) — moving with the partner rather than against them; yielding (化勁, huàjìn) — neutralizing incoming force by turning and releasing; and issuing (發勁, fājìn) — releasing force from a rooted, connected body. The four cardinal techniques are peng (掤, ward-off), lu (捋, roll back), ji (擠, press), and an (按, push).

Modern explanation

Read without the traditional language, push hands is a partnered balance and sensitivity drill. It trains you to keep your structure and equilibrium while another person applies shifting force, to detect the direction of that force through touch, and to respond by yielding and turning rather than by bracing. The skills transfer directly to the solo form's core qualities: song (relaxed release) and rooting (grounded stability).

  • Tai Chi — the art push hands serves.
  • Song — you yield by releasing, not resisting.
  • Rooting (Gen) — the grounded stability push hands tests.
  • Balance — the equilibrium trained under contact.

Common misunderstandings

  1. "Push hands is wrestling or fighting." It is a cooperative training exercise, not a contest; the aim is sensitivity, not victory.
  2. "You win by pushing harder." The skill is in yielding and redirecting, not in overpowering — force usually defeats the purpose.
  3. "It is only for advanced martial artists." Gentle, fixed-step push hands is taught to beginners and is widely practiced for its own sake.
  4. "Contact means grabbing." Contact is light and open — sticking, not gripping.