Taiji Quan push hands

There are four basic Taiji Quan push hands and fighting skills - Zhan, Nian, Lian, and Sui.
They are also called four basic Nei Jin - internal trained force. Without use these skills,
one is not doing Taiji Quan. So that people usually say that these four skills are the
foundation of all Taiji Quan techniques. They should be included in everywhere. They are
the most important characteristics of Taiji Quan. They show the biggest difference
between Taiji Quan and other martial arts style. It is why people always use them to
express Taiji Quan. They are used as the brief definition of Taiji Quan.

Zhi Ji Zhi Bi - "know yourself and your opponent"

To understand these four skills is the first step to reach high level Taiji Quan skills.
Pushing hands practice is only way to learn these skills. Sensitivity is the basis of these
skills because all of them requires people to know their opponent's reaction and from
the reaction to decide the right way of their response. This idea is sometime started as
Zhi Ji Zhi Bi - "know yourself and your opponent". Without this, one cannot do Taiji Quan
correctly. These four skills embody some basic Taiji Quan principles, typically refereed to
as:
1. Jie Li Da Li - "borrow force from your opponent and use his force to beat
him back"
2. Yi Jing Zhi Dong - "using still to control motion"
3. Hou Fa Xian Zhi - "launching later but reaching first"
4. She Ji Cong Ren - "forget yourself and obey (follow, yield) your
opponent".
1. Zhan
The original meaning of Zhan is to adhere or stick something up. In Taiji Quan practice it
means to get your opponent to follow you a while under your control. It looks as if your
opponent is struck to your hand (or the other part of your body). The technical term of
this is stick a person up (It does not mean to grip or hold him up!). If you can do this
well continually, your opponent appears to follow you and jump as if you have bounced
him. This works because you have shaken and moved his root and cause him to lose his

balance and he will try to use you to regain it. When the opponent has lost his balance
and tries to use you to keep his balance, he must follow you to move. While most of the
time Zhan is used to get your opponent to follow you in an upward direction, it can be in
any direction. When using Zhan, you do not use your force to move your opponent,
instead of he is moved by his own force but by your control. So it is called "borrow force
from your opponent and use his force to beat him back". To do Zhan well, you must have
really good basic kungfu, like sensitivity and integration, and also understand the basic
principles very well. Thus the level of your Taiji Quan skill always can be judged from this
skill.

Jie Li Da Li - "borrow force from your opponent and use his force to
beat him back"
The key point of making Zhan well is to make your opponent lose his balance. Basically
there are two kind of methods for doing Zhan. With the first method, you can use some
skill to lead or seduce your opponent to loss his balance. It is called "lead coming in to
fall down into a empty place". It will cause that he wants to use something to maintain
his balance. At this time, give the part of your body (most time just use the touching
point between you and the opponent) to him and then he will be controlled by you. The
more balance he lose, the more force he will be use for keeping balance, so the more
available force you can borrow from him and the easier you can do Zhan. Most time, it is
difficult to seduce the opponent to lose his balance directly, so that the second method
is used more often. With this method the first thing you need to do is to unsettle your
opponent, sometimes called giving him some trouble first. This means that you should
use some skills to make him feel uncomfortable, as if lose his balance, and must adjust
his body. When he feels in the trouble or off-balanced, his reaction offers you a chance
to do Zhan.
Choosing the right time and direction is important to do Zhan well. For example, if you
can make your opponent feel compressed down really, you will probably have a good
chance to use Zhan on him. Pay attention to his reaction, if you feel his legs push his
body up, just raise up your hand and you can make him jump up by his own force. When
he jumps, you can use some other technique to beat him. This will save a lot of energy
and is thus real Taiji Quan skill. For timing, if your hands raise too early, there is no
enough reaction force from the opponent; if your hands raise too late, the opponent just

get time to regain his balance and you lose your chance. In both cases your Zhan will
not work. The best time to use Zhan is when his reaction force almost at its maximum
and the next change has not happened yet. This is the time when it is most difficult for
him to make a change. For direction, you should follow the direction of the opponent's
reaction force. Although it is the best direction, it may be too difficult. For additional
safety, you can use the technique of changing his direction slightly. For example move
your hand in an arc. A little bit of change can confuse your opponent and thus be very
helpful. The other important technique is to keep a little bit force in the reverse direction
of the opponent's reaction. It is called "Yin and Yang supplement each other". In above
example, when you raise your hand up, at the same time keep a little bit force to push
down, it will make the opponent feel your downward push still there so that he will keep
his reaction to against you. If your opponent's reaction force is not enough, you can use
one hand to Zhan him and your other hand to help, that is push him according to the
direction of his reaction. But this help should be light, smooth, soft, and coordinate with
the other hand. It is a common technique which require a good integration of your body.
If your opponent does not really know Taiji Quan, that is if his sensitivity is slow and his
changes are clear and straight, Zhan can be done easy and you can have incredible
results. But if your opponent has Taiji Quan skills, using Zhan will be difficult. The
interesting thing is that usually the result is not good if you use your mind too much to
do this skill. You should keep in natural way and do it naturally. In fact, most times Zhan
is not used big and clearly. It is always mixed with or included in some other skills.
2. Nian
The original meaning of Nian is stick, adhere or paste to. In Taiji Quan practice it means
to keep contact your opponent, and through this contact to make him feel
uncomfortable. Keep this contact and never let him go away, like something adheres on
his body. Be careful, it does not mean to use big force to hold your opponent. It should
be light touching. When you use this skill, you should try to use the minimum force. We
always say to unsettle your opponent a little bit each time but continually, until the
opponent is in big trouble. Do not let him feel too much is important.
In pushing hands, when you touch your opponent, you should unsettle him. Do not use
too much force, just let him feel that he must do something to solve the problem. Then
he will give you a reaction. From his reaction, you can determine how you should
respond. If you cannot make a chance, keep doing Nian, that means follow him, keep

touching and giving him a little bit more trouble, and wait for him to give you more
reaction. So Nian is also used to sound the opponent out. That means to give him
questions and await his answers. The questions should hit his weakness point
continually. If you have question for him one by one and he cannot give you the right
answer on time, you are controlling him. The important things are to never let the
opponent get away and to sense the right time and direction to make your next move.
Be careful, do not use extra force, because if you use too much force, you will be
difficult to relax, and it will cause your sensitivity to be sluggish. Then you will be slow to
change, and even maybe fall into your opponent's trap. So do not worry how big
movement your opponent does, just to keep relax and touch him with a little bit change.
Do not worry how fast movement he does, the interesting thing is just keep quite, relax,
and touch him, and then you can get your chance. This basic Taiji Quan idea is called
"using still to control motion".

Yi Jing Zhi Dong - "using still to control motion"

3. Lian
The original meaning of Lian is continue or link. There are two meanings of Lian in Taiji
Quan practice. They are continually follow and change. The first one means that you
maintain continually contact by following your opponent and never let him leaving. Most
time when people say Lian, they mean this. Basically Taiji Quan skills depend on your
sensitivity. If you lose contact with your opponent (not just means physical, but mind
and Shen), you cannot feel him any more, so that you cannot apply your Taiji Quan
skills.
With Lian you just maintain continually contact with your opponent while waiting for a
chance to use other skills. Lian is always included in other skills. It is also used to link
changes, that means it like a transfer skill. If you can keep Lian, that means you can feel
your opponent all time so that you can know him always. It is why sometimes we think it
is first thing you should do in pushing hands or fighting. The basic Taiji Quan idea,
"launching later but reaching (or getting control) first", is base on Lian skill. Also if you
do some skills but failed, you can use Lian to get other chance. For example, when you
use Nian to your opponent but he gets away. At that time you should use Lian to keep
contact him and to try another chance. If your opponent gives you some trouble, Lian
can also help you to adjust your position and go back safe and comfortable situation. For

example, when your opponent uses Zhan to destroy your balance, you should use Lian
to follow him and adjust yourself, then wait a chance to beat him back. This is most
common way to use Lian.

Hou Fa Xian Zhi - "launching later but reaching (or getting control)
first"
The other way of Lian means continually change as you are following, that means each
of your techniques are joined together like the links in a chain, never breaking your
mind and movements, and never giving your opponent any chance to change. Link all
changes one by one continually, smoothly, and never stop. The most common change of
movement during Lian is to change the direction of your force and the most common
way to change your force is to make your movements circular which keeps their
direction continuously changing smoothly.
4. Sui
The original meaning of Sui is follow or obey. In Taiji Quan practice that means to follow
your opponent's movement or mind. According to Taiji Quan principle, you should avoid
to against the opponent by your force directly. You should make the opponent feel that
he can get you but do not really let him get you. You should make him use some
techniques that cannot really work on your body. If you can keep relax, you can do Sui
well and from Sui you can feel and know your opponent well.
Sui requires that you really relax your body. Follow the direction and timing of your
opponent' s force, whatever he does, do not let his force work on your body. It does not
mean to use your force against his force. It means he cannot find a point to use his force
on your body. Sui also does not mean leave and just run away. It means to keep touch
with your opponent, never lose touch points. You should let your opponent feel he will
have a chance to get you so that he will keep doing something.

She Ji Cong Ren - "forget yourself and obey (follow, yield) your
opponent"
There is a famous sentence about Sui. It said: "forget yourself and obey (follow, yield)
your opponent". It is a basic Taiji Quan idea. People always say if you cannot do this, you
cannot do real Taiji Quan skills. But many misunderstanding also come from this point.

The most common misunderstanding is to think Sui just means following or obey the
opponent. To do Sui in this way will cause you become weak finally because anyone's
movements have a limit, just do to follow in this way, finally you will in a very bad
situation. This wrong way even causes some other misunderstanding or wrong
impression, for example Taiji is too soft and cannot be used to fight, or Sui is wrong idea
that means real Taiji Quan skills can never do it. In fact a real Sui skill should follow your
opponent first, maybe just in very short time, that means whatever he wants to do, just
follow him and never against him. From this following you can get time to feel your
opponent and then you should try to find a chance to make change, be careful for this
change the smaller the better, usually to lead and seduce him to wrong way. It just like
another classical sentence said: "to follow your opponent is for finally let him to follow
you". A real Sui skill must include this idea. In fact Sui should be used in the beginning
of almost every Taiji Quan skill, especially to defense some hard attacks, but cannot be
used too much, that means never use it in all of the way, else Sui is going to weak. How
much you should to do is really depend on the situation. The key point of Sui is how to
transfer it to other skill. Unfortunately, many people overlook this point.

5. Main Difference
The meanings of Zhan, Nian, Lian, and Sui are similar at some points, or we can say
there are some parts mixing or overlap. So that for understanding them clearly, we need
pay more attention to what is difference between them. The main difference between
Zhan and Nian is that with Zhan you should make your opponent to stick to you by
himself, but with Nian you should stick to your opponent, let him feel bad but can never
leave you off. The main difference between Nian and Lian is that with Nian you should
always follow your opponent and at the same time make trouble for him, but with Lian
you just follow your opponent and do not try to unsettle him. The main difference
between Lian and Sui is that with Lian your following like to chasing your opponent, you
should always keep touch him and never let he go away. With Sui your following like go
away (does not mean losing contact) from your opponent, although he can always touch
you, he can never really get you. The main difference between Sui and Zhan is that with
Sui you should follow your opponent's active action, but with Zhan you should follow
your opponent's reaction which is his passive action.

6. Combination
Generally, Zhan and Nian are skills which are to find a chance to give your opponent
trouble. Lian and Sui are skills which are to solve the problem that your opponent gives
to you and wait a chance to beat him back. Although they are different skills, in fact,
they cannot be really used separately. They are always mixed and used together. For
example, most times you should include Nian in your Zhan. Usually before you do Zhan,
you should unsettle your opponent first. If your Zhan does not work well, you should use
Nian immediately. At that time Nian will help you to adjust yourself and to make another
chance to continue your Zhan. You always need to include Lian in your Nian also. When
you do Nian, if your opponent can do Sui well, you will difficult to get him. So your Nian
will not work well, you should use Lian to keep touching him and wait another chance to
do Nian again. You should do Lian and Sui together. When you do Lian, your opponent
may get a chance to beat you back. So you should do Sui to follow him. You should do
Sui and Nian together. If you only do Sui without do Nian at the same time, it is so easy
to make you become too weak. To do Nian with Sui will help you a lot. Sometimes people
say to do these four skills successively, that is to do Zhan, if it does not work well, then
to do Nian; if Nian does not work well, then to do Lian; if Lian does not work well, then to
do Sui. But, in fact, they can never be really separated.
Sometimes, different part of your body does different skills. For example it is very
common that one side the touch point in you body does Sui and at the same time
another part of your body does Nian. The good practitioner should have all these four
skills (or Jin) when he touches his opponent. All other Taiji skills will include some of
them. So that they are the basic skills of all Taiji techniques. For example, when you do
Yin - lure or seduce, you should use Sui and Lian in the beginning. When you do Fa release force, you should do Nian and Zhan first. So that people said they are the
foundation of all Taiji Quan skills.

7. Common Mistakes

Ding Bian Diu Kang

When we do these four basic skills, there are four kinds of likely mistakes, Ding, Bian,
Diu, and Kang. Ding and Kang will happen when you do something too much, usually
called Guo. Bian and Dui will happen when you do something not enough, usually called
Buji. For the beginners, to do Gou is very common mistake. Usually it means too hard or

tight. For the advance students, to do Buji is very common mistake. Usually it means too
weak or loose.
When you start to understand Taiji Quan but your skills are not good enough, these
mistakes happen in almost everywhere. The reason is that you cannot relax well and
your sensitivity is not good enough. If you cannot relax well, you cannot follow your
opponent smoothly. If your sensitivity is not good enough, you will always lose change or
use your mind too much. To understand and avoid these common mistakes is very
important for improving your skills.
The most common mistake in Zhan application is usually Ding - to go against on
touching point. It means that your force is in the reverse direction of your opponent's
force too much. In Taiji Quan, you should avoid to use your force resisting your
opponent's force directly. But in Zhan if the timing and direction of your force are wrong,
the part of your force will be used to against to the opponent's force, so that you cannot
follow your opponent well. In this case he can even feel and get you. The reason is your
sensitivity may be not good enough or you do not understand Taiji Quan principles well.
If you cannot find the right timing and direction from your opponent's reaction, you
cannot really borrow his force, and worse thing is that your force will help him to regain
his balance. At that time, your opponent's reaction force can even give you trouble
easily.
The most common mistake in Nian application is usually Bian - weak or flat. It means
that you do not do Nian enough so that you do not get enough information from your
opponent and you will not know which way you should go. When Bian happens, your
opponent can go away from your control easily. In Nian, if you cannot find the weak
point from your opponent and make him fall into bad position little by little, that means
you cannot make trouble to him continually, it is said your hand too weak. So you
cannot control your opponent finally.
The most common mistake in Lian application is usually Diu - lose the touching point. It
means that your opponent can get away or you cannot follow him any more. When Diu
happens, you lose contact and cannot follow him continually. So you cannot feel him
well and you cannot find a chance to control him. To do Lian, if you cannot relax well,
you will be easy to lose the touching point and let your opponent get away. In this case
you lose contact so that you cannot use your sensitivity.
The most common mistake in Sui application is usually Kang - resist in the touching

point. It means that you cannot follow your opponent so that you and your opponent are
in resisting case. In this case, who is stronger who will have more chance to win. It is not
follow Taiji Quan principle. In Sui, if you resist and cannot follow your opponent, you
cannot get a chance to adjust yourself without to use big force. So your opponent can
get you easily if he is stronger, faster, or just in a better position than you.
Usually, many people just like simply to use Ding and Diu to explain these general
mistakes in their Taiji Quan practice. Here Ding (here it is same as Guo) means too hard,
too much, too far, resist, or excessive. When you want to control your opponent but do
too much, you make this mistake. Diu (here it is same as Buji) means too weak, no
enough, short, lose, leave, or deficiency. When you want to relax but do too much, you
make this mistake. In fact, Ding (or Guo) and Diu (or Buji) are the human's nature
actions. They just like two extreme points of human's behave. They are used in most
martial arts skills. When you attack with a big force, it is Ding. When you dodge or move
away, it is Dui. They are the right way there. But Taiji Quan skill require everything you
do must be exactly right according to the principle, like just enough and never waste
your energy, and the most efficiency way. So that to use these two points will become a
wrong way in Taiji Quan. For avoiding do them, you should get a special training. In fact
almost all training methods of Taiji Quan are designed to avoid them. In the nature
behave, you can only jump from one point to the other, that means from the view of Taiji
Quan you are either too much (too hard) or no enough (too weak). Taiji Quan training
will change this natural action. From the training, you will study how to balance your skill
and close to the center point that means to do neither Ding (or Guo) nor Diu (or Buji).
We can simply use a figure to show this situation.

Ding (or Guo) Neither Ding (or Guo) nor Diu (or Buji) Diu (or Buji)

This changing is the most important and difficult training in Taiji Quan practice. Only
when one can do this well, one can be consider really understand Taiji Quan. It is the
foundation of all Taiji Quan skills. So that it is as a standard rule for measuring the level
of peoples Taiji Quan skill.
The last sentence of Da Shou Ge - Fighting Song, one of the oldest and most famous Taiji
Quan classical poem, said: "Zhan Nian Lian Sui Bu Diu Ding" that means you should
always do Zhan, Nian, Lian and Sui and never do Diu and Ding (the common way of Bu

Diu Ding is called Bu Diu and Bu Ding not Diu and not Ding). It is one of the most
important key points in your Taiji Quan practice.

Zhan Nian Lian Sui Bu Diu Ding - "do Zhan, Nian, Lian and Sui and
never do Diu and Ding"