On the surface, the transition from Wing Chun Sticky Hands to Tai Chi Chuan Pushing Hands should be easy. Of course, a fire drill is always easy, until there's a real fire. Thus, to understand this transition one must make a few adjustments in their thinking.
First, the Sticky Hands of Wing Chun is usually done with a certain springiness in the limbs. Someone pushes on your defense, and you give away enough to guide them, and then spring into the opening created. This is a generality, and there is a lot more to the drill, but it is what we must focus on to make our transition.
Second, the pushing hands of Tai Chi Chuan is actually a bit misnamed. It should be called 'emptying the whole body,' simply, one must give way until the opponent over pushes and thus unbalances himself. This summation of Pushing Hands is quite inadequate, but, again, we are attempting to bridge from one exercise to another, and this is what we must focus on.
Now, we go from giving way with a certain 'spring back' inherent in the motion, to a giving way completely with the whole body. One is giving way with the arms, and the other is to give way with the body. Thus, if one can take the 'spring back' quality out of the arms, and just concentrate on emptying the arms (giving way with the arms until the opponent unbalances himself), we can make the transition easily.
When an opponent strikes and you feel that the springing quality is not sufficient for the situation, or you just feel like converting into Tai Chi, match the velocity of the incoming strike, turn the waist, and guide him past. It goes without saying, that he should not feel you manipulate him. It must be a guidance not of flesh to flesh, but of hair to hair. Your touch should be so soft that he doesn't fight it.
At this point you should be able to question whether you are doing the art of Wing Chun, or the art of Tai Chi. The only difference, you see, is in the depth and height of stance. You may be standing in a two legged stance (goat riding) or in a single leg stance of some height, versus being in the deeper shifting stance that is common to Tai Chi Chuan.
So we come to the point of it all. Empty the arms in sticky hands and let the attacker fall through. Or empty the body in Tai Chi and then use the spring back quality of Wing Chun to counter.
We are not really talking large differences here, merely small changes that are, truth be told, already in either exercise should one take the time to study long enough and with a correct eye to the possibilities. The whole point here, is to help people who have been trained in one art to adjust to another art, and new (sometimes just stated differently) awareness. That is how you make the change from Wing Chun Sticky Hands to Tai Chi Chuan Pushing Hands.
First, the Sticky Hands of Wing Chun is usually done with a certain springiness in the limbs. Someone pushes on your defense, and you give away enough to guide them, and then spring into the opening created. This is a generality, and there is a lot more to the drill, but it is what we must focus on to make our transition.
Second, the pushing hands of Tai Chi Chuan is actually a bit misnamed. It should be called 'emptying the whole body,' simply, one must give way until the opponent over pushes and thus unbalances himself. This summation of Pushing Hands is quite inadequate, but, again, we are attempting to bridge from one exercise to another, and this is what we must focus on.
Now, we go from giving way with a certain 'spring back' inherent in the motion, to a giving way completely with the whole body. One is giving way with the arms, and the other is to give way with the body. Thus, if one can take the 'spring back' quality out of the arms, and just concentrate on emptying the arms (giving way with the arms until the opponent unbalances himself), we can make the transition easily.
When an opponent strikes and you feel that the springing quality is not sufficient for the situation, or you just feel like converting into Tai Chi, match the velocity of the incoming strike, turn the waist, and guide him past. It goes without saying, that he should not feel you manipulate him. It must be a guidance not of flesh to flesh, but of hair to hair. Your touch should be so soft that he doesn't fight it.
At this point you should be able to question whether you are doing the art of Wing Chun, or the art of Tai Chi. The only difference, you see, is in the depth and height of stance. You may be standing in a two legged stance (goat riding) or in a single leg stance of some height, versus being in the deeper shifting stance that is common to Tai Chi Chuan.
So we come to the point of it all. Empty the arms in sticky hands and let the attacker fall through. Or empty the body in Tai Chi and then use the spring back quality of Wing Chun to counter.
We are not really talking large differences here, merely small changes that are, truth be told, already in either exercise should one take the time to study long enough and with a correct eye to the possibilities. The whole point here, is to help people who have been trained in one art to adjust to another art, and new (sometimes just stated differently) awareness. That is how you make the change from Wing Chun Sticky Hands to Tai Chi Chuan Pushing Hands.
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