So I started my Tui Shou classes 3 weeks ago.....

[zzj]

Didn't know what to expect. At the back of my mind I expected to be thought the basic 1 hand / 2 hand drills and would be doing that for a few weeks if not months... however, the first thing that happened when I joined the class, my teacher just told me to pair up with a senior student and said matter-of-factly: Push! At that moment all talk of relaxation, positioning etc went out the window as the reality of a resisting opponent set in, what followed was nothing short of an epiphany as I found myself flying almost 20 feet towards the wall, just stopping myself sufficiently to prevent impact.

The senior student had been learning for about 6 years, but he was a good 20kg / 40lbs lighter than me, and it made me realize what I wanted to learn the first day I started taijiquan was indeed something real and palpable, that relaxation and proper structure did do what it was said to do, and that I had a long way to go before I could become good at it. Now there is an additional layer to my practice of my forms, and now I understand better, even if only slightly, what my teacher has always been painstakingly trying to get across during classes.

Well, there's not really a question here, but I feel I had to put out there, that moment went something 'clicked' for me and made this journey a bit more meaningful.

 

[mfinn]

You can hear a lot of different things about push hands and what it is for. My teacher said it was a test of how much you were getting from your forms practice. The other thing he said was that push hands is all about survival. We only did freestyle, moving step. No kicking or punching, but pretty much everything else was OK. It was an adventure. Other places I have been have stressed relaxation and "listening" and all that kind of thing. Maybe that is good for someone, but survival is what works for me. There is nothing that so grabs one's attention than being flipped onto a hardwood floor. If that happens often enough, you either bear down harder on your practice or you find something else to do with your free time.

 

[zzj]

You can hear a lot of different things about push hands and what it is for. My teacher said it was a test of how much you were getting from your forms practice. The other thing he said was that push hands is all about survival. We only did freestyle, moving step. No kicking or punching, but pretty much everything else was OK. It was an adventure. Other places I have been have stressed relaxation and "listening" and all that kind of thing. Maybe that is good for someone, but survival is what works for me. There is nothing that so grabs one's attention than being flipped onto a hardwood floor. If that happens often enough, you either bear down harder on your practice or you find something else to do with your free time.

I have only had 3 sessions, but so far every session consisted of about half an hour of drills followed by moving step push hands for the rest of 90 mins. Relaxation and listening is constantly emphasized and we try to do that as much as we are able to.

I noticed that that when I push with the less experienced senior students I could flip / trip them regularly with the instincts from my 5 years of Judo training, but when it came to the experienced ones or with my teacher there was literally nothing there for me to try and attack, and when they pushed me it felt like a wall...

 

[tshadowchaser]

Nothing to add except It is good to hear your are enjoying your first days studying the art. Keep us informed as to you progress and lessons/adventure in the art