What Is Taichi?
If you’re unfamiliar with taichi you can ask questions on the blog, Facebook, twitter or comments on YouTube videos (or you could google it 
). Using as few words as possible, here’s what Taichi is to me.
Taichi is a taoist martial art which trains using sensitivity, mental/spiritual awareness and “Qi” in combative situations instead of physical force through practicing basic exercises, forms and push hands. There are also many health benefits associated with long-term regular pracice of taichi.
What Is Push Hands?
Push hands is any two person exercise which trains ones ability to neutralize, redirect and issue force in a soft, relaxed and controlled manner.
Push hands is an important element of taichi training. It gives you the opportunity to use the principles you learn while practicing the form and other basic exercises and apply them in a simulated “real life” experience. Push hands is taichi’s equivalent to sparring in other martial arts. I belive that a person from any martial arts background (or even with no martial arts background) can enjoy the benefits of push hands training, but someone who studies the form and the principles will get more out of the practice and achieve higher skill levels.
Competitive Push Hands
Something that’s lacking in the US (or Milwaukee anyway) is opportunities to test your push hands skill competitively. Competitive push hands is a tricky thing because you’re suppose to be training relaxation and softness but during competition all of those concepts appear to disappear. It then turns into something that looks like an aggressive shoving match. That said, there are still many benefits to participating in competition push hands.
There are two types of competitive push hands. One is “fixed step” the other is “moving step.” In fixed step push hands you attempt to make your opponent take a step, or fall to the ground, while keeping your feet fixed in place. Rules vary tournament to tournament, but there is usually some kind of “zone” that your feet get placed in. Here’s an example of one.
Fixed Step Area
Here’s what the moving step arena looks like. There’s a yellow circle painted into the mats. Once you’re pushed out of the circle or thrown to the ground your opponent scores points.
Moving Step Arena
Here are some clips of me at a push hands tournament in Taipei (2006).
Here’s some video of moving step push hands. The person in the video is Mario Napoli (Mario’s school page).
Let me start by saying in all my years of studying tai chi chuan,when the word competition come into play principle r out the window.The whole concept of push hands is the development of a total body sensitivity.Really push hands is more about whats going on inside your structure as opposed to the person u r engaged with.4 exm-am i suspended,am i relaxed,why am i resisting ,a principle check.The word push has been mistranslated( an) means to touch not push.Push hands is not about martial art its teaching yourself how be one with what ever energy is projected at u, push hands. is about LIFE .How to deal with life’s trails,push hands is about learning how to flow with any and everything like water.This is my humble opinion.Martial art only represent 15% of tai chi this is y there r not many high level practicinor,one should always practice princple.Seek not to be like instructor seek what he sougth.
When competition came into play did principle go the window for yourself or other people? What other people do shouldn’t have any effect on how much you do or don’t adhere to the principles. Push hands is about whatever a person wants it to be about. Some use it as more of a “sensing hands” others are really keen to master the martial side. And push hasn’t been mistranslated. Push Hands is practically a direct translation from the Chinese 推手 (tuishou).
The philosophical component of tai chi (daoism) is about life. The 拳 (quan/fist/boxing) in 太極拳 (taijiquan) makes it pretty clear to me that at least 33% of tai chi is about the martial art.
One thing we can both agree on is that “push hands is about learning how to flow with any and everything like water.” Whatever method you choose to arrive there seems good to me! I LOVE push hands! I love practicing even more than “competing.” I just see competition as another opportunity to practice.
I feel like people’s “egos” get in the way of competition so they don’t compete. I’d recommend competing as often as possible and sticking to the principles. You’d probably lose a lot, but eventually… you’d “win.” And you wouldn’t even have to try hard. 
I can C U R one of those people that read a lot of tai chi books.But i studied and practiced with a tai chi master.Having said that i will not joust with over web but any time u R in chgo .holla at me.keep reading your tai chi book and your instructional DVD,water seeks its on level and since your is so shallow .So keep swining in the shallow end.
Actually I don’t read a lot of tai chi books. I just happen to be fluent in Mandarin. I like to think I’ve trained with some masters, but I suppose it depends on how you define “master.” I’ve actually never even watched an “instructional DVD” (nothing against those). I’ll be pretty close to Chicago this weekend at the “‘Windy City’ Chinese Martial Arts Championship.” You’re equally welcome to come out to our Sunday push hands group and hang anytime you’re in Milwaukee.
Mr. Nelson seems to have some kind of problem with someone competing at something. Maybe fear.
This looks OK. I think I could get interested in it.
There are still people who do traditional martial arts who can’t see how mixed martial arts has anything to do with it. When you try and talk with these guys, their positions starts out as if it’s got something to do with a thing they call a ‘real fight’. But if you talk for a long time, it starts becoming clear the problem is that MMA doesn’t involve qi or some other mysterious secret force that these traditional styles believe they can nurture.
Traditional martial arts is a very strange thing. It’s this thing that claims to be preparation for killing but where actual fight experience labels you as a thug. I don’t know more than a handful of TMA practitioners who have any experience hitting people who are really trying to hurt them. I wouldn’t worry too much about what gets said in this context.
Thanks Casey.
Having practiced MMA (though mostly focused on BJJ) and studied Tai Chi I think what truly sums up the difference in philosophy is not “preparation for killing/ nurturing mysterious forces” versus “experience hitting people who are really trying to hurt them”. The biggest difference is TMA has a moral/ethical component to it, they are paths to self-cultivation less than ways to beat people up. I think it has already been concisely said thousands of years ago — “Winning 100 of 100 battles is not the sign of the true master. The sign of the true master is never having to fight a battle.” – Sun Tzu