PRESSING HANDS (推手 Tuīshǒu)

Yang Tai Chi Pressing Hands and Fa Jin with Fu Sheng Yuan and Fu Qing Quan

Shifu W. C. Bey — Golden Thread Internal School

“Press without pushing.
Invite without yielding.
Empty their root, then let gravity do the work.” — Shifu W. C. Bey

What Is Pressing Hands?

Pressing Hands is the internal bridge between solo Taiji form and live interaction.
It trains three progressive abilities:

  • Listening (聽勁 Tīngjìn) – sensing force, intent, timing through touch

  • Neutralizing (化勁 Huàjìn) – dissolving incoming force through circular change

  • Issuing (發勁 Fājìn) – short, elastic expression of power from the Dantian

This is not “pushing hands.”
This is internal conversation through touch, led by the Dantian — not the arms.

Core Principles

Pressing Hands follows five non-negotiable internal rules:

  1. Intent leads, force follows (用意不用力)

  2. Peng is the sphere — maintain buoyant roundness

  3. Distinguish Empty vs. Full — weight first, technique second

  4. Waist commands, hands transmit

  5. Circular and unbroken — no dead angles When these are present, strength becomes irrelevant.

Contact Qualities

Every touch expresses four qualities:

  • Adhere (粘 Zhān)

  • Stick (黏 Nián)

  • Join (連 Lián)

  • Follow (隨 Suí)

Hands do not chase pressure —
the forearms listen while the Dantian decides.

Fu Zhong Wen walking Press Hand Drills

Core Principles

Fu Sheng Yuan and Fu Qing Quan - Yang Family Tai Chi Push Hands

Why We Teach Pressing Hands

Pressing Hands develops:

  • Internal listening

  • Quiet power

  • Central equilibrium (中定 Zhong Ding)

  • Emotional composure under pressure

Evaluation standard:

“Float your partner three times without pushing with the arms.”

Eight Jins Inside Pressing Hands

 

JinFunctionPeng 掤Protect center, buoyant sphereLu 捋Redirect force into emptinessJi 擠Converge through centerlineAn 按Drop and issue forwardCai 採Pluck and break alignmentLie 挒Split energy and tear the lineZhou 肘Close-range spiralKao 靠Whole-body bump (when root is gone)

 

Execution order: Listen → Maintain Sphere → Neutralize → Decide

Dantian Mechanics

Pressing Hands trains the House Method:

  • All force is received at the Dantian

  • Waist rotation generates every change

  • Hands never act independently of the center      

“If the center doesn’t move first, you are still pushing.”      

Training Progression

  1. Single-hand fixed step

  2. Double-hand fixed step

  3. Four-square Peng-Lu-Ji-An cycle

  4. Da Lü (diagonal stepping)

  5. Moving-step Pressing

  6. Restricted freestyle (no strikes)

Ma Yueh Liang Pressing Hands / Push Hands (Rare Footage)

WU STYLE TAI CHI CHUAN — 吳家太極拳

Soft Structure • Sharp Precision • Internal Control

(Private | By Recommendation Only)

Balanced, precise, and tactically intelligent.

  • Square-frame structure with rooted footwork

  • Refined joint alignment and subtle angles

  • Close-range sparring, controlled grappling, and throwing

  • Deep internal mechanics originating from Yang lineage principles

Born from the teachings of Yang Luchan, Wu Style was founded by Wu Quanyou and refined by his son Wu Jianquan, who shaped it into a complete martial system.
It is now recognized as the second most practiced Tai Chi style in the world and one of the most effective for real martial application.

The Wu Approach

A seamless blend of soft neutralization and direct tactical engagement:

  • Push Hands & Ting Jin (listening skill) trained with square-body precision

  • Chin-na & grappling sets derived from military cadet training

  • Throws and sweeps using minimal force and maximum leverage

  • Weapon extensions that preserve the same internal mechanics

Where Yang Style emphasizes large circles and expansive frames, Wu Style specializes in small-frame, inside-the-gate work — perfect for striking, seizing, redirecting, and unbalancing at close range.

A Living Bridge Between Yang Family Energy & Military Martial Science

Wu Style preserves the essence of Yang Taiji while sharpening it with the discipline and training protocols of the imperial cadet corps:

  • Yang’s softness and whole-body integration

  • Military drilling, precise angles, and tactical footwork

  • A long form designed for internal cultivation and realistic application

  • An emphasis on efficiency, subtlety, and control

This is why Wu Style feels so different:
it is Yang energy condensed into a sharp, intelligent combat method — calm, concealed, and devastating.

Reserved for Serious Practitioners

At Golden Thread Internal School (金線內家館), Wu Style is taught:

Privately. Quietly.
Only to those prepared to train the true martial side of Tai Chi under Shifu W.C. Bey.