Read the German version “Dr. Tao Push Hands Videos” here.
My Tai Chi brother Andrew Heckert gave me these Dr Tao Push Hands Videos. I met Andrew while attending workshops with Dr Tao and on Tai Chi meetings. More than a year ago we had a chat on Dr Tao and his qualities. Dr Tao was a very traditionell Tai Chi teacher. I remember my first workshops with him in Germany and New York City very well.
4 Postures
The first workshop was 9 day intensive. We worked 6 hours a day on the 4 postures only. From time to time he gave little hints. Walking around, observing and then he worked for a few minutes with one student.
His main focus was on yielding.
“Don’t push back|don‘t pull away“ or “yield and wait“!
Dr Tao Ping Siang
“Don’t push back|don‘t pull away“ or “yield and wait“ he use to say again and again. I can still here it from time to time 😉
His teacher Cheng Man Ching told him to concentrate on the yielding and softness. The result of his devotion to yielding in tui shou was his very soft touch and at the same time a very effective push hands. These qualities I found in many of his students in Taiwan and the USA. The first month the practice of his way needs a lot of discipline. Invest in lost- but in the lost of yourself- not in the lost of your partner. The investment pays off! Real soft push hands and fun while practicing is the result. Many of his students talk about changes in other parts of their lives as well.
Video
This video is very interesting for Dr Tao’s students. It is very hard to see what’s going on from outside. The touch was like pushing a cloud. I pushed or pulled him and right away I was falling in a hole. I started something- and after a second he arrived 🙂
