Taiji pushing hands practice (Photo credit: Kropell)

For those who don’t know, I am currently in Boston, at a Taijiquan Push Hands intensive with Bruce Frantzis. I’ll be here all week and I am looking forward to this concentrated practice time. I’ve already learned many new aspects to this two person taiji practice.

We began the day talking about the psychological elements of beginning push hands practice. When we are put face to face with another individual, anxieties have a tendency to rise. We begin to either consciously or, in many cases, unconsciously question ourselves in relation to the other person. Who am I? Who are they? What do they think of me? What should I think of them? This begins to take on different characteristics depending on the circumstances we are in and the circumstances we each have already experienced throughout our lives. This anxiety is a form of stress and can be a subtle or not so subtle form of fear. Fear, stress, and anxiety, whichever we choose, are all part of the natural survival instinct we know as “fight or flight”. Continue reading →