Willow further training and refinement

The foundation of the basic pushing-hands drills. Consult with a doctor before trying any of these practices. Copyright Ray Hayward Enterprises LLC 2021 My training partner is Margo Zi Yan, check out her page , Purple Swallow Arts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-VC... Excerpt from my next book, From the Most Soft and Yielding, Tai-Chi Pushing-Hands for Health and Self-Defense, due out in 2022. You are trying to gain five skills from the Willow to form the foundation and basis for many other skills. These are: 1 Turning 2 Bending 3 Shifting 4 Sinking 5 Circling These may be used singly or combined to make you soft, slippery, and evasive. When you are pushing, think of yourself as a coach or trainer. Willow #1 is focused on the defender’s side. You are not learning Tai-Chi offense or attack yet. My suggestion is to use a kitchen timer and have one partner be pushed for two minutes while they have their left foot forward. Then, another two minutes with the right foot forward. Then switch. The defender will now push for two minutes with their left foot forward and two minutes with their right foot forward. This constitutes one "round".