The Five Types of Power in Tai Chi Push Hands (Introduction)

Tai Chi push hands is an important practice that teaches us how to relax, stay balanced, and interact with another person’s movements. By practicing push hands, we can gradually learn to use our body and internal energy more effectively. Push hands can be broken down into five levels of power:

1. Soft Power
   This is the first step in learning push hands. You practice relaxing your body and letting your movements flow naturally. At this level, your body moves gently with noticeable rises and falls. The goal is to stay soft and learn how to connect your whole body.

2. Sinking Power
   Once you can relax, the next step is learning how to stay balanced and stable. You “sink” your energy deeper into your body, using your Dantian (the energy center in your lower abdomen) to generate power. This helps your movements feel stronger and more rooted.

3. Light and Soft Power
   At this stage, you start to develop "listening energy" (Ting Jin). This means you can sense the direction and strength of your partner’s movements. You learn to follow their energy softly and respond with short, clear bursts of power when needed.

4. Light and Agile Power
   Here, your listening energy becomes very sharp. When practicing push hands, your partner feels like they’re pushing against air because you don’t resist them. Your movements are light and agile, and you can deliver long, continuous power without using much visible effort.

5. Empty Power
   This is the highest level of push hands. Your energy moves freely between “something” and “nothing.” Your partner doesn’t know how their movements are being neutralized, and they might lose balance or fall without realizing what happened. At this level, your actions are natural and effortless.

In our tradition we train push hands with both hands, one pressing on the wrist and the other supporting/guarding the elbow at all times. in this way, both partners are forced into a set distance apart from each other too.

Why Does This Matter?

The five levels of push hands show us how Tai Chi progresses from simple relaxation to advanced mastery. Each step builds on the last, and along the way, you learn how to use your body in a healthier and more effective way.

Whether you’re new to Tai Chi or have some experience, understanding these five levels can help you improve your skills and discover the deeper side of Tai Chi.

If you’re curious to learn more, sign up for our newsletter or contact us to explore Tai Chi further!

Bonus: here’s our rarer practice of low frame pushing hands practice

In our school, we practice push hand's a bit differently in that we have different heights, intentions and technique drills. At an intermediate level we bring the push hands down to squat level, but you must maintain suppleess and agile - so it’s not as simple as being “rooted”.

太極推手的五種力量：簡單理解太極的核心

太極推手是太極拳的重要練習，它幫助我們學會如何放鬆身體，穩定重心，並與對手互動。透過推手，我們可以一步步體會太極的內在力量。以下是推手的五個層次：

1. 鬆柔勁
   這是學習推手的第一步。透過放鬆身體，感受力量的自然流動。身體會有明顯的起伏動作，重點是輕柔地移動，幫助初學者學會放鬆和協調全身。

2. 鬆沉勁
   當你能放鬆後，下一步是學會穩定重心。把力量沉到身體深處，從丹田（腹部的能量中心）產生力量，讓全身感覺更穩、更有力量。

3. 輕柔勁
   在這個階段，你開始學會「聽勁」，這是一種感覺對手力量方向的能力。你可以用柔和的方式跟隨對手的動作，並發出短而明確的力量來應對。

4. 輕靈勁
   到了這一層次，你的「聽勁」非常敏銳，能讓對手感覺不到你有任何抗力。你的力量變得輕靈，動作很小，但可以發出長而連續的力量。

5. 虛無勁
   這是最高的推手境界。力量在「有」與「無」之間流動，對手甚至不知道他們的力量已被化解，或在不知不覺中被擊倒。這是一種自然的反應，沒有多餘的動作。

太極推手的這五種力量，從放鬆到高級的應對，每一步都教會我們如何更好地使用身體和內在的力量。這不僅對太極有幫助，還對健康和日常生活有益。