Trick wrote:Bao wrote:Why would solo practice help push hands?
It doesn’t to my own experience at least.
im surprised to read this from you
Sounds provocative, doesn't it?
I used to believe it did. Maybe just because many "masters" said so. But again, I've met many who practiced forms, and yet when you meet them they tense up, use force. Every Tai ci competition should tell you the same. Most of the people using force in PH comps have spent a lot of time practicing forms.
But maybe I should re-phrase it. Forms and Solo practice
can help your PH, but
not help you to become good in it. Forms can help you understand whole body coordination. But whole body movement will be harder to keep when someone tries to throw you. Forms can help you understand rooting and balance, but it can not help you to keep it when you do free push hands. Forms can help you to understand deep relaxation, but it can not help you to understand
how to relax when someone tries to push you around. There's a difference. Form and PH don't match together automatically, they need to be bridged. If you only practice form for a long time before starting PH, it can become even harder to find this bridge between form and PH and not easier. Because then you will cement differences instead of focus on functional similarities and you might find it harder to bridge form to free PH play.
IMO, you need to get the same good experience in PH regardless how much or little you practice forms. Forms can point to a direction, show and teach your body what you need to achieve. But still, a great amount of form practice does not equal a certain amount of better PH skills.