Describing Connection (Zhan Nian)

In the training of the connection energies in Tai Chi Ch'uan, Push Hands is introduced as the first stage in learning connection. Primary and often ignored aspects of connection are addressed in Sensing Hands. What happens when you first touch your partner's hand? What occurs at that first juncture? If ignored, you are missing the most elemental principle in connecting.
This initial layer of connection is described as 'resting-in (qixi jin) and supporting (zhi jin)' What is resting-in? It is initially the act of placing your hand atop your partner's supporting peng (looking like the posture of an push). The rest aspect is the softening of the tissue of the palm's heel to connect, feel the underlying structure of your partner's forearm. What is the purpose of this? It's the first primary step in 'listening (ting jin)'.

Rest into your partner's offered forearm enough to feel the connection's information.
What is the forearm's tissue, bones telling you about your partner's intent or neutrality.
What prevents you from resting in sufficiently to receive the information?
How does the weight of your hand affect your partner's structure? Understand that you are putting a load into their system that they will have to adjust to.
And the ideal weight of that load is 4 taels (the chinese weight of 4 ounces which actually translates to roughly the weight of a human hand and corresponds to the classic 'repel a thousand pounds with 4 ounces'.)


In resting-in, there must be not the slightest bit of preconceived intention, otherwise you will leave the moment. The focal key is equal to the points of contact. Relax into your partner's structure through the point of contact. As your partner moves to adjust their structure to the load you have placed, you must utilize rolling and pivoting within the inch areas of contact to stay connected, to keep structure in your own body and to stay balanced.
There is a difference to be distinguished between resting-into your own structure and resting-into your partner's structure. When doing the set solo, you rest inwardly to unravel the binds, which fill out the gaps in your body. You investigate what is neglected, in order to determine what is not being released to whole body movement. In working with a partner, you lightly rest-into the points of contact while adjusting inwardly to create a balanced shape which shifts constantly from the changing connection at the point of join. Generally, the conditions of rest-in are assumed by the topmost arm. The condition of supporting is assumed by the bottom arm. Supporting means by a sort of upward resting-in, to support the shape/direction of the upper rest-in arm. My experience is that, in support, one needs to really lose intent, to really rest-into the point of contact, to comprehend the pivoting direction and tendencies of your partner's internal unfolding and shifting. This listening becomes sticking.


(to be continued)