The square between the opera and concert halls was awash with students and other young people, marching bands, military recruitment groups and dancers when I arrived on Saturday morning. Our usual spot was filled with other tai-chi practitioners, so I called Teacher Xu to find out where our group had gone, but he hadn’t arrived yet. I walked up the steps and found Mr. V sitting against the wall, and after a while NL guy walked up, and they began to wrestle among the hiphop dancers.

Teacher Xu and his son got there later, but the space was so filled with other groups there wasn’t anything for me to do but stretch until Teacher Xu got me and Mr. V doing tuishou. Mr. V was, shockingly, trying to be more soft and nuanced in his style, something I was really pleased to see from him, and I think he can do it if he applies himself. Maybe being thrown around and bruised by NL Guy had an influence on his attitude.

Afterwards, most of the people had cleared out, and I was able to run through my forms, which felt good after the claustrophobic feeling of the area earlier in the day. Heading off to Sababa’s for lunch after a decent workout is a good feeling.

I’ve been feeling tired lately, and have missed a few practices, so I decided I had to go to the CKS Hall practice on Saturday. That morning we were joined by belly dancers with little hand-bells. I worked a bit on my form as the No-lose guy and a newer student from a competition background went at it. That was a recipe for violence, I thought, and I wasn’t wrong. The competition guy got himself backed into all sorts of corners, and of course No-lose wouldn’t back down. At one point he was still going after the competition guy even after the latter was on the ground. I just had to shake my head at that.

Teacher Xu was telling us to concentrate on “rooting” our own feet and not to focus on the feet of our opponent. It does seem to help quite a bit; I think I can feel a difference, even when Teacher Xu is pushing me. I practiced with the UPS guy for a while, which was pretty useful. Then it was No-lose’s turn, and I managed to keep it as civil as I could, although he not only gave me a pummeling, he actually even went for my neck once, which I thought was pretty low. He even said to me, “You’re being too polite!” I refrained from telling him that I was being just exactly polite enough, and that he was the one who was being extremely rude. It wouldn’t have done any good, as he would then lecture me on how tuishou actually was supposed to be, etc.

Last up was Mr. V, who was completely, utterly inflexible. I mentioned this to him, and he softened up a bit, but he is still all about pure, unmoving rigid force. I find it strange that he can make this work, even after all this time, but somehow he’s managed.

After everyone left I went through my sword forms a few times. I felt better after practice, as usual. I need to do more work on my own.

The gang was all there when I got to the park. I talked with Teacher Xu while Mr. V, Guo, Weeble and none other than the Tree Root Master grappled with each other. TRM hasn’t shown up in a long time, so it was a surprise to see him. I practiced forms for a bit to warm up, not just for stretching but also to get my energy flowing, but by the time I was ready for tuishou the TRM said he had to leave. I suppose it’s just as well; practicing with him was very frustrating from what I recall the last time, which was a long time ago.

I practiced with Guo for a bit. Remarkably, he remained silent, and he was a lot more relaxed and less apt to pull quick pull moves. I didn’t get my pushing done, concentrating mostly on just flowing. I tend to pull back before attacking, though, which isn’t so good. But it’s been drilled into me that attacking is just asking to be attacked back with even greater force as my opponent takes my energy and projects it back at me. As long as I know this, it’s ok, but I’ve been on the receiving end of so many extra-violent counterattacks that it’s made me slightly hesitant. Oh, well, another thing to work on. It’s funny, actually; there are so many more terrible things in the world than other people, yet so many of us live in fear.

I practiced with Weeble for a bit, and then sat around talking with Guo and Teacher Xu, Guo compensating for his earlier silence by chattering on endlessly about various tui-shou-related philosophies. Teacher Xu said it might be helpful to envision one’s self as a puppet one is controlling, removing yourself from the equation. “Like sitting in a tree watching yourself!” Weeble added. We then practiced some shoulder techniques that weren’t quite tuishou, but potentially useful nonetheless.

I almost didn’t go to practice due to the threat of rain, but after another migraine, I figured I could use the exercise. Weeble, Mr. V, Guo and Teacher Xu were already there when I arrived, and the square was mostly dry. I practiced with Mr. V while Weeble and Guo went at it. They were very talkative, chattering unceasingly as they advised each other. Mr. V and I pushed silently. I concentrated on softness, letting myself be pushed into corners and trying to “relax” my way out, but it wasn’t working very well. I couldn’t envision my opponent’s backbone for some reason. Maybe I was just tired. Occasionally I would push back, but not often.

After Mr. V had to leave, Teacher Xu had me practice with Weeble for five minutes, and then Guo. Both were effusive in their praise, but I take it just like their criticism. I still have a long way to go, and it’s slow, but at least I’m still going.