5/14 tuishou
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.
