Footage of a Taiji master teaching some push hands stuff

Push hands:Taiji master Liu Chengde's demonstration #1

Some of the moves remind me of stuff I've seen Aikido and Judo.

I've been thrown by a Taiji master before.  I forgot his name, unfortunately, but I believe he was a relative of Chen Xiaowang.  It was at a Chen Taiji seminar taught by this particular gentleman.  He picked on me a lot to demonstrate fighting applications and such, because I was one of the youngest people at the seminar.  Most of the other people kind of fit the stereotype of the Taiji student - somebody 50 years or older studying Taiji primarily for health, not for fighting - I'm not judging here, mind you.

Anyway, we were learning from this master on some relatively firm surface - no judo/Aikido mats or anything to help absorb the shock of falling.  Through his interpreter, the master, on several occasions, asked me to grab him or try to hit him or whatever.  When I complied, he would throw me.  I found myself on the ground so quickly I had no idea what happened or how he threw me.  It wasn't like some Aikido dojo where I was told to follow the direction of the throwing technique so I could be a good, cooperative "uke" and fall for my partner while, presumably, preventing my wrist or whatever from getting busted by the technique.  This Taiji master never told me what he was going to do to me - he just did it, and I ended up flying and lying on the ground, and that was that.

I believe his name was Chen Qingzhoui.  He also showed up some cool, fun stuff to practice with a spear, and with a giant "bao ding ball".  The spear had to be a specifically made type of spear - out of a specific type of wood, so if you practiced Taiji spear moves with it correctly, it would vibrate or something.  The bao ding ball thing would ring if you did a move "the right way" with it.  I think both of those devices were meant for training the Taiji skill known as "fa-jing", aka "issuing power" - basically the body mechanics for striking/pushing/throwing an opponent the Taiji way.  I guess the closest thing we see in the West to that these days is an Olympic barbell lift like a snatch or power clean, or more commonly a kettlebell swing or other ballistic kettlebell movement.  One of the ladies at the seminar injured her arm trying to work with one of those "giant bao ding balls".  I think the ball was just too heavy for her.

I don't practice Taiji or anything but that was an interesting experience.