Resistance is Futile

Yes, it is true. Resistance is futile. No matter how strong you may be, resisting is not going to work. One of my pushing hands partners likes to use a lot of force. When I am able to relax and redirect his force away, I am able to neutralise his attacks in time. However, when I am unable to, and I try to use force too, and resist his force, we end up in a deadlock. Worse, he is a squash player, while I don't lift weights... so you can guess who has the stronger arms. I end up with very tired upper arms...

But how to resist the temptation of resisting? How to tell your body to relax, and how to react in time to redirect his force away? I know the key to redirecting his force is in my kua, but I am still unable to relax my kua to use it correctly. Most of the time, it is still my backside that is moving around, or my kua will stick out (especially the back leg). I guess this is a reflection of my movements. This is an area that I will need to work on when practising my routine. Only when my movements become second nature, will I be able to correct apply them during pushing hands. Meanwhile, I just have to live with being pushed around whenever I am unable to neutralise my opponent's attacks.