Are We Practising Correctly?

A question came up today. How do we know if what we are practising is actually correct?

At first, I didn't know the answer, or rather, didn't bother to think much about the question. But now that I have some time, thinking about it, I guess it has to do with pushing hands.

We will know if we are practising correctly (both forms and pushing hands) if, during pushing hands, we are able to feel the direction of our opponent's force, neutralise it, and then return it back to him, without feeling that we are using brute force (ie. the muscular strength of our arms). Because in order to do all that, we need to be able to apply all the principles of taiji, both in terms of physical requirements (sinking/relaxing kua, body straight, etc.) as well as mental/emotional requirements (not being afraid to lose, keeping calm, etc.)

So if you are curious as to whether you have been practising correctly, during the next pushing hands session, ask yourself if you are able to sense your opponent's force, deflect it away and back at him, all the while without tensing the muscles on your arms.