Push-hands or Sticky-hands

One of the interesting practices I’ve picked up over my many years of martial arts training is ‘push-hands’ from the Shaolin perspective or ‘sticky-hands’ as seen from the Wudang perspective.

I found the practice useful in my other martial arts as well, facilitating my manipulation of energy for techniques in Judo, Aikido, and Taijiquan.

From the push-hands perspective, you are connected with and feeling your opponent’s energy, moving with it and directing it around your center, then using its momentum to ‘push’ your opponent off his/her center.

From the sticky-hands perspective, you are connected with and feeling your opponent’s energy, drawing and moving it around your center, then using it to draw your opponent toward and around your center and off his/hers.

–LE – 7/10/25