9th International Push Hands Meeting
Hanover, Germany, February 2009.
Ronnie Robinson 
With the economic climate across Europe looking somewhat grim and less money in people’s pockets it was inspiring to see that the numbers at this year’s push-hands meeting were considerably up on last year, despite the fact that the 2008 was also in staged in conjunction with the TCFE (Taijiquan & Qigong Federation for Europe). Organised by Nils Klug at his Tai Chi Studio, which provided excellent facilities for working with an interesting array of teachers, from various European locations the Push Hands meeting is undoubtedly the 1st must-attend event on the calendar of open-minded practitioners of the art, from many European countries.
When I heard 9 years ago that there was to be a 9 day push-hands event in Hannover, Germany, in the middle of February I had grave doubts regarding its potential success but was nevertheless delighted to be invited as one of the teachers. 9 years on the event is a testament to Nils positive enthusiasm for this work and his open relaxed approach to bringing players together, from many approaches, styles and European locations.
Over many years of teaching and practice I’ve come to the understanding that the majority of people who practice tai chi don’t do it so seriously, maybe an hour a week at class and perhaps, if they’re relatively keen 10 – 20 minutes a couple of times a week in between. The majority of those who do practice tai chi concentrate primarily on hand form with perhaps a few ancillary qigong exercises thrown in. Of those who practice regularly even less play push hands and given the small proportion of students who play, even less really practice tai chi principles when doing so. This being the case it is wonderful to see people regularly attending meetings such as Nils’ event and developing as a result of their ongoing practice. I remember in the early days of attending being surprised at how few people were actually pushing as they often came from a tradition where anything other than yielding was considered to be coarse. Over the past few years I’ve become increasingly aware of the rewards gained from the ongoing education at such events. More often than not I find myself standing with someone who really wants to test, and be tested, but in a spirit of open dialogue, which is an essential element for ongoing development.
Student standards (and we’re all students) have definitely improved and the quality of instruction is becoming deeper and deeper allowing more opportunity to look at some of the many subtleties of this informative aspect of tai chi.
This was my 1st visit to the Push Hands Meeting in a non-teaching capacity and taking some time out from a photographic role I attended Epi van de Pol’s workshop. I’ve known Epi for many years, from his teaching at Caledonia, in the early days to working together in the TCFE. Not reading the publicity material I just joined in and greatly enjoyed the nature of the work from the investigation of body structure and relaxation to ground and neutralise a push, with minimal effort, which, of course takes maximum work to achieve. Epi guided each participant through their own investigation, allowing them the opportunity of feeling the possibilities that can be gained through being mindful and open in the body and mind.
I made the most of my free time to hang out with good friends and colleagues, in particular Mario Napoli who is always stimulating company who despite his words to the contrary, has a very deep knowledge of tai chi.
The 3 hour free-pushing sessions each afternoon are really great for playing with practitioners who are really open and increasingly improving skill-wise. Aside from Recontres Jasnieres there seems to be no other place to spend so much time, so freely working on tui shou. This year’s event seemed to be one of the busiest yet and was obviously greatly enjoyed by all.
In times of cheap air-travel it’s relatively cheap and easy to get around these days. It’s a shame that the UK is poorly represented in the numbers attending, I know the benefits and good-spirits are well worth the journey.
Be sure to visit the gallery to see my pictures from the event!
Ronnie Robinson