Authored by Zhào Zérén (赵泽仁) and Zhāng Yún (张云). Translated by Geoffrey Thompson
“Shuōshǒu” (Talking Hands) is a very important part of traditional martial arts instruction. Its format is similar to practice sessions and discussion groups in modern education, and this approach is especially significant in Tàijíquán training. “Shuō” means to explain, answer questions, and demonstrate; “shǒu” refers to techniques and skills.
“Shuōshǒu” (“Talking Hands”) is a very important part of traditional martial arts instruction. Its format is similar to practice sessions and discussion groups in modern education, and it is especially important in Tàijíquán training.
“Shuō” means explaining, answering questions, and demonstrating; “shǒu” means techniques and skills. When a student’s basic gōngfū skill level reaches a certain stage, the teacher should frequently engage in shuōshǒu with them. Throughout the beginner and intermediate stages of Tàijíquán training, most of the training content is carried out step by step and according to established rules, enabling students to grasp the fundamental principles and basic techniques step by step, and gradually form a correct understanding of Tàijíquán. When training reaches the advanced stage, on the one hand, many new sensations and insights arise during practice, giving rise to a large number of uncertain questions; on the other hand, a great deal of practical application is required — that is to say, at this stage students should frequently engage in pushing hands or sparring exchanges with others, including fellow disciples or enthusiasts from other schools. Because real-world situations are ever-changing, many issues will arise that were not covered in systematic instruction, or that — although previously explained — still require more thorough, detailed analysis. Shuōshǒu is when teacher and student together re-enact the various problems encountered during practice or exchange, with the teacher providing analysis, demonstrations, and in-depth interpretation, turning each problem into a concrete example for explaining the principles and applications of Tàijíquán. By explaining numerous practical examples during shuōshǒu, students gradually deepen their understanding and mastery of Tàijíquán. In form, shuōshǒu is not merely verbal explanation — it necessarily involves physical contact. Only through actual contact can one truly grasp the meaning of “shuō” and achieve the integration of theory and practice. The greatest taboo in shuōshǒu is empty talk. For the teacher, the earlier stages of instruction focus on imparting principles and teaching skills, whereas at this stage the emphasis is on resolving doubts. For the student, shuōshǒu is both a process of learning and a process of practice — a process that integrates theory with application, and, even more, one in which training and thinking are closely linked. The key is to learn to infer many things from one example and to integrate knowledge into a coherent whole. One must never merely copy mechanically, focusing attention solely on the specific application of individual postures or movements. [GPT note: 融会贯通 (rónghuìguàntōng) means to integrate and thoroughly understand, or to blend different knowledge and achieve full mastery. It describes the ability to connect separate ideas into a unified understanding and apply them fluidly in practice.] One must learn to see the essence through the appearance, and, through a limited number of examples, understand and grasp the principles of Tàijíquán. We often say that one key opens one lock. Learning the techniques and skills of Tàijíquán is not about hoarding keys but about learning the principles of unlocking — and ultimately being able to make your own master key.
The scope of shuō shǒu (talking hands) is very broad, ranging from a simple force in push hands, a practice method, the application of a theory, to the psychology in actual combat; from the relationship between a movement and force in the boxing (empty hand) form, to the relationship between inner feelings and techniques in the process of practicing the form; these can all be included. In this chapter, we will use the method of shuō shǒu (discussing the hands) to introduce some common theories, methods, and technical concepts found in form practice (pán jiàzi), push-hands (tuīshǒu), and combat (jìjī). Some of these topics have already been discussed in previous chapters. The focus here, however, is to further explain — through concrete training methods and ways of application — how to integrate theory with practice. Many of the examples here come from the shuō shǒu that Grandmaster Wáng Péishēng and honored teacher Luò Shūhuàn gave us in earlier years. Some also come from the shuō shǒu we ourselves have shared with students during our own decades of teaching. All of this is something we have verified in practice and have personally experienced, and it is not just empty talk. Essentially, shuō shǒu is the process by which a teacher directly passes on their own firsthand experience to students. These experiences are often the most valuable things a teacher has, and in particular, some of the explanations given spontaneously are often the most brilliant. Therefore, in real practice, students should ask their teachers to shuō shǒu (give hands-on explanations) as much as possible, which is one of the important ways to make progress.
Generally speaking, the recipients of shuō shǒu should be students who already have fairly solid basic skills, because at this stage the main focus is on applying methods and techniques that integrate theory with practice. However, in actual teaching, students of different levels often attend classes together. Therefore, we can see that students with a good foundation can understand things quickly, while students with a poor foundation cannot do it well even after the teacher has explained for a long time. If a student’s fundamental abilities are not solid — for example, if they are not relaxed enough, or their body is loose and scattered — this will directly affect their understanding and execution of techniques. Therefore, a teacher’s responsibility is not only to explain methods and techniques, but also to carefully point out the problems that exist in the student’s practice. It is necessary to help students of different levels clearly recognize the reasons why they are unable to perform the techniques well. Confusing fundamental ability with technical ability is a common problem in teaching.
One characteristic of shuō shǒu is that whatever comes to mind is spoken about, without any particular system. In this chapter, we will use this relatively flexible format to carry out several focused discussions.
The basic theories and techniques involved in these topics have already been systematically discussed in the earlier chapters, so on the surface there may appear to be some repetition. The reason we repeat our discussion of these issues is because of their importance. Here we hope to provide further explanations that are more concrete, in-depth, and detailed, and, as much as possible, to offer some examples in order to explore these issues from different perspectives. Therefore, it can also be said that this serves as a review of what was previously discussed, as well as a supplement, intended to help readers gain a deeper understanding and mastery of Tàijíquán. Here, each small topic focuses on discussing a single issue. There is no sequential relationship among them, but one should be able to see the internal connections between them. In the overall sense, one must firmly grasp the fundamental principles of Tàijíquán; no matter how many variations and transformations there may be, they must never depart from these fixed rules. We hope readers will reflect more and practice more, applying the principles discussed in each topic across different forms of practice.