不加力，加力則滯，用腳推，不是用手

不加力，加力則滯，用腳推，不是用手

1. Meaning

• 不加力 — Do not add extra force.
  In push hands, you don’t muscle against your partner. You maintain structure and intention, but without stiff, conscious pushing.

• 加力則滯 — If you add force, you become stagnant (滯).
  Extra force creates tension, breaking the smooth flow of jin (勁) and making you easier to sense and neutralize.

• 用腳推，不是用手 — Push with the feet, not with the hands.
  Real Tai Chi power is whole-body force (整勁) that comes from the ground, transmitted through the legs and controlled by the waist — the hands are only the point of contact, not the source of force.

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2. Tai Chi Principle Behind It

• In Tai Chi classics:

  「其根在腳，發於腿，主宰於腰，形於手指。」

  (“The root is in the feet, issued through the legs, controlled by the waist, expressed in the hands.”)

• This means:

  1. Ground connection → Feet push into the earth.

  2. Legs issue force → The legs transmit that force upward.

  3. Waist directs → Waist rotation coordinates direction.

  4. Hands express → Hands are the delivery, not the origin.

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3. Why Adding Force Creates 滯

• Tai Chi relies on listening energy (聽勁) and borrowing force (借力).

• When you “add” muscular force:

  • You tense antagonistic muscles, slowing response.

  • You give your partner a clear point to detect and uproot you.

  • Your qi and jin stop flowing smoothly — hence “滯” (stagnation/blockage).

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4. How to Train This

1. Root through feet in every push hands contact — imagine the push coming from the ball of the rear foot.

2. Song the arms so they can transmit force without blocking it.

3. Practice issuing force by expanding from the ground up, so the hand simply becomes the last link in the chain.

4. In partner drills, try initiating every push by pressing lightly into the floor with the rear foot — not by tensing the arms.

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💡 Teaching Analogy:

The hands are like the brush tip; the feet are the ink well.

If you try to “write” with a dry brush (hands only), it’s weak and scratchy.

If the ink flows from the well (feet through body), every stroke is alive.