Stu

What do tai chi practitioners, sumo wrestlers, and most playground bullies have in common? They all like to incorporate pushing people into their combative arsenal. And so should you. Pushing can be a very useful self defence technique if used in the right circumstances, even if it doesn’t have the obvious effects of more powerful striking techniques.

Pushing doesn’t always get the best press. In terms of the martial arts, only those mentioned above really do it with any regularity, and for quite specialised reasons. Sumo does it because one of the objectives of the sport is to move the other person out of a defined area, and shoving them around does that effectively. Tai chi, meanwhile, does it primarily as a way of showing that one practitioner was in a position to apply force to the other in a slightly more sudden and damaging way.

At least, that’s the theory with the more combative styles. The problem is that we have whole generations of people in tai chi who do nothing but push, eroding the art’s usefulness while simultaneously associating pushing only with something relatively non-combative.

Yet used properly, a good push can be a useful option for several reasons. First, it is very low force unless you aim at something dangerous. Second, it can play a useful psychological role. Third, and perhaps most importantly, it creates vital space in which you can escape. Let’s look at each of those points separately.

Pushes are low force under most circumstances. If you are a larger person, or someone with a considerable amount of training, they give you an option that falls between a verbal response and punching someone as hard as you can. You could employ control and restraint tactics, but if you want to avoid a grappling match, shoving someone away may be your best option. They can also become a much higher force option if you are fighting somewhere there is a potentially dangerous surrounding environment, like a busy road, though obviously, you would have to be sure that any force you chose to use was fully justified by the circumstances.

Psychologically, pushes are good because they represent a sudden physical escalation and engage a would be attacker’s fight or flight response. In circumstances where they are going through a pre-attack verbal ritual, trying to psych themselves up to the point where they will attack, pushing them away can be a clear way to both break that pattern, and force them into backing down. You should remember though that you need to create distance for this to work, or the other person will automatically choose the ‘fight’ part of the response. You should also remember that not all circumstances will be ones where intimidation will make someone back down.

The most important thing a push does though is to create space. Remember, that our goal in much self-defence is not to stay around for a finish, or to have a fight. It is simply to allow us to get away. Pushing can sometimes do that more effectively even than striking, because sometimes you will throw a strike, and the other person will just keep coming. Pushing creates a small window of opportunity in which to run or act again.

So how do you practise pushing? The first is to do it in a relatively static way, making sure that you are using your whole body. A good push comes from the legs, not the arms. Practise both a push where you don’t give ground and one where you effectively push off an opponent and hop back, creating more space. From there, experiment with it both as a response to an attack, and in role playing the build up to an assault.

Practise in a reasonably safe environment, and it is a technique you will be able to practise at full force, working as many different angles and ranges as possible. Remember, you need to be able to shove someone off you if they try to grab, as well as just put in strikes. Try practising tai chi style pushing hands, or even some sumo style pushing. Then combine it with other techniques, or simply with moving to an escape, for a very effective addition to your armoury.