The technique of Cai(pulling) is to hold your opponent’s wrist by your hand, or grasp his elbow and pulling it down. The strength of pulling is just the opposite of that of thrusting. Doing pulling technique well is the basic requirement for practicing Qin Na (the skill of capture), which derives from the pulling technique. Therefore, applying pulling technique, concentrate your strength on your ten fingers. Contacting your opponent, you need to exercise the skills of raising, drilling, dropping and turning. (Raising is horizontal, dropping is vertical, raising and drilling are to traverse, dropping and turning are to hit, raising and dropping are in circulation). Clip your opponent's wrist and pull it down swiftly and accurately. Thus, it is hard for your opponent to avoid your attacking in confronting. This is to make his force against himself.
In practicing, you should stand straight in front of your opponent with both your hands across on each other Practice Tui Shou (pushing hands) repeatedly for three times applying the methods of warding off, moving leftward and rightward, thrusting and pressing. Step on with your fight foot rightward for half a pace, have your left foot backing for a step. Lower your left waist and crotch. Have your left hand holding onto your opponent's wrist while you are circumvolving your right arm handing with the skills of moving and pulling, and then squat down your body. Playing pulling technique, keep your body straight and balanced and have your waist sinking down with your chest held open and your back straight. Meanwhile, have your shoulder relaxed and your elbows holding down. Hold your Qi down in your Dan Tian (an acupoint located in your navel). Sent off pulling strength quickly, suddenly, and variably.
The technique of swing is a movement of handing outward in circumvolving in practicing Tai Ji Quan. It is to retroactively spin being a very important skill. No matter what movement your opponent would do, you can adopt it in defending your face, chest, or both sides of your body. Applying such method emphasizes both lightness and messiness. You should change your minding and moving accordingly between actual movements and the emptiness agilely. Using the center of your palm as an axis, stick your opponent's arm or shoulder and twist your arm to let your opponent lose his balance.
The detailed operation is as follows: while your opponent is pulled, he will attempt to melt your attacking force and try to lean against you. You should first relax your chest to melt his leaning force. Then circumvolve your arm to grasp his arm under his armpit with the other hand pressing on his crotch. You should be agile and brave sending your force out from the humerus of your arm, revolving your palm to move on with a complete strength swiftly and skillfully.
The technique in elbowing is considered to be the most dreadful and evil one among the eight techniques. As the terms describes," at far distance, handing are the most functional weapon; while at a close distance, efficient attacking is with your elbow". You should be acting quickly and powerfully in applying elbow technique. Doing elbowing will be efficient only in a shorter distance between you two than using handing but getting more sudden and fast in violence indeed. Elbowing technique includes lifting-elbow, hanging-elbow, holding-elbow, rolling-elbow, press-chest elbowing and hitting-rib elbowing etc. If your opponent moves leftward or rightward, you may use elbowing counter-attacking him. In taking Tui Shou (pushing hands), you could separate his hands and, hit his chest or other parts by your elbow.
The detailed operation is as follows: while your opponent is swung in an inferior position, he is intending to relax his shoulders, sway his right arm twisted upward, and draw back his right waist and crotch to attack the middle part of your body. You should grasp his arm, hold his wrist, sink your waist down and hit his chest by your elbow. Keep neither too close nor too adhesive. When you two have been touched, make your elbowing suddenly in violence letting him get unexpected.
The technique of leaning to lean against your opponent's chest by you shoulders in a quite close distance.
The detailed operation is as follows: use your elbow hitting his chest. He would intend to round his chest and circumvolve his left arm to melt your attacking force. You should step forward entering into his space between his feet, hold your arm upward with one arm leaning at his shoulder or chest and the other one pressing on his abdomen. Applying this method, you should get it as swift, sudden and violent as thunders and lightning. Only when you doing well in leaning with your shoulder, quivering with your waist, hitting with your crotch and stepping with your feet, with sudden and powerful attacking, can you do this posture efficiently.
As it is said by my great master:
Lean with your shoulder and chest would be quite sudden and violent, Lean and hit by crotch and knee will be very useful. Forward or back off depends on your actual situation and reaction, be smart to adopt measure, There's no worry if your opponent is probably skillful.
Each of the eight techniques is to practice the movements of your upper body. Keeping skillfully practiced, you will have the circulation of the eight kinds of your strength ceaseless with inter-locking associations. Each kind of your strength together with the countermeasure movement responded can be applied and reflected in the practice of Tui Shou (pushing hands). Master Wang Zongyue ever said, "Practicing the Quan day by day for years, you will get understanding your strength being much more skillful, and then enter the supreme stage of applying freely and naturally". This is to explain that, in order to comprehend the strength of yours and your opponent' well, one need to be skillful in controlling the knowledge of concerned Quan rules and principles and reaching an advanced stage in playing Tai Ji.
"Wu Xing" (five basic elements as metal, wood, water, fire and ground founding the earth) refers to the movements of the lower part of your body in fighting. It is named, "moving forward, stepping backward, noticing leftward, watching rightward and firming yourself steady at the center". Only when the footwork is agile, can your body be the same. With your agile body, the exertion of the eight techniques done by your upper body can bring its function well into playing the Quan. Thus, Wu's Tai Ji Quandemands "keeping your body stands up-ward straight, with your forces supported from eight directions". When you are stepping forward, your moving foot should be sticking on the outer side of your opponent's front foot to control his next movement. Have your third stepping forward sticking at the space between his feet under his crotch forcefully. Your footwork need to be performed forward or backward in a straight line. The same is with the moving to the left or to the fight. When you are fully familiar with your footwork, you can change the directions and sequences in stepping completely at your will either forward or backward with all the exertions of warding off, moving leftward and rightward, thrusting, pressing, pulling, swinging, elbowing and leaning with your hands, arms, elbows, shoulders and body. Exert them by your intentions with your minding focused, and your breathing natural. Send your strength out from your inner spirit enabling your hand movements to be swift and rapid so that it will be quite hard for your opponent to melt your attacking force as well.
The "eight techniques" and "five elements" are to master the attacking methods through Tui Shou and Ting Jin (use the mind to feel his forces and his Qi) directly applying them in practical actual combating.
