Tai Chi Rank · Green Sash
Green SashWalking Push Hands
The green sash in our Wu style Tai Chi Chuan curriculum. This level introduces walking push hands, where the partner work you built with fixed feet becomes moving footwork, stepping forward, backward and in circles while staying in contact.
About this level
At green sash the partner work starts moving. Stationary push hands taught you to keep your structure while a partner pushed and pulled; walking push hands asks for the same thing while your feet are moving and the distance keeps changing. Wu style stays upright and quiet through it, with the characteristic forward and backward lean using the back leg as counterbalance.
At Shadow Fist, this level is taught in class under your instructor’s guidance and supported by the training video below for practice at home. Keep the pressure light while you learn the stepping, and swap roles often.
- Walking push hands, maintaining contact while stepping forward, backward or in circles.
- Preserving central equilibrium (zhong ding) while the footwork and distance keep shifting.
- Hua, dissolving and neutralizing incoming force instead of resisting it.
- The eight methods and five steps (ba men wu bu) with directional stepping.
- Leg strength and rooting, so power comes from the legs rather than the upper body.
Train it with us
Tai Chi classes run at our Windsor Heights school alongside the Kung Fu program. Practice at home with the video below, then bring your questions to class.
Partner work
Walking push hands
This instructional video teaches walking push hands, a dynamic partner exercise where you keep physical contact while stepping forward, backward or in circles, instead of standing in a fixed position. The video below covers the drill for this level.
Wu style push hands
Upright and quiet
Wu style is known for a compact, upright, composed posture, not excessive leaning or frantic movement.
Lean with counterbalance
A characteristic forward or backward lean uses the back leg as a counterbalance, adding extension and structural support.
Hua, the signature skill
Smoothly dissolving, deflecting and neutralizing incoming force rather than resisting it head-on.
Eight methods, five steps
Peng, lu, ji, an, cai, lie, zhou and kao, combined with directional stepping.
Why add walking
Dynamic transition
Moving from fixed feet to walking push hands teaches you to keep central equilibrium (zhong ding) while footwork and distance constantly shift.
Legs and root
Stepping through varying stances builds lower-body stamina, flexibility and a deep connection to the ground, so power comes from the legs.
Tactile sensitivity
Stepping forces both partners to stick and follow, sensing micro-rotations and changes of center in real time.
Training Videos
Practice with the video
The green sash training video walks through the material for this level. It is available to current Shadow Fist students.
Student access only
Log in with your My Account username and password, then come back to watch the full training video.
Rank 11 of 16Green SashNext: Green Sash, 1 Stripe
Tai Chi ranks
- 1. White Sash
- 2. White Sash, 1 Stripe
- 3. White Sash, 2 Stripes
- 4. White Sash, 3 Stripes
- 5. White Sash, 4 Stripes
- 6. Yellow Sash
- 7. Yellow Sash, 1 Stripe
- 8. Yellow Sash, 2 Stripes
- 9. Yellow Sash, 3 Stripes
- 10. Yellow Sash, 4 Stripes
- 11. Green Sash
- 12. Green Sash, 1 Stripe
- 13. Green Sash, 2 Stripes
- 14. Green Sash, 3 Stripes
- 15. Green Sash, 4 Stripes
- 16. Tai Chi Sifu White Sash
For every level
The 10 Tai Chi Principles
These ten principles apply to the whole Tai Chi Chuan curriculum, from the first white sash class onward. They are what the form is training, so come back to them at every rank rather than treating them as a beginner lesson.
Straightening the head
Stand straight, relax your neck and suspend the head naturally erect from the crown point without strain or tension. The image to model is "hanging by a string from the top of one's head", so the head and neck align by the force of gravity alone.
Correct position of chest and back
The chest is kept slightly depressed inward, which helps the breath sink to the lower belly. The upper back is slightly bowed outward while the pelvis is tucked under.
Remain relaxed with no tension
Relax and loosen all the joints, particularly the shoulders and elbows, and sink them so they are flexible, connected and able to integrate into proper structure. Relaxed does not mean limp. Proper structure is held with a minimum of muscular exertion, with gravity providing the downward stacking and power from the root into the ground. Tai Chi transfers energy as a vibration, much like a whip that has no tension. When the muscles and joints are relaxed, aligned and connected, the wave or pulse of the movement is conducted through them with no retained tension.
All movement comes from the center
The waist is the ruler. All movement comes from the waist, whether it is a hand movement or a step, so make the waist cause each movement. The waist as the ruler must be relaxed, initiating, controlling, guiding and distributing the direction and amount of energy transmitted.
Harmonize the upper and lower parts of the body
The vibration of any Tai Chi movement roots at the feet, releases from the legs, is controlled by the waist, moves through the back and arms, and is finally expressed by the fingers. To achieve this path the feet stay firmly attached to the ground like the big roots of a tree, and the knees stay slightly flexed. Upper and lower body then move together, strung together without the slightest break.
The entire body moves as a single unit
The entire body moves as one complete unit, not just a hand, leg or arm. Once one part moves, every other part is in motion; when you are still, everything is in stillness. Be still as a mountain, move like a great river.
All movements are smooth, even and continuous
Tai Chi movements are performed smoothly and evenly, with no interruptions. Nothing speeds up or slows down, except for the Wu style fast form which does change speed, and there is never a detectable start and finish from one move to the next. The common image is reeling silk thread from a cocoon: too fast or too sudden breaks the silk, too slow or in the wrong direction tangles it.
Keep a clear distinction between substantial and insubstantial
When the weight is on the right leg, that leg is substantial and the left leg is insubstantial, and vice versa. One leg is always heavy and one leg is light. This principle of weight movement applies in all directions and to all parts of the body, governed by the waist, and the constant change is understood through the phasing of yin and yang.
Breathe deeply from the lower belly, in harmony with the movement
The breath is deep and full, filling from the Tan tien, two to three inches below the navel. Each movement links precisely with the breath: as the body expands there is an exhale, and as it contracts there is an inhale. Because the breath is linked to very slow movement, the breathing is very slow too.
The mind leads the body
In Tai Chi, attention goes to the mind rather than to force, so use the mind to direct the movement and let the body follow. Keep the mind fully conscious, aware and intent on each tiny point along the path of the movement and on each point of the body. The mind and breath are king and queen, and the bones and muscles are the court.