Cheng Hsin T’ui Shou is an art of blending with and effortlessly handling the force and activity of others. It is found in the many techniques of “uprooting” (projecting another’s body off his feet and through space) and throwing (dropping or flipping his body to the ground). It is mastered in games of freeplay which allow for a real development of skill and sensitivity in ever-changing activity. The ultimate aim of the art is a transformation of being and relationship. The primary goal is the development of “effortless power” which is only possible through grasping and experiencing the principles which found body-being and psycho-physical interaction.

Cheng Hsin T’ui Shou and the solo sets of movement are interwoven. When we do T’ui Shou, another person is there either as a partner or an opponent. This interaction demonstrates the functional use of the solo movements and provides a real training ground for the principles.

A fundamental consideration in T’ui Shou is being present with what is happening . This involves sticking to or “following” a partner so that we are never removed for any time from the movement and intention of the other (nor ourselves). This way of being in relationship to a partner is essential for those who want to be skillful in the art. We need to allow ourselves to be present with what is happening and follow it without prejudice or force.

Peter has created the art of Cheng Hsin T’ui Shou as a map to open up many of the possibilities available in three-dimensional psycho-physical interaction. Through the study of this art we learn to handle our own body-being and the body-being of another. New students may well ask, “What’s so special about this? Aren’t we already handling our body-being?” Yes, but how consciously? How effortlessly? How sensitively? How powerfully? Peter has created Cheng Hsin T’ui Shou to be the primary study for the school. It has great depth, and all of the considerations presented in the set classes, the Principles, Function, and Mind courses, and the ETW come together and can be studied and trained in this art.

T’ui Shou allows us to train and master relational interaction on many levels. We are working with the body, emotions, thinking, intention, and the will of both ourselves and another. Basically it is a fighting art; we learn how to handle another in a way that is advantageous to ourselves. The real training, however, is not in fighting, but in consciousness. This is important to realize, both because it is powerful to know what our purpose is, and because it opens up this art as a possibility and training ground far beyond any interest we may have in fighting skill.

It is possible that we could train relational interaction by studying dancing, but fighting offers something different. When we fight, there is an unpredictable element that allows us to finely hone our awareness. When we are dancing with someone, we expect that both of us are intending to move in harmony with each other and we don’t want to take advantage of each other. There is more room for falling asleep on our feet and not being aware of that happening. On the other hand, during freeplay with another, when we fall asleep on our feet we soon find ourselves on our bottoms!

It should be said that one of the first things we learn is sensitivity to such a level that we do not hurt each other in our practice. We train power with little danger of injury. We learn to distinguish between the move that will hurt and the move that will move another without harm to them. We learn to allow ourselves to be moved without resistance, which allows us to be pushed and thrown without harm to ourselves, and allows us to powerfully move with our partner and use their energy to uproot or throw them. It is an exciting and exhilarating way to play.

The T’ui Shou techniques represent a multi-dimensional approach to the use of “effortless power” in pushing, pulling, spiraling, throwing, and joint techniques, as well as the neutralization of the above. The study includes the practice of just eight basic techniques that are learned and trained in over 100 “formal” techniques (out of which can come thousands of variations). It also includes many educational games and various levels of freeplay. The practice is ritualized only in the sense that the techniques have a specific form and energy that must be trained. But even in this ritualized practice, there is constant variation presented by a diversity of partners and by variations in pressure, angle, speed, form, intention, presence, and grounding. This list represents just a few of the distinctions that must be made in order to stay on top of the game. T’ui Shou can be a lot of fun as we learn to handle bodies and forces effortlessly by being present with others in an intimate and powerful way. Mastery in the art of T’ui Shou guarantees ability in handling all aspects of relational skill.

In T’ui Shou, how we view our partners-what we think about them and what our interpretations of their actions are-is an integral part of our play. For example, whether we believe ourselves to be capable of doing a technique or not, how much fear we feel, whether we like or dislike our partner, or our willingness to be aware every moment, all influence our participation and therefore our skill. These issues are addressed more directly and deeply in the Mind Course and the ETW. Practicing T’ui Shou is more than a physical activity. It is a psycho-physical activity: an activity that involves all of our being. Getting good at it requires an in-depth investigation of what we call mind, being, and being alive.Through such investigations, T’ui Shou becomes an event of consciousness.

Of course the main aspect of Cheng Hsin T’ui Shou must be training, training, and more training. It is only out of training that an understanding and transformation will occur. It is only out of training that insight into the principles will emerge and be useful and that skill will manifest. It is also only out of our training that the intangible qualities like a pure and unreasonable joy or an ecstatic sense of oneness with things and forces can arise.