Push Hands / Tui Shou
Pushing hands is said to be the gateway for students to experientially understand the martial aspects of the internal martial arts (內家 nèijiā): leverage, reflex, sensitivity, timing, coordination and positioning. Pushing hands works to undo a person's natural instinct to resist force with force, teaching the body to yield to force and redirect it. Some t'ai chi schools teach push hands to complement the physical conditioning of performing solo routines. Push hands allows students to learn how to respond to external stimuli using techniques from their forms practice. Among other things, training with a partner allows a student to develop ting jing (listening power), the sensitivity to feel the direction and strength of a partner's intention. In that sense pushing hands is a contract between students to train in the defensive and offensive movement principles of their martial art: learning to generate, coordinate and deliver power to another and also how to effectively neutralize incoming forces in a safe environment.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushing_hands
We have collected some YouTube links that you might find useful to help gain an understanding of what Push Hands is, and how it might help your training.
Emma Lee and Barry McGinlay from the Longfei Taijiquan Association of Great Britain
Hai Yang, Montreal
Fixed competition, junior and adult, London
Marcello Sidoti, free Tui Shou, Italy
Ismet Himmet, Germany
Chen Style, Ken Gullette, USA
Chen Style, Wuying Feng & Chen Xili
Yang Style. Master Yang Jun and Lance Lu, USA
Yang Style, Michael Gilman (1 hr+), fixed
Yang Style, Michael Gilman (1 hr+), active stepping
The material presented here is freely and publicly available, and is intended to show the diversity of push hand styles and content available to Tai Chi practitioners.
Always consult your instructor for guidance in the Wutan syllabus.