I was doing some push hands today, trying to work on integrating the spiral movement of silk reeling force into the movement pattern of push hands. It became obvious to me that you ability to do this is directly proportional to the amount of silk reeling exercise you’ve done in the past, not how well you understand it. It’s not just an idea that you can intellectually grasp, then apply instantly. With an opponent to deal with you have no time to think how you’re going to use spiral force to deal with their incoming pushes and attacks, changes in weight distribution and changes in force. There’s simply no time – it has to be a feel thing.

The equation is simple. The more silk reeling exercise you’ve practiced in the past the better you’ll be at putting that spiral feel into the myriad of changing circumstance you encounter in push hands. Your only option, if you want to get good at it, is to practice it every day until it the learning becomes a part of you.