Students should always remember that partner practice of Taiji applications is a cooperative exercise in mutual learning, not a competition. Please be attentive and considerate of your partners. Senior students must be particularly careful when working with junior students. Likewise please be cognizant and considerate of age and size differences.
Let your partner know if he or she is being too fast or aggressive or if you have an injury he or she should be aware of. Also if you want your partner to be more challenging, it is appropriate to make such a request, but please respect your partner’s right to decline.
Remember to adhere to the principles of Taiji in partner practice. If you resort to improper means such as bending over backwards to avoid being uprooted in push hands, you gain nothing and may ingrain a bad habit that would be dangerous in actual combat. The famous Taiji master Cheng Man Ching told his students to “invest in loss,” to allow themselves to be bested so that they could learn from the experience and acquire the correct technique.