The principles and concepts within this type of training — and the theories connected to it — are almost impossible to fully express in words. Language alone cannot accurately convey its meaning, because words can never replace feeling and touch. Touch has its own senses and emotional qualities; the experience gained through tactile stimulus lies beyond verbal description. At best, words can only describe a state of awareness that extends far beyond the scope of this short article.
Sticky hands, sometimes referred to as pushing hands, is more accurately known as Rou Shou or Tui Shou. It is the art of sensitivity, of feeling, and of reading and assimilating degrees of force and energy. Through continuous contact, the practitioner gauges intensity and direction by monitoring subtle changes. This is direct transmission through touch.
Google defines “sense” as to feel or experience something without being able to explain exactly how. This captures the essence of sticky hands training. Through this practice, one gains the ability to read an opponent’s intention the moment contact is made. The practitioner receives real‑time information and responds based on the accuracy of that information. What is the “correct information”? It is the attacker’s true intention expressed through force — the intelligence gathered and assimilated before any conscious action occurs.
All of this happens on first contact and within a fraction of a second. To control an opponent, one must do the correct thing at precisely the correct moment. To stick and adhere is to know; to know is to act in accordance with what is happening.
Developing this understanding requires many hours of sticky hands training with a wide variety of partners. The hands remain in continuous contact as one drills concepts such as absorption, redirection, and neutralization. Countless drills can be created to study, develop, and explore these ideas. Exploration is essential, for it is through varied training experiences that one learns how to apply the principles revealed through sticky hands. This training is an information‑gathering tool — not a striking method, nor a system for joint manipulation or pinning.
In Chi Gert training, the legs are emphasized for the same reasons as the hands. They are trained in a similar manner: to control through contact, to pin, lock, sweep, and manage footwork. Close‑range leg contact arises naturally from pushing and pulling motions. The force used for kicking — a power force intended to injure — is entirely different from the subtle sensitivity energy used for listening. Responsiveness determines reaction, and correct reaction arises from the body’s decision, not the mind. Although the mind’s intent (Yi) is a powerful force behind all action, it lies beyond the scope of this article and will be addressed separately.
The forces used for striking or sticking differ from the collecting force cultivated in sticky hands. Collecting force is only one part of the overall application.
The essential sequence of information gathering includes:
- The distance between you and the attacker
- The angle and direction of the attacker’s movement
- The degree of force being applied
- Which part of the attacker’s body initiates movement — leg, elbow, hand, or otherwise
- Where to establish and maintain sticking contact
The degree of force, its intensity, its direction, the opponent’s position, and their balance — all of this is the intelligence gathered on first contact. Simultaneously, this information produces the correct response.
