Many speak about going against high level practitioners feels like stumbling in clouds. That you can’t hardly feel them and yet they can control their opponents with ease. 

But how come, at the same time, so many practitioners when they play push hands, when try to rely on peng and evident structure?

Sometime people share push hands clips, videos with people pushing hands, with themselves or with others. Sometimes people post a film they took from a meeting of a push hands group. Obviously some people are better than others. But many rely on techniques or tricks. The vast majority of the practitioners are hard and tense up.

They tense up because they rely on evident structure, they attach their strength on the opponent, and they let their opponent attach their strength on them.

You can never become like a cloud if you offer resistance and give your opponents opportunities to attach their strength on you.

Be light.
Stay light.
The lighter the better. 

Your most useful peng and your best Jin are achieved when you move completely free, unattached. When your opponent cannot even sense it’s there.

Taijiquan is a skill with shape and without shape. Although it has shape when an opponent attacks you, your whole body must be very reserved and display nearly nothing in there.

Taijiquan is a skill based on unpredictable opportunity.

If the other thinks you cannot attack, you should just move your mind suddenly to attack. If others think you will come then you should transform as if you have nothing to attack. This is the so-called “being suddenly visible; suddenly invisible”.

– Li Yaxuan