If you are to be successful in any martial art attempt, you have to learn the skills as a simple process of repetition will not work. You will get great benefit in terms of body awareness from developing this skill. Remember that you must not only be able to maintain form, but you must do so if under threat of physical force. This is why combat training here has to be a skill that you learn. In T'ai chi ch'uan, "pushing hands" is reflex sensitivity training that helps you to develop your skill. Partners work together in set patterns as they try to understand their partner's resistance and tension. Your hands, in this case, are the contact points to communicate. You do not push as such. Remember that in t'ai chi, pushing is not through the use of the body strength and arms, but it is basically forwarding energy that comes from a relaxed connection to the ground. When you receive an attack or an incoming force, the same principles apply. By subtly shifting your feet and body, you can displace the force. In tai chi for combat, your reflex sensitivity training calls for you to deal with sudden, unexpected attacks, often from a variety of different people, who may use a number of different approaches and sometimes even weaponry.
In tai chi for combat, the secret in dealing with attacks is to be very grounded, relaxed and calm. You have to be able to predict what an attacker is going to do by looking at their body language, the level of aggression, the positioning and the mood. It's easy to do this when in contact, but you might have to rely on footwork if you are unsure of what an attacker intends to do or how skilful they are. It's better to maintain a safe distance to give you time to respond correctly. If you're very skilful here you will be in a position to control the situation whatever happens and can prevent injury not only to yourself but to your attacker as well, should you choose this. A true master of T'ai chi ch'uan will always try and avoid conflict and will try to find a reconciliation, rather than aiming to injure or kill as a matter of course.
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