Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

At its highest level, Push Hands inspires images of Jedi contests between Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. At its worst, it looks more like bad sumo wrestling between two drunks. Too often, it resembles the latter.

Push Hands involves two people, usually in a similar weight class, who stand opposite each other with their hands on each other’s arms. Each uses both his and his opponent’s energy to force his opponent to lose his stance or fall over. It is a two-person exercise designed to develop the skills of the Chinese internal martial art of t'ai chi ch’uan. Why is t’ai chi considered an “internal” martial art? Like the fictional Star Wars characters, whose skill depends on mastering “the Force,” the internal martial artist cultivates and directs internal energy, called chi. The use of muscular force actually interrupts the circulation of this energy.
Push Hands, therefore, uses the least amount of physical force to produce the biggest effect.

It sounds paradoxical that you can become stronger by relaxing your muscles, but it is easily demonstrated by someone who has trained in t’ai chi ch’uan. The hard part is letting go of the security blanket of muscular tension that you have carried with you since infancy. Even when we see a petite woman easily pushing two large, strong men, our minds are unconvinced. It is such an improbable event that we need to rationalize it some way.

That’s where Push Hands comes in. At its simplest, the game is to keep my balance and make you lose yours. Losing your balance—even the threat of losing your balance—provokes a primitive stress response that causes you to tense your muscles as a form of protection. Tension comes from muscles in conflict. We get in our own way. Push Hands helps us overcome that primitive fearful tightening and replace it with something much more effective.

At its best, Push Hands is done with seemingly effortless grace, like walking a tightrope or diving from a high board. It allows us to overcome our fears to perform more calmly and effectively in anything we choose.

Push Hands comes very close to being the national pastime of China in that a very high percentage of its people has engaged in it over the years.