Pulling Taffy & Its Variations

Pulling Taffy(all four variations of it) may be the most difficult movement to teach, but that is often the teacher’s fault. It must first be stressed that the movement of the upturned hand is horizontal. Some students want to make a graceful dance movement out of the pull, gradually raising the upturned under–hand while bending both knees and turning sideways. This may be a graceful dance movement, but it certainly is not T’ai Chi Chih.

The upturned hand moves to the side, still upturned, after the two hands have crossed in the taffy pull. That move started with the upturned hand going to the opposite elbow past the top hand; from there the pull begins. Many start the movement with the two hands together, and this does not allow for the pull that ensues as the two hands cross each other.

As the hand pulls to the side, both feet remain flat on the ground. Many have the tendency to raise the back leg’s heel in a graceful gesture, but the back foot actually remains as flat as does the front foot. Teachers must check on this. Also, be sure the student does not shift the weight too quickly; the weight should shift in direct coordination with the pulling hand, and no faster.

The hand that has the palm turned down pulls to the side and slightly down so that it finishes alongside the back leg, palm turned down. Actually, this is the substantial hand in order to balance the Yang leg, the one that supports the weight at the end of the movement.

Once the student understands how the basic Pulling Taffy movement is performed, the three variations should be easy to learn.