Cloud hands are Tai Chi (Taijiquan) essential movements.
There could not be Tai Chi without practicing the cloud hands.
Tai Chi uses the hands as touching sensors.
This is the Tai Chi fighting style.
Your hands can tangle to any speed of punches and kicks.
The cloud hands are basic movements how to deal with opponent attack.
When you practice Tai Chi, you should always keep the connection between the hands and the body.
Even with slow motion or fast movement, this will not change.
I saw someone who moves only the hands when he or she try to deal with a high-speed punch.
You can do well push-hand (推手), but if you can not deal with high-speed punch, this is not martial arts.
Penetrate mind to the top (頂勁), revitalize your fingertips, and raise the back and loosen (抜背), otherwise your actions will be delayed.
Since it could not be helped to say difficult things, I will explain basic.
Practice the cloud hands in the both directions, forward circling and backward circling.
Next, as shown in the form of Tai Chi, do it with side walking.
Let’s learn that the walking motion and hand movement are linked.
“Top and bottom follow each other (上下相随)”
Let’s step forward and step backward while doing cloud hands next if your body realized the connections of top and bottom.
What next, I suggest that right hand is forward circling and left hand is backward circling. And vice versa.
This is a basic exercise and effectively to be related to the movements when you take an action to attack.
If you understand this with your body, your practice of Tai Chi form will be progressed dramatically.
In addition, the backward circling of the cloud hands while stepping back is also very useful in the actual fighting.
I repeat the words “There could not Tai Chi without practicing the cloud hands”.