Shuai jiao is a very good self defence skill.

It teaches you how to keep the body free and mobile, and see opportunities within every situation.

Instead of seeking to apply techniques from the palm changes, a student learns to blend with the incoming attack and respond spontaneously.
Natural movement is encouraged.
Turning, stepping and changing enable the individual to move freely and comfortably.

The relaxed stepping methods cultivate evasive habits and help students to feel confident when faced with assault.

The body, freed of tension, should reach a condition where the joints move freely.
Only then is the body loose enough for fa jing.
You must be sufficiently attuned to your own movements to feel when and how fa jing can be generated.

Some students are not patient enough and use force.
A common mistake is to use the pelvis and hips rather than the combined muscles of the entire body.
People become adept at rapid pelvic turns or abrupt shunts of force.
These are quite strong but they are not fa jing.
They tend to create a residual pattern of tension within the body.

Fa jing is like a wave, rippling up from the ground, through your hand and into the opponent.
Instead of using the hips and pelvis, you should use the spiralling of the legs, the opening and closing of the spine and the movement of the centre.

Unlike many grappling arts, shuai jiao does not rely upon holding your attacker's clothing.
Grabs require commitment, and a successful application is over almost as soon as it started.

Holding onto your opponent is unnecessary. Instead of holding, you employ stickiness.

Baguazhang addresses the experience of combat in a different way to tai chi.
The student avoids direct confrontation by circling around the opponent or by encouraging the attacker to circle around them.
Momentum and flow are used to overcome strength. The aim is to draw the attacker out of their centre and off-balance.

Bagua trains the student to adapt, change and improvise.
There are no fixed techniques, with the exponent preferring to respond to the demands of the moment rather than force an outcome.