Yang Shen,
I have also had experience with grapplers, both friendly and unfriendly. No one outside the art seems to realise the extent to which TCC Tui Shou training can take you when it comes to handling this kind of thing.
A big strong guy grabs you and tries to pull you into him, you let him take the half of you he has the best grip on while "rooting" the other, as he reaches the end of his "pull" and is in that moment in between pulling you and then issuing against you, you simply "push" against his open gate and watch him fall harmlessly to the floor (I'm deliberately using the least destructive scenario here).
I can't tell you how many times I've done this to my brother (no, not the disciple, I have two) who is one of the largest, strongest men I know.
In "friendly" guy kind of shoving matches, this is all in jest but it's still quite fun to watch their expression as they tumble. In real martial situations, it's just a reaction to the situation you've been placed in.
But grapplers are a fact of life, Tui Shou is the best way to stay prepared for this. It's "wrestling" taken to it's pinnacle, if you think about it.
