Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The water hammer effect, wherein the kinetic wave of the momentum of an object continues on when the mass of the object is stopped suddenly and the result is an increase in the frequency of the energy is a useful but evasive martial method.
But what about using water hammer methods regarding the momentum of the duifang?
You see with training one can learn to cycle impact energy up into higher frequencies, but it is also possible to cycle your duifangs energy up from their own momentum and prevent it from exiting their body, thus inducing the water hammer effect from their movement but in a manner that works against them.
The trick is perhaps found in the method where you stop their momentum but allow no energy to be transmitted into you. I call this a trick because it is tricky.
I was hitting an object the other day that was giving me instant feedback in the form of audio sound waves. I found that when I surged forward and relaxed on contact, I barely felt the contact at all, however this light touch aspect had the most profound result in terms of the sound it produced. The trick of the method was to relax, to have no tension whatsoever in the striking arm, otherwise the wave of energy I was sending bounced back into me. I found that when I relaxed as I struck that I would make contact and then a split second after contact the wave of momentum would transmit, the most curious aspect of this was the delay between contact and the wave. If I tried to hurry the slap/palm technique then the result was not the same, if I tried to use force then the result was not the same.
The required relaxation is like water, you must splash and relax like water. Your hands must wave forward like water, if they use their own energy the result is not the same. I could actually see the surge of energy after contact, when my arms were relaxed it went quickly through me and into the object a moment after contact.
When I merely struck the object and my hand was not relaxed there were two major possible effects I noted.
The first was that the energy of the strike bounced my hand out and much less energy was transmitted and when it did it was not penetrating energy. The second was when I pressed my hand as I struck, instead of the force resulting in my hand bouncing back, or the energy transmitting, the energy dissipated in my hand itself, bouncing back into it but being trapped by the pressure, and it hurt. The object in question was a large hollow steel pillar after all.
So the funny part about this is how counter intuitive it is that the softest of contact, even on a violent forward surge, allowed the greatest transmission of force. And there was a transmission delay of the order of fractions of a second after impact. I am a fan of circular movement and conservation of momentum for sure, but now I recognize the place of the pause in a form during specific strikes, such as single whip. This pause is actually part of the strike itself.
This is key to understanding how to use the method on the momentum of an attack, by relaxing as you check the momentum of the duifang the energy of their attack dissipates into them. The greater the momentum of their attack, the greater the amount of force is that the duifang ends up absorbing. This force or wave of momentum is qi, a form of energy. In essence you use the duifangs qi against them. Not by bouncing, or deflecting but by sealing thier momentum before it arrives, and oddly the amount of force required for this is low. Sort of like using a few ounces to stop thousands of lbs, and certainly not in a manner of force acting on force, but at the same time the effect is not the same as deflecting the path of a strong strike with sideways pressure.
The secret, because it is counter-intuitive, is in the softness. The softer you become in striking, the harder the force becomes that is transmitted. It might sound strange, or perhaps easy, but either way it requires practice, and not on a heavy bag or another person. The reason a steel object is nice is that it resonates with the force of the blow and if you cycle the energy up you will hear the result almost instantly. If you hit a heavy bag this way you will not realize what is happening, and if you play around carelessly with this and another person someone could get hurt. This phenomena does not require an explosive jing to be powerful, the faster you move for it the more challenging it is to relax properly. However the result can be peculiar, I even did knuckle based punch strikes on the pillar and found that although the technique was much harder this way than it was for a palm strike, hitting my knuckles on the steel with proper relaxation did not hurt them, which is odd, because normally I do not hit anything hard with any hard part of my body. This is of course because of the nature of the wave, there was no momentum pressing on the knuckles in the strike, instead there was a wave going right through them. Needless to say this is not how most people strike and this type of energy play is all but unknown in taiji today, let alone martial arts.
The neat part about this is perhaps the relationship of the forward momentum to the wave issued. The momentum need not be of an explosive nature for the wave to be of an explosive nature. However the movement must be whole body, thus uniting the qi of the body into one jing. Otherwise in order to get power one is going to have to use muscular force and doing so prohibits this effect.
True softness results in hardness.
But what about using water hammer methods regarding the momentum of the duifang?
You see with training one can learn to cycle impact energy up into higher frequencies, but it is also possible to cycle your duifangs energy up from their own momentum and prevent it from exiting their body, thus inducing the water hammer effect from their movement but in a manner that works against them.
The trick is perhaps found in the method where you stop their momentum but allow no energy to be transmitted into you. I call this a trick because it is tricky.
I was hitting an object the other day that was giving me instant feedback in the form of audio sound waves. I found that when I surged forward and relaxed on contact, I barely felt the contact at all, however this light touch aspect had the most profound result in terms of the sound it produced. The trick of the method was to relax, to have no tension whatsoever in the striking arm, otherwise the wave of energy I was sending bounced back into me. I found that when I relaxed as I struck that I would make contact and then a split second after contact the wave of momentum would transmit, the most curious aspect of this was the delay between contact and the wave. If I tried to hurry the slap/palm technique then the result was not the same, if I tried to use force then the result was not the same.
The required relaxation is like water, you must splash and relax like water. Your hands must wave forward like water, if they use their own energy the result is not the same. I could actually see the surge of energy after contact, when my arms were relaxed it went quickly through me and into the object a moment after contact.
When I merely struck the object and my hand was not relaxed there were two major possible effects I noted.
The first was that the energy of the strike bounced my hand out and much less energy was transmitted and when it did it was not penetrating energy. The second was when I pressed my hand as I struck, instead of the force resulting in my hand bouncing back, or the energy transmitting, the energy dissipated in my hand itself, bouncing back into it but being trapped by the pressure, and it hurt. The object in question was a large hollow steel pillar after all.
So the funny part about this is how counter intuitive it is that the softest of contact, even on a violent forward surge, allowed the greatest transmission of force. And there was a transmission delay of the order of fractions of a second after impact. I am a fan of circular movement and conservation of momentum for sure, but now I recognize the place of the pause in a form during specific strikes, such as single whip. This pause is actually part of the strike itself.
This is key to understanding how to use the method on the momentum of an attack, by relaxing as you check the momentum of the duifang the energy of their attack dissipates into them. The greater the momentum of their attack, the greater the amount of force is that the duifang ends up absorbing. This force or wave of momentum is qi, a form of energy. In essence you use the duifangs qi against them. Not by bouncing, or deflecting but by sealing thier momentum before it arrives, and oddly the amount of force required for this is low. Sort of like using a few ounces to stop thousands of lbs, and certainly not in a manner of force acting on force, but at the same time the effect is not the same as deflecting the path of a strong strike with sideways pressure.
The secret, because it is counter-intuitive, is in the softness. The softer you become in striking, the harder the force becomes that is transmitted. It might sound strange, or perhaps easy, but either way it requires practice, and not on a heavy bag or another person. The reason a steel object is nice is that it resonates with the force of the blow and if you cycle the energy up you will hear the result almost instantly. If you hit a heavy bag this way you will not realize what is happening, and if you play around carelessly with this and another person someone could get hurt. This phenomena does not require an explosive jing to be powerful, the faster you move for it the more challenging it is to relax properly. However the result can be peculiar, I even did knuckle based punch strikes on the pillar and found that although the technique was much harder this way than it was for a palm strike, hitting my knuckles on the steel with proper relaxation did not hurt them, which is odd, because normally I do not hit anything hard with any hard part of my body. This is of course because of the nature of the wave, there was no momentum pressing on the knuckles in the strike, instead there was a wave going right through them. Needless to say this is not how most people strike and this type of energy play is all but unknown in taiji today, let alone martial arts.
The neat part about this is perhaps the relationship of the forward momentum to the wave issued. The momentum need not be of an explosive nature for the wave to be of an explosive nature. However the movement must be whole body, thus uniting the qi of the body into one jing. Otherwise in order to get power one is going to have to use muscular force and doing so prohibits this effect.
True softness results in hardness.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The 8 energies.
If you observe a wave moving forward you will note different properties of different areas of the wave.
The leading bulge of the wave is full of energy at the peak, this is as Peng, while adjacent to this is the void area where the pit of the wave is found, this is as Lu. These two basic energies are present, as void and full energies, in all motion possible. The other 6 energies all combine them, however they can all be complexed and are not exclusive to each other.
Press, which is like the simple machine press and not like pressing on something with just pressure, is much like being squished by the leading edge of a wave. If you put your elbow against a wall with your forearm horizontal so that you can place it against the wall, then place your other hand on the wall between your forearm and the wall. You can now use your forearm as a lever that will press upon the hand touching the wall. This is as press, however in application the leading lever aspect is often yin while it is driven by yang energies. In depiction press is as far as the trigrams, yang cloaked in yin. While the next move, often called push, is yin cloaked in yang.
Push is like the wave itself, not squishing with leverage, but surging forward with both yin and yang energy. Indeed while Peng energy wards off, and Lu energy rolls back, and Press energy squeezes, push energy pushes, but can be done at different energy levels and push merely describes the dynamic, not the application. Indeed for all of the energies the names are not applications but descriptions of energies manifestation.
Pluck is another wave property where instead of the previous effects the wave is used to achieve a pulling type energy, which is not a pull per say, at high rates of speed the result is a violent jarring.
Split or rend/tear is where the wave is used to push things apart with forces that divide. To understand this imagine a wooden box being filled with water so fast it breaks apart. A single surge can be used to move an object in two directions at once, resulting in a rending or splitting effect. While all of these moves can be illustrated with a single hand, in application the split energies are best demonstrated with two hands for the impressive results are easier to comprehend.
Elbow, is not the use of the elbow per say, it is more like transmitting with the bend of the wave where peng meets lu or Yin meets yang. In the body this happens to be the elbow, however if one employs this energy with a weapon then the elbow is not employed while the nature of the energy is conserved and is the same.
Shoulder is one of the bluntest forces, though it is very yin it has a yang foundation. It is like a transmission of the wave itself, in an example a stick placed on a rope, that gets launched off of the rope when a sharp wave pops it us, this is like shoulder.
The nature of the energies is profound, no move can be made lacking them. If one understands them then one can meet them with exactitude and neutralize/avoid them to the point of maintaining the upper hand and combat initative. One can learn the techniques by the same name, and practice them until the cows come home, but that does not equate to comprehension of the 8 energies, which has as much to do with reading these energies in your opponent as it does with employing them yourself.
all of the energies can be done in any direction of the sphere, taiji is whole body so this is not a matter of hand or foot work but is instead bodywork. All of the energies can also be done at different rates of speed. The fastest of which is explosive energy or speed, termed Fa-Jing, but even slow has it's place in taijiquan.
There is a reason that the bagua is employed to teach taijiquan. The symbolism facilitates greater comprehension of the transmissions due to its aptitude. Moreover taijiquan is Taoist in principal. It is the system of the mother of yin and yang, this mother is taiji. Taiji only comes from wuji, which is undifferntiated and so can respond to anything as it lacks intention of its own. As is said in the Tao-De-Jing
If you observe a wave moving forward you will note different properties of different areas of the wave.
The leading bulge of the wave is full of energy at the peak, this is as Peng, while adjacent to this is the void area where the pit of the wave is found, this is as Lu. These two basic energies are present, as void and full energies, in all motion possible. The other 6 energies all combine them, however they can all be complexed and are not exclusive to each other.
Press, which is like the simple machine press and not like pressing on something with just pressure, is much like being squished by the leading edge of a wave. If you put your elbow against a wall with your forearm horizontal so that you can place it against the wall, then place your other hand on the wall between your forearm and the wall. You can now use your forearm as a lever that will press upon the hand touching the wall. This is as press, however in application the leading lever aspect is often yin while it is driven by yang energies. In depiction press is as far as the trigrams, yang cloaked in yin. While the next move, often called push, is yin cloaked in yang.
Push is like the wave itself, not squishing with leverage, but surging forward with both yin and yang energy. Indeed while Peng energy wards off, and Lu energy rolls back, and Press energy squeezes, push energy pushes, but can be done at different energy levels and push merely describes the dynamic, not the application. Indeed for all of the energies the names are not applications but descriptions of energies manifestation.
Pluck is another wave property where instead of the previous effects the wave is used to achieve a pulling type energy, which is not a pull per say, at high rates of speed the result is a violent jarring.
Split or rend/tear is where the wave is used to push things apart with forces that divide. To understand this imagine a wooden box being filled with water so fast it breaks apart. A single surge can be used to move an object in two directions at once, resulting in a rending or splitting effect. While all of these moves can be illustrated with a single hand, in application the split energies are best demonstrated with two hands for the impressive results are easier to comprehend.
Elbow, is not the use of the elbow per say, it is more like transmitting with the bend of the wave where peng meets lu or Yin meets yang. In the body this happens to be the elbow, however if one employs this energy with a weapon then the elbow is not employed while the nature of the energy is conserved and is the same.
Shoulder is one of the bluntest forces, though it is very yin it has a yang foundation. It is like a transmission of the wave itself, in an example a stick placed on a rope, that gets launched off of the rope when a sharp wave pops it us, this is like shoulder.
The nature of the energies is profound, no move can be made lacking them. If one understands them then one can meet them with exactitude and neutralize/avoid them to the point of maintaining the upper hand and combat initative. One can learn the techniques by the same name, and practice them until the cows come home, but that does not equate to comprehension of the 8 energies, which has as much to do with reading these energies in your opponent as it does with employing them yourself.
all of the energies can be done in any direction of the sphere, taiji is whole body so this is not a matter of hand or foot work but is instead bodywork. All of the energies can also be done at different rates of speed. The fastest of which is explosive energy or speed, termed Fa-Jing, but even slow has it's place in taijiquan.
There is a reason that the bagua is employed to teach taijiquan. The symbolism facilitates greater comprehension of the transmissions due to its aptitude. Moreover taijiquan is Taoist in principal. It is the system of the mother of yin and yang, this mother is taiji. Taiji only comes from wuji, which is undifferntiated and so can respond to anything as it lacks intention of its own. As is said in the Tao-De-Jing
Harmony is only in following the Way.
The Way is without form or quality,
But expresses all forms and qualities;
The Way is hidden and implicate,
But expresses all of nature;
The Way is unchanging,
But expresses all motion.
Beneath sensation and memory
The Way is the source of all the world.
How can I understand the source of the world?
By accepting.
..................
And therefore none can control it.
If a ruler could control the Way
All things would follow
In harmony with his desire,
And sweet rain would fall,
Effortlessly slaking every thirst.
The Way is shaped by use,
But then the shape is lost.
Do not hold fast to shapes
But let sensation flow into the world
As a river courses down to the sea.
....................
Yet nothing can better overcome the hard and strong,
For they can neither control nor do away with it.
The soft overcomes the hard,
The yielding overcomes the strong;
Every person knows this,
But no one can practice it.
Who attends to the people would control the land and grain;
Who attends to the state would control the whole world;
Truth is easily hidden by rhetoric...
The Way is without form or quality,
But expresses all forms and qualities;
The Way is hidden and implicate,
But expresses all of nature;
The Way is unchanging,
But expresses all motion.
Beneath sensation and memory
The Way is the source of all the world.
How can I understand the source of the world?
By accepting.
..................
The Way has no true shape,
And therefore none can control it.
If a ruler could control the Way
All things would follow
In harmony with his desire,
And sweet rain would fall,
Effortlessly slaking every thirst.
The Way is shaped by use,
But then the shape is lost.
Do not hold fast to shapes
But let sensation flow into the world
As a river courses down to the sea.
....................
Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water,
Yet nothing can better overcome the hard and strong,
For they can neither control nor do away with it.
The soft overcomes the hard,
The yielding overcomes the strong;
Every person knows this,
But no one can practice it.
Who attends to the people would control the land and grain;
Who attends to the state would control the whole world;
Truth is easily hidden by rhetoric...
Indeed truth is hidden by rhetoric and a martial arts classic can be hidden in a work that seems to be merely a collection of rhetoric. However it is said by some that LaoTze, the author of this work, was a practioner of the ancestral art of Taijiquan. Hidden in his work are potent keys to understanding this martial art, and presented in a way that if the work falls into the hands of the uninitiated they will not comprehend it, but can still employ it as a work pertaining to ethics and action. However the double meaning of the work is profound and deliberate. The art it pertains to is not an art of violence, nor an art incapable of violence. It is concerned with self mastery and harmony, this way includes a martial path for to sustain health and allow self preservation, however if you practice a martial art in the open you attract challenges, to attract challenges involves risk, only a fool takes unneeded risks of violence. What is the point of learning to protect and defend the self if the result is increased risk? To practice the art in the open violates the very principals upon which it is founded. Thus it is hidden.
LaoTze went west, there he is said to have taught a young prince. The young prince founded teachings which included temple martial arts. His 28th successor in the line of transmission went east, this man was known to practice martial arts. He went to a temple in Shaolin, his name was Tao-mo aka Bodhidharma. The martial arts were still with the teachings then, however over time a man named Hui Neng came to the temple, the head patricarch of the temple found him worthy of the transmissions of the principals, for he alone understood at the time, however the transmission of the martial art did not take place. From that time the teachings spread widely without the martial art, but were found so relative to martial art that transmissions coming from Hui Neng were applied to martial arts thought even centuries later.
However a record of the martial art exists, in the form of statues and temple dance having martial meanings. The martial is hidden in the dances for the same reason that the martial teachings of the Tao-de-jing are concealed with rhetorical content and a form of code that is common to Chinese martial arts. The postures of the statues are 108 in number and form the basis of martial art and dance in the region where LaoTze is said to have ventured after leaving China. However the limitations of nationalism and borders has resulted in a veil obscuring the reality of the transmissions, every region claims them to be the original creation of the region and yet they are found all over. Even in the polynesian islands, where there martial dances with postures like those of the 108 statues and of taijiquan were said to have been taught to the people by a God of war whom visited from another culture.
When Arjuna recived the transmission of the martial arts from Indra, he was also taught dance at the same time. The dance is the gong of the art. Over time much has been lost, however much is still preserved for those meant to recieve the transmissions. It is not for convincing others that I share this information.
LaoTze went west, there he is said to have taught a young prince. The young prince founded teachings which included temple martial arts. His 28th successor in the line of transmission went east, this man was known to practice martial arts. He went to a temple in Shaolin, his name was Tao-mo aka Bodhidharma. The martial arts were still with the teachings then, however over time a man named Hui Neng came to the temple, the head patricarch of the temple found him worthy of the transmissions of the principals, for he alone understood at the time, however the transmission of the martial art did not take place. From that time the teachings spread widely without the martial art, but were found so relative to martial art that transmissions coming from Hui Neng were applied to martial arts thought even centuries later.
However a record of the martial art exists, in the form of statues and temple dance having martial meanings. The martial is hidden in the dances for the same reason that the martial teachings of the Tao-de-jing are concealed with rhetorical content and a form of code that is common to Chinese martial arts. The postures of the statues are 108 in number and form the basis of martial art and dance in the region where LaoTze is said to have ventured after leaving China. However the limitations of nationalism and borders has resulted in a veil obscuring the reality of the transmissions, every region claims them to be the original creation of the region and yet they are found all over. Even in the polynesian islands, where there martial dances with postures like those of the 108 statues and of taijiquan were said to have been taught to the people by a God of war whom visited from another culture.
When Arjuna recived the transmission of the martial arts from Indra, he was also taught dance at the same time. The dance is the gong of the art. Over time much has been lost, however much is still preserved for those meant to recieve the transmissions. It is not for convincing others that I share this information.
Neutralization
The neutralization of attacks is a primary concern with taijiquan.
How though is one to neutralize extreme yang type energies?
The answer is of course in balance, extreme yang is defeated by extreme yin.
Yang is full and yin is void.
Consider a car speeding towards you as an example of extreme yang.
What is the ideal technique?
The answer is: empty space.
If we consider the teaching of the 13 postures also we know that there are preferred directions.
When extreme yang moves forward the reciprocal answer is moving right with extreme yin, this creates empty space and positions one out of the way.
You see, it is not possible to rollback a car. Nor are all human attacks able to be neutralized.
Some attacks can be very powerful and very fast. There are two ways to deal with them, the first is anticipation of the attack and preemptive defensive attack. This is the defense using offense principal. The second method of dealing with a powerful fast attack is to move out of the way into a position that has the advantage. If someone moves forward you move right, they have to turn left or move left to deal with someone having moved right. These position aspects of the 13 postures are almost like the game: paper, rock, scissors. Except we must keep in mind that some of the outcomes are dealt with not by a reciprocal energy, but by a lack of one, at least in the case of extreme yang nature attacks.
If two opponents or opposing energies (duifangs) face each other their interaction can be described by position/motion and energy. The system allowing this comprehension is the 13 postures. It allows those who practice it to be able to respond to the movement of the duifang in a way that can seem by some to be magical or based on some mystical energy, but the truth is that it is simple physics and cleverness that form the basis of the system. How it is used can vary, once comprehended the person who masters taijiquan can manifest the art in myriad ways including lethal, or non lethal. Taijiquan is neither a deadly martial art nor is it a non-deadly martial art, rather it is comprehension of the physics of violence in a physical manner that transcends the limitations of strength, speed and technique. This is not something that can be learned quickly.
There is a saying, in some taijiquan transmissions, that 3 years of kung-fu beats 10 years of taijiquan. This is because the skill set of taijiquan cannot be gained without much work and effort. However a practical skill set for fighting can be gained in 3 years using various strategies and techniques. For this reason many schools appear to supplement the taiji training with practices resembling Wing Chun or White Crane, focusing on attack and self defense skills while slowly building the real taiji skill set.
If someone learns what taiji is, they cannot use it. If they try to do it, they will only fail. Taiji is not done, rather it is like water, it has no intent of its own. It is undifferentiated and so can respond to anything, whereas having an intention is to have a distraction.
How though is one to neutralize extreme yang type energies?
The answer is of course in balance, extreme yang is defeated by extreme yin.
Yang is full and yin is void.
Consider a car speeding towards you as an example of extreme yang.
What is the ideal technique?
The answer is: empty space.
If we consider the teaching of the 13 postures also we know that there are preferred directions.
When extreme yang moves forward the reciprocal answer is moving right with extreme yin, this creates empty space and positions one out of the way.
You see, it is not possible to rollback a car. Nor are all human attacks able to be neutralized.
Some attacks can be very powerful and very fast. There are two ways to deal with them, the first is anticipation of the attack and preemptive defensive attack. This is the defense using offense principal. The second method of dealing with a powerful fast attack is to move out of the way into a position that has the advantage. If someone moves forward you move right, they have to turn left or move left to deal with someone having moved right. These position aspects of the 13 postures are almost like the game: paper, rock, scissors. Except we must keep in mind that some of the outcomes are dealt with not by a reciprocal energy, but by a lack of one, at least in the case of extreme yang nature attacks.
If two opponents or opposing energies (duifangs) face each other their interaction can be described by position/motion and energy. The system allowing this comprehension is the 13 postures. It allows those who practice it to be able to respond to the movement of the duifang in a way that can seem by some to be magical or based on some mystical energy, but the truth is that it is simple physics and cleverness that form the basis of the system. How it is used can vary, once comprehended the person who masters taijiquan can manifest the art in myriad ways including lethal, or non lethal. Taijiquan is neither a deadly martial art nor is it a non-deadly martial art, rather it is comprehension of the physics of violence in a physical manner that transcends the limitations of strength, speed and technique. This is not something that can be learned quickly.
There is a saying, in some taijiquan transmissions, that 3 years of kung-fu beats 10 years of taijiquan. This is because the skill set of taijiquan cannot be gained without much work and effort. However a practical skill set for fighting can be gained in 3 years using various strategies and techniques. For this reason many schools appear to supplement the taiji training with practices resembling Wing Chun or White Crane, focusing on attack and self defense skills while slowly building the real taiji skill set.
If someone learns what taiji is, they cannot use it. If they try to do it, they will only fail. Taiji is not done, rather it is like water, it has no intent of its own. It is undifferentiated and so can respond to anything, whereas having an intention is to have a distraction.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The meaning of the 13 postures:
There are 5 positions or movements, forward, backward, left, right and center.
there are 8 energies, they are ward off, roll back, press, push, pluck, split, elbow, shoulder.
Together these are the 13 postures.
In their use the entire body acts as a single unit, this is key to comprehending their meaning.
The 5 position/directions have classically been given in terms of the 5 elements. The elements can be thought of as cycles and relationships. When we take these elemental attributes then functional relationships between the 5 positions become apparent.
Forward beats/controls backwards
Left beats/controls right
backwards beats/controls center
right beats/controls forward
center beats/controls left
However this in not in terms of footwork, for no part of the body moves independently. Rather these are the keys to neutralization. This pertains to all motion, not mere footwork. The hands, which do not act separately from the body in taijiquan move, or do not, they can never move in a way, or not move in a way, that cannot be thought of in terms of the 5 directions. For example one can employ Peng energy moving forward, back, to the right, or to the left, or hold it without movement.
For example according to these principals Peng (or expansion/pressure) forward is neutralized by Lu (or void/contraction) right.
The 8 energies can be divided into two main sets, the Yang set and the Yin set. I show there here with binary equivalents of the trigrams where yang is 1 and yin is 0.
It can be seen that only Peng and Lu are totally Yin or Yang.
The idea here is the functional relationships as can be seen by the column view:
And another way to represent the trigrams:
111 110 011 010
000 100 001 101
Here we can see the correlate values of the trigrams as pairs.
This is used in concert with the 5 position/directions.
for example the compliment of press is push. However that provides no information about position and movement relationships, that is to say it lacks direction. However by incorporating the 5 position/directions then we see that press forward is neutralized by push right. Push forward can be neutralized by press right and so on. There is actually no intention involved, only relationships of energy and position, the 5 positions and the 8 energies. This means that the theory, despite being sound, is worthless without practice. Merely knowing does nothing.
Implicitly there is no directionality to the 8 energies. Peng can be done in any direction, so can Lu, so can all of the energies, which are not techniques, but are found in all techniques. Moreover no move can be made which cannot be described by the 13 postures, thus they constitute a complete system that pertains to matching and meeting movement with reciprocal energies. Since this is essentially the relationship between yin and yang, and the art encompasses both at once in terms of comprehension, the art is the system of the mother of yin and yang. The mother of yin and yang is termed Taiji, while the system is termed quan. However the name of taijiquan has been mistranslated to no end as a literal claim that the art is the supreme ultimate fighting system. This betrays a lack of understanding of why it is Taijiquan, a name which has nothing to do with claims of it being the ultimate combat system.
as is said in the classics, up/down, left/right, it is all the same.
In this way the 5 position directions are not strictly those pertaining to a horizontal circle, there is no dictation about this rather the position/directions pertain to the relationship of movements and energies. For example when the opponent moves right, this is on your left, thus left beats/controls right.
The dynamic relationship of positions and energies that is the 13 postures can be understood only through the realization of the 13 postures with the other keys, which are found in the treatise of Chang Sang-feng. The translation I am drawing from was made by Yang Jwing-Ming.
Once in motion, every part of the body is light and agile and must be threaded together.
Qi should be full and stimulated, Shen (Spirit) should be retained internally.
No part should be defective, no part should be deficient or excessive, no part should be disconnected.
The root is at the feet, (Jin is) generated from the legs, controlled by the waist and expressed by the fingers. From the feet to the legs to the waist must be integrated, and one unified Qi. When moving forward or backward, you can catch the opportunity and gain the superior position.
If you fail to catch the opportunity and gain the superior position, your mind is scattered and your body is disordered. To solve this problem, you must look to the waist and legs.
Up and down, forward and backward, left and right, it's all the same. All of this is done with the Yi (Mind), not externally.
If there is a top, there is a bottom; if there is a front, there is a back; if there is a left, there is a right. If Yi (mind) wants to go upward, this implies considering downward. (This means) if (you) want to lift and defeat an opponent, you must first consider his root. When the opponent's root is broken, he will inevitably be defeated quickly and certainly.
Substantial and insubstantial must be clearly distinguished. Every part (of the body) has a substantial and insubstantial aspect. The entire body and all the joints should be threaded together without the slightest break.
There are many people using the name Taijiquan, however of people practicing taijiquan there are very few.
It is not a form, rather it is the martial system of the mother of yin and yang. It comes from wuji, a lack of intention or posture, for only from wuji is taiji possible. Very few people who practice taiji forms comprehend taiji, or even why it is called taijiquan. Some will surely never get it. Others will never be willing to put the work into the art that is required and instead choose to employ the superficial choreography of taijiquan to facilitate violence, never realizing that they have only the image of the art. Many confuse effectiveness with authenticity, or even confuse authenticity of taiji with form transmissions, never realizing that authenticity of taiji has nothing to do with forms or deadly results, it has to do with the principals of the art itself which make it taijiquan, if it lacks the principals then it is not taiji, no matter what.
There are 5 positions or movements, forward, backward, left, right and center.
there are 8 energies, they are ward off, roll back, press, push, pluck, split, elbow, shoulder.
Together these are the 13 postures.
In their use the entire body acts as a single unit, this is key to comprehending their meaning.
The 5 position/directions have classically been given in terms of the 5 elements. The elements can be thought of as cycles and relationships. When we take these elemental attributes then functional relationships between the 5 positions become apparent.
Forward beats/controls backwards
Left beats/controls right
backwards beats/controls center
right beats/controls forward
center beats/controls left
However this in not in terms of footwork, for no part of the body moves independently. Rather these are the keys to neutralization. This pertains to all motion, not mere footwork. The hands, which do not act separately from the body in taijiquan move, or do not, they can never move in a way, or not move in a way, that cannot be thought of in terms of the 5 directions. For example one can employ Peng energy moving forward, back, to the right, or to the left, or hold it without movement.
For example according to these principals Peng (or expansion/pressure) forward is neutralized by Lu (or void/contraction) right.
The 8 energies can be divided into two main sets, the Yang set and the Yin set. I show there here with binary equivalents of the trigrams where yang is 1 and yin is 0.
The yang moves are:
Peng 111
Pluck 110
Elbow 011
press 010
While the Yin moves are:
Lu 000
Split 100
shoulder 001
push 101
Peng 111
Pluck 110
Elbow 011
press 010
While the Yin moves are:
Lu 000
Split 100
shoulder 001
push 101
It can be seen that only Peng and Lu are totally Yin or Yang.
The idea here is the functional relationships as can be seen by the column view:
111
110
011
010
101
001
100
000
This view allows one to see how the energies encompass a spectrum that together is complete.110
011
010
101
001
100
000
And another way to represent the trigrams:
111 110 011 010
000 100 001 101
Here we can see the correlate values of the trigrams as pairs.
This is used in concert with the 5 position/directions.
for example the compliment of press is push. However that provides no information about position and movement relationships, that is to say it lacks direction. However by incorporating the 5 position/directions then we see that press forward is neutralized by push right. Push forward can be neutralized by press right and so on. There is actually no intention involved, only relationships of energy and position, the 5 positions and the 8 energies. This means that the theory, despite being sound, is worthless without practice. Merely knowing does nothing.
Implicitly there is no directionality to the 8 energies. Peng can be done in any direction, so can Lu, so can all of the energies, which are not techniques, but are found in all techniques. Moreover no move can be made which cannot be described by the 13 postures, thus they constitute a complete system that pertains to matching and meeting movement with reciprocal energies. Since this is essentially the relationship between yin and yang, and the art encompasses both at once in terms of comprehension, the art is the system of the mother of yin and yang. The mother of yin and yang is termed Taiji, while the system is termed quan. However the name of taijiquan has been mistranslated to no end as a literal claim that the art is the supreme ultimate fighting system. This betrays a lack of understanding of why it is Taijiquan, a name which has nothing to do with claims of it being the ultimate combat system.
as is said in the classics, up/down, left/right, it is all the same.
In this way the 5 position directions are not strictly those pertaining to a horizontal circle, there is no dictation about this rather the position/directions pertain to the relationship of movements and energies. For example when the opponent moves right, this is on your left, thus left beats/controls right.
The dynamic relationship of positions and energies that is the 13 postures can be understood only through the realization of the 13 postures with the other keys, which are found in the treatise of Chang Sang-feng. The translation I am drawing from was made by Yang Jwing-Ming.
Once in motion, every part of the body is light and agile and must be threaded together.
Qi should be full and stimulated, Shen (Spirit) should be retained internally.
No part should be defective, no part should be deficient or excessive, no part should be disconnected.
The root is at the feet, (Jin is) generated from the legs, controlled by the waist and expressed by the fingers. From the feet to the legs to the waist must be integrated, and one unified Qi. When moving forward or backward, you can catch the opportunity and gain the superior position.
If you fail to catch the opportunity and gain the superior position, your mind is scattered and your body is disordered. To solve this problem, you must look to the waist and legs.
Up and down, forward and backward, left and right, it's all the same. All of this is done with the Yi (Mind), not externally.
If there is a top, there is a bottom; if there is a front, there is a back; if there is a left, there is a right. If Yi (mind) wants to go upward, this implies considering downward. (This means) if (you) want to lift and defeat an opponent, you must first consider his root. When the opponent's root is broken, he will inevitably be defeated quickly and certainly.
Substantial and insubstantial must be clearly distinguished. Every part (of the body) has a substantial and insubstantial aspect. The entire body and all the joints should be threaded together without the slightest break.
There are many people using the name Taijiquan, however of people practicing taijiquan there are very few.
It is not a form, rather it is the martial system of the mother of yin and yang. It comes from wuji, a lack of intention or posture, for only from wuji is taiji possible. Very few people who practice taiji forms comprehend taiji, or even why it is called taijiquan. Some will surely never get it. Others will never be willing to put the work into the art that is required and instead choose to employ the superficial choreography of taijiquan to facilitate violence, never realizing that they have only the image of the art. Many confuse effectiveness with authenticity, or even confuse authenticity of taiji with form transmissions, never realizing that authenticity of taiji has nothing to do with forms or deadly results, it has to do with the principals of the art itself which make it taijiquan, if it lacks the principals then it is not taiji, no matter what.
There is an Indian word: Maha
It means great, or ultimate.
If one translates it into Chinese then one
would not be mistaken to employ the term Taiji.
Maha is supreme, it is ultimate.
The Maha mantra is the ultimate mantra.
The Maharishi is the ultimate rishi.
The bagua is 8 fold.
The dharma is 8 fold.
Laozi left China and went to India.
There it is said by some that he taught a young prince.
The teachings involved can be found in the Hua Hu Ching.
It means great, or ultimate.
If one translates it into Chinese then one
would not be mistaken to employ the term Taiji.
Maha is supreme, it is ultimate.
The Maha mantra is the ultimate mantra.
The Maharishi is the ultimate rishi.
The bagua is 8 fold.
The dharma is 8 fold.
Laozi left China and went to India.
There it is said by some that he taught a young prince.
The teachings involved can be found in the Hua Hu Ching.
press
I have read that the move jie is not press but translates as squeeze.
However let us consider that a press is a machine which squeezes.
The move is not unlike a lever crushing something near the fulcrum.
Much like a grape in a book being squished.
Press is an appropriate translation if it is understood, but it is not if it is misunderstood.
However let us consider that a press is a machine which squeezes.
The move is not unlike a lever crushing something near the fulcrum.
Much like a grape in a book being squished.
Press is an appropriate translation if it is understood, but it is not if it is misunderstood.
No pushes?
Some schools teach that taijiquan lacks pushes!
Others teach very little but pushes.
What is the place of the push in taijiquan?
In the case of Yang style taijiquan a push is the safest way to issue energy into a training partner. Pushes are also very common in actual fights, but no actual fight relies upon pushes in general.
Some schools teach pushing as a way to lead into other moves, the force of the push can also be directed at the ground. This is much like judo and aikijutsu, the throws that are common are rarely fatal and yet if the direction and angle of the throw are changed a little then the person thrown literally breaks on the ground or is severely disabled. In training the emphasis is on safety, this is true also for taiji. However the same moves that are safe bounces in the training can be used as exceedingly dangerous attacks. Moreover there are multiple methods for striking a downed opponent in taiji.
So what is the place of pushes in taiji? Certainly not as a primary technique, but there is definitely a place for them.
To even get to the point where a push is possible however many things need to happen. If the idea is that the duifang attacks and then gets pushed then disaster will occur when the duifang is of such skill that his attack cannot be neutralized. My teachers teacher gave a demonstration of applications once where he stated that if you always wait for an opponents attack then you will die, that sometimes in order to defend the self one must attack the attacker before he can complete his or her attack. Otherwise it will be to late to act.
So when it is said that there are no pushes in taijiquan, this is both true and not true. Taijiquan is not pushing, though in training it occurs a great deal, this is for a reason and not because pushing is the goal. The goal is to listen/stick/adhere/follow and to employ those skills, which can only be gained by practice, to create and utilize openings in your duifangs attacks and movements. However the difference between training situations and actual violent encounters should be considered. To seek to push is to have an intention all ones own, a person with intent cannot employ stick/adhere/listen/follow because they are preoccupied with thier intention of pushing.
So in a way there are no pushes in taijiquan, just like there are no applications. However this means that there is no set mental posture or by the numbers application, rather the possibilities are nearly limitless. The idea of no applications does not mean that taiji lacks applications, just that to have an application in mind means that there is no taiji, no relationship of yang and yin in regard to the moment. For taiji to be taiji it must encompass yang and yin, it must be undifferentiated and in the now, otherwise it is a pale imitation of the art regardless of how effective it is.
Others teach very little but pushes.
What is the place of the push in taijiquan?
In the case of Yang style taijiquan a push is the safest way to issue energy into a training partner. Pushes are also very common in actual fights, but no actual fight relies upon pushes in general.
Some schools teach pushing as a way to lead into other moves, the force of the push can also be directed at the ground. This is much like judo and aikijutsu, the throws that are common are rarely fatal and yet if the direction and angle of the throw are changed a little then the person thrown literally breaks on the ground or is severely disabled. In training the emphasis is on safety, this is true also for taiji. However the same moves that are safe bounces in the training can be used as exceedingly dangerous attacks. Moreover there are multiple methods for striking a downed opponent in taiji.
So what is the place of pushes in taiji? Certainly not as a primary technique, but there is definitely a place for them.
To even get to the point where a push is possible however many things need to happen. If the idea is that the duifang attacks and then gets pushed then disaster will occur when the duifang is of such skill that his attack cannot be neutralized. My teachers teacher gave a demonstration of applications once where he stated that if you always wait for an opponents attack then you will die, that sometimes in order to defend the self one must attack the attacker before he can complete his or her attack. Otherwise it will be to late to act.
So when it is said that there are no pushes in taijiquan, this is both true and not true. Taijiquan is not pushing, though in training it occurs a great deal, this is for a reason and not because pushing is the goal. The goal is to listen/stick/adhere/follow and to employ those skills, which can only be gained by practice, to create and utilize openings in your duifangs attacks and movements. However the difference between training situations and actual violent encounters should be considered. To seek to push is to have an intention all ones own, a person with intent cannot employ stick/adhere/listen/follow because they are preoccupied with thier intention of pushing.
So in a way there are no pushes in taijiquan, just like there are no applications. However this means that there is no set mental posture or by the numbers application, rather the possibilities are nearly limitless. The idea of no applications does not mean that taiji lacks applications, just that to have an application in mind means that there is no taiji, no relationship of yang and yin in regard to the moment. For taiji to be taiji it must encompass yang and yin, it must be undifferentiated and in the now, otherwise it is a pale imitation of the art regardless of how effective it is.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Whip
If you have watched a whip being cracked you know how softness relates to speed.
A whip can only crack because it is flexible and soft, and in many cases tapered, this allows the force of the wave to be focused into a smaller and smaller area, resulting in an increase in frequency and speed of the wave form, the end result of course being that the movement of the whip itself exceeds the speed of sound.
With the water hammer phenomena the pulse of energy is propagated through the medium, rather than the medium moving with the pulse. With the whip the pulse is propagated by the medium moving with the wave. Both involve fluid dynamics, the whip acts in a fluid manner, so does the water. However while the whip moves with the wave, in the water hammer the motion of the wave does not involve the motion of the medium as a wave, the resulting difference being that the waterhammer pulse propagates at a much higher frequency than the whip is capable of entailing.
The power and velocity of the whip relates to how soft it is. If it is too soft it is hard to actuate, but if it is too stiff it will not be effective.
Many martial arts emphasis whip like movement involving a snap like recoil. This allows the move to have whip like impact. While this is effective, it is not the same as the water hammer effect where the pulse of energy is propagated internally in the medium while in the whip the medium itself moves with the propagation of energy.
With the whip the maximum force comes from the junction between the extension and the withdrawal phase, however the water hammer effect does not entail a withdrawal phase, it entails what looks to the eye to be a type of pause, in which the energy of momentum becomes concentrated and transmitted at a higher frequency than the initial movement. In a whip motion there is a visible withdrawal aspect, thus there is no pause for the energy to transmit, this has to do with the whip method entailing impact as it transmits force and the water hammer entailing established contact prior to transmission of force. Even if the whip is done in contact the effect will not be that of the water hammer effect because the dynamics involved are different.
Both the whip and the water hammer require a type of softness to work, however one employs stillness and the other does not. The water hammer uses stillness to change the surge of energy into a higher frequency, while the whip does not. Instead the frequency of the surge of the whip is increased by the taper of the whip which concentrates the motion into a tighter area, similar to the water hammer in principal but still worlds apart in manifestation.
A whip can only crack because it is flexible and soft, and in many cases tapered, this allows the force of the wave to be focused into a smaller and smaller area, resulting in an increase in frequency and speed of the wave form, the end result of course being that the movement of the whip itself exceeds the speed of sound.
With the water hammer phenomena the pulse of energy is propagated through the medium, rather than the medium moving with the pulse. With the whip the pulse is propagated by the medium moving with the wave. Both involve fluid dynamics, the whip acts in a fluid manner, so does the water. However while the whip moves with the wave, in the water hammer the motion of the wave does not involve the motion of the medium as a wave, the resulting difference being that the waterhammer pulse propagates at a much higher frequency than the whip is capable of entailing.
The power and velocity of the whip relates to how soft it is. If it is too soft it is hard to actuate, but if it is too stiff it will not be effective.
Many martial arts emphasis whip like movement involving a snap like recoil. This allows the move to have whip like impact. While this is effective, it is not the same as the water hammer effect where the pulse of energy is propagated internally in the medium while in the whip the medium itself moves with the propagation of energy.
With the whip the maximum force comes from the junction between the extension and the withdrawal phase, however the water hammer effect does not entail a withdrawal phase, it entails what looks to the eye to be a type of pause, in which the energy of momentum becomes concentrated and transmitted at a higher frequency than the initial movement. In a whip motion there is a visible withdrawal aspect, thus there is no pause for the energy to transmit, this has to do with the whip method entailing impact as it transmits force and the water hammer entailing established contact prior to transmission of force. Even if the whip is done in contact the effect will not be that of the water hammer effect because the dynamics involved are different.
Both the whip and the water hammer require a type of softness to work, however one employs stillness and the other does not. The water hammer uses stillness to change the surge of energy into a higher frequency, while the whip does not. Instead the frequency of the surge of the whip is increased by the taper of the whip which concentrates the motion into a tighter area, similar to the water hammer in principal but still worlds apart in manifestation.
Friday, August 14, 2009
The water hammer
When a column of water is moving and the flow is shut off abruptly then the force of motion of the water continues in the form of a kinetic wave. This wave travels quickly, faster than the speed of sound. The result of this is that pipes can make loud noises and if the pressure of the wave exceeds their capacity then they burst, sometimes with fatal effect.
Water Hammer
The human body is mostly water.
If you surge forward and stop suddenly you can observe the kinetic wave continue.
This results in a wave of pressure and force. The momentum of the body can be transferred into this wave, which will not travel through tense muscle, so the body must be relaxed and fluid.
One of the key parts to this type of force is the shutting off of the valve. The time it takes to shut off the valve is a major factor in the amount of force that the wave contains. This type of force cannot be a function of muscular strength, which utilizes totally different methods of actuation in terms of kinetic impact.
Internal martial arts utilize this water hammer principal. This occurs by making the body unified as a whole, the rules of the harmonies relates to this, the body arrives together, the upper matching the lower, the left and right sides reciprocal. The rooting provides a brace that ensures the force is propagated and not dissipated. The pressure of movement is converted into a force totally different than movement itself.
To slap a heavy bag with the water hammer type energy does not result in the bag swinging like it has been punched, but the bag, and everything supporting it will shake with impact. The noise of impact is also much louder than with blunt impact type strikes.
If you hit a street light pole with this energy the pole will vibrate and move and your hand will not feel more than a slap sensation. Do it wrong and your hand will feel like it just hit non-moving steel and you may become injured, The key is the change of momentum into a wave of force that propagates at a much higher frequency than the initial momentum. This requires relaxation and proper technique, one does not merely hit things with a heavy hand, rather the method is subtle and involves shutting off the gate of momentum, while relaxed, thus allowing the wave of force to continue.
To the untrained eye the use of this force will not be detected.
On heavy bags the blow will seem weaker, because the force is propagated at such a high speed the bag quivers but does not swing as it does when hit or kicked using external energy. However the force does not move the bag so much as travel through the bag. In terms of martial use consider the skull, to impact the skull with a heavy external blow moves the entire skull, the same with the body. The power of impact becomes transferred into the momentum of the object. However if one uses the water hammer type energy the energy of impact does not move the skull, but goes into it. This can result in greater damage than rote impact physics, in ballistic terms the shockwaves are called hydrodynamic shock and this is an aspect of the water hammer effect.
If you train in water itself you can test the principal by slapping water with various methods, instead of displacing the water you want to send a pulse or wave through it. This is the same as with people and if you can direct the force then you can literally target internal organs. Instead of wasting time compressing the ribs, you can send energy right through them. While an external blow leaves a bruise on impact, because force is being absorbed that way, the internal blow leaves little if any mark, often just a fading red mark, because instead of the force being dissipated by impact it continues through.
The physical dynamics of this method are counter intuitive, rather than driving through the target, as is often the case with impact methods, one stops at contact, letting the force itself continue, not the weapon or limb involved. If the impacting body is rigid then it will absorb the force of the wave and the wave will be poorly propagated. Instead it must be as water, only the fluid softness of water will allow such energy to be propagated and transmitted.
Water Hammer
The human body is mostly water.
If you surge forward and stop suddenly you can observe the kinetic wave continue.
This results in a wave of pressure and force. The momentum of the body can be transferred into this wave, which will not travel through tense muscle, so the body must be relaxed and fluid.
One of the key parts to this type of force is the shutting off of the valve. The time it takes to shut off the valve is a major factor in the amount of force that the wave contains. This type of force cannot be a function of muscular strength, which utilizes totally different methods of actuation in terms of kinetic impact.
Internal martial arts utilize this water hammer principal. This occurs by making the body unified as a whole, the rules of the harmonies relates to this, the body arrives together, the upper matching the lower, the left and right sides reciprocal. The rooting provides a brace that ensures the force is propagated and not dissipated. The pressure of movement is converted into a force totally different than movement itself.
To slap a heavy bag with the water hammer type energy does not result in the bag swinging like it has been punched, but the bag, and everything supporting it will shake with impact. The noise of impact is also much louder than with blunt impact type strikes.
If you hit a street light pole with this energy the pole will vibrate and move and your hand will not feel more than a slap sensation. Do it wrong and your hand will feel like it just hit non-moving steel and you may become injured, The key is the change of momentum into a wave of force that propagates at a much higher frequency than the initial momentum. This requires relaxation and proper technique, one does not merely hit things with a heavy hand, rather the method is subtle and involves shutting off the gate of momentum, while relaxed, thus allowing the wave of force to continue.
To the untrained eye the use of this force will not be detected.
On heavy bags the blow will seem weaker, because the force is propagated at such a high speed the bag quivers but does not swing as it does when hit or kicked using external energy. However the force does not move the bag so much as travel through the bag. In terms of martial use consider the skull, to impact the skull with a heavy external blow moves the entire skull, the same with the body. The power of impact becomes transferred into the momentum of the object. However if one uses the water hammer type energy the energy of impact does not move the skull, but goes into it. This can result in greater damage than rote impact physics, in ballistic terms the shockwaves are called hydrodynamic shock and this is an aspect of the water hammer effect.
If you train in water itself you can test the principal by slapping water with various methods, instead of displacing the water you want to send a pulse or wave through it. This is the same as with people and if you can direct the force then you can literally target internal organs. Instead of wasting time compressing the ribs, you can send energy right through them. While an external blow leaves a bruise on impact, because force is being absorbed that way, the internal blow leaves little if any mark, often just a fading red mark, because instead of the force being dissipated by impact it continues through.
The physical dynamics of this method are counter intuitive, rather than driving through the target, as is often the case with impact methods, one stops at contact, letting the force itself continue, not the weapon or limb involved. If the impacting body is rigid then it will absorb the force of the wave and the wave will be poorly propagated. Instead it must be as water, only the fluid softness of water will allow such energy to be propagated and transmitted.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
fast and slow
There are many different versions of taiji form origination tales.
I found one recently that was compelling.
http://www.chipellis.com/Writings/Fa%20Jing%20in%20Taijiquan.pdf
Tung Ying Chien and Yang Chen Fu collaborated on a "fast set" which was unfinished at
the time of Yang's death. Later Tung finished it. It is now taught by his grandsons Tung
Kai Ying and Dong Zeng Chen.
It has been claimed by some that Cheng-Fu invented the slow form. However here is a claim worthy of consideration that indicates that the fast form of Cheng-fu was his creation and the slow form was the transmission he recieved.
It is well known that Cheng-fu altered postures but how he altered pace is controversial subject.
Some claim that he took a fast form and slowed it down. This I do not believe, while it is true that many transmissions from Yang family members include fast forms in some cases: slow forms are also well conserved.
The credible source above indicates that among the alterations Cheng-fu was making to the from included an increase in pace, rather than a decrease in pace. Some claim that the fast pace is authentic and that the slow is not, however there are at least 3 accounts of where the Slow yang form came from.
They are as follows:
1 The slow form was invented by Cheng-fu who took a fast form and slowed it down.
2 The slow form was a secret Chen village form that was transmitted to Yang Luchan
2a the slow form is a modified version of a "slow" Chen village form that was split by Luchan into two forms, the Public and the Michuan, the slow long yang form being the Public version.
3 The slow form was transmitted to Luchan by Taoists after he sought the art that influenced Chen village, this version says that he was dissatisfied with Chen style and kept searching for the arts that it drew from and that he found them in the form of the same sect that the Chens had learned from. In other words this version says that Chen style is a combination of Taoist martial art and Shaolin, and that Luchan learned the Chen material and sought out the Taoist martial art which was transmitted to him by a disciple of Chang Sang Feng or even by CSF himself.
I think the least credible version is the first.
I found one recently that was compelling.
http://www.chipellis.com/Writings/Fa%20Jing%20in%20Taijiquan.pdf
Tung Ying Chien and Yang Chen Fu collaborated on a "fast set" which was unfinished at
the time of Yang's death. Later Tung finished it. It is now taught by his grandsons Tung
Kai Ying and Dong Zeng Chen.
It has been claimed by some that Cheng-Fu invented the slow form. However here is a claim worthy of consideration that indicates that the fast form of Cheng-fu was his creation and the slow form was the transmission he recieved.
It is well known that Cheng-fu altered postures but how he altered pace is controversial subject.
Some claim that he took a fast form and slowed it down. This I do not believe, while it is true that many transmissions from Yang family members include fast forms in some cases: slow forms are also well conserved.
The credible source above indicates that among the alterations Cheng-fu was making to the from included an increase in pace, rather than a decrease in pace. Some claim that the fast pace is authentic and that the slow is not, however there are at least 3 accounts of where the Slow yang form came from.
They are as follows:
1 The slow form was invented by Cheng-fu who took a fast form and slowed it down.
2 The slow form was a secret Chen village form that was transmitted to Yang Luchan
2a the slow form is a modified version of a "slow" Chen village form that was split by Luchan into two forms, the Public and the Michuan, the slow long yang form being the Public version.
3 The slow form was transmitted to Luchan by Taoists after he sought the art that influenced Chen village, this version says that he was dissatisfied with Chen style and kept searching for the arts that it drew from and that he found them in the form of the same sect that the Chens had learned from. In other words this version says that Chen style is a combination of Taoist martial art and Shaolin, and that Luchan learned the Chen material and sought out the Taoist martial art which was transmitted to him by a disciple of Chang Sang Feng or even by CSF himself.
I think the least credible version is the first.
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