Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

Hi Louis, I really have no problem with the metaphors pre se, and agree that the ideas of rising and falling can be linked culturally and semantically to going forward and backward. My argument, essentially, is not that these allusions should not be pursued or analyzed, nor that earlier tcc writers ...

Hi Jeff, Well, I agree that two circles are implied, since tcc is a martial art. However, I'm not sure that the wubu (as found in our bamenwubu) relates to two circles. I agree that they are there implicitly, but I think they relate primarily to the individual and center. So, I don't think he can ev...

Hi Jeff, "jìn and tuì also occur in the context of ‘enter’ and ‘exit’ -the circle" I think the idea of "entering" and "exiting" can be useful. "jin bu" works as "entering step." All advances could be seen as entering, but that is always relative: i.e...

Hi Louis, Bob, well, Louis brings up an interesting technical point: i.e., that we are using "advance" and "retreat" in (or as) military terms. "Retreat" is a necessity of warfare; the only question is how organized or disorganized it is, and the purpose it serves. Mong...

Hi Bob, Jerry, well, I think "Upward step" is probably best described as when the back foot moves forward to become the front foot, as in Step Up, Seven Stars --which 'could' be renamed Step Forward, or Advance, Seven Stars. This, however, would not distinguish the method of stepping, itse...

Hi Bob, Jerry, thanks Jerry, I recall the discussion. Actually, the relation this has to Audi's post regards the use of specific terms for particular movements in the form. The question was whether what individuals actually did in the form "conformed" to the Chinese translations. Bob, I ag...

Hi Bob, oops, should have written, "Pi shen" as in "Pi shen chui" (which some translate as Turn, 'sidle', punch, whereas others write "Pi Shen Quan" and translate it as "Cover Body with Fist). "Zhuan shen" as in "Zhuan shen bie shen chui" (Turn ...

Hi,

along the lines of Audi's last questions. What exactly do you make of the distinctions among

pi shen

zhuan shen

hui ji

All of which are applied to turning movements. What are the distinctions, though?

regards,
Steve James

Hiya Audi, interesting question. I typed a longer reply, but lost it. Oh well, anyway, as to your question about the consistency of language among all the styles, Yang and otherwise, there isn't any. "Jin bu" and "shang bu" are both translated as "step forward", even in...

Hi OYT, sorry, my understanding, when you wrote: "the form in the "small frame" is done in a more "energetic" level, with small and fast movements." I misunderstood how you were using the term "energetic". It seems more in line with the conventional (i.e., non...

Hi OYT, you wrote: "the form in the "small frame" is done in a more "energetic" level, with small and fast movements." I'm not sure of what you mean. What is the "energetic" level? and why would it be associated with "small and fast" movements? I.e.,...

Hi Psalchemist, DP, Psalchemist, your comments are very kind, and I probably don't deserve them; but they are appreciated. DP, I think, has suggested a brilliant solution to your idea. He wrote: "It would probably be best to use traditional Chinese instruments, ... using synthesized sounds. It ...

Hi Gene, funny, I was on jury duty last year. It was a case about a neck injury. The doctor brought by the claimant was a real shady character. But, to counter him, the defense brought in experts on both the practice and theory of MRI. Anyway, the stuff takes pictures by using the magnet to line up ...

Hi, I thought about editing my last post for clarity, but I lost the message and I am 'lan' --but maybe I mean just lazy. Anyway, if the question is "what does/did lan que wei" mean is quite different from whether YLC knew what the Chens meant. I'm not a Chinese linguist, but "dialect...

Hi Jerry, ah, yes, well, I agree. Whatever the names are, they are that for a reason. Even if there were dialect differences, if someone lives among a group of people who speak a different dialect, and then learn an art expressed in that dialect, it's unlikely that one will put that in one's own dia...