Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

Well, I've got to ask about 精神能提得起, 則無遲重之虞. 黏依能跟得靈, 方見落空之妙. If these lines are supposed to be parallel, why can't they be rendered: If essence and spirit can be raised, then there will be no worry about being slow or heavy; if sticking and yielding can be agile, then there will appear the wonder of ...

Thanks for the reply Audi. So much to deal with. 方有所得 Does 方 here mean " method" or " only". In other words does 刻刻留意，方有所得 mean "Every moment keep this in mind: There is a method which gets results. " or "every moment keep this in mind: only that way gets results.&...

Hi yslim,

I've missed that boat before, and I think I've seen that principal before. Somebody give me a correction, please.

Cheers!
Dave

Hello everyone, Next lines: 精神能提得起，則無遲重之虞；粘依能跟得靈，方見落空之妙。 If the spirit can be raised, then there is no worry about being slow or heavy. If you can be sticky and listen, you can follow and be agile, and just there appears the wonder of emptiness. The first sentence is also in the Mental Elucidation. ...

Hello all, Louis: Thank you for your patient explanations and the links to those commentaries; I do read them. I know I am "resisting" your interpretation, although you clearly have authority (and perhaps common sense) on your side. The problem is that I just cannot get my head around it. ...

Next lines: 彼不動，己不動；彼微動，己先動。以己依人，務要知己，乃能隨轉隨接；以己粘人，必須知人，乃能不後不先。 If the opponent does not move, I do not move; if he moves just a little, I move first. By this means I comply with the opponent. In such affairs you must know yourself, thus you can follow and turn, follow and receive. By this means you ...

Hi Louis, Thanks for your thoughts. I didn't make myself clear, but I think we are talking about two kinds of strength. The strength used to make muffins, lift your coffee cup, or do many of the myriad things we do everyday usually involves just a limb and associated muscles. I'll call this localize...

Hi Louis and Uni. Thanks for the replies. There is much to think about here. I'd like to focus on the sentence: 尚氣者無力，養氣者純剛. As a preliminary, I note the points in which we are in agreement. I agree that using strength against strength is proscribed in taiji, and I agree that nurturing qi is good. T...

The next lines: 1) 內固精神，外顯安逸。 Inside, the spirit is firm; outside shows a tranquil ease. 2) 須要從人，不要由己。從人則活，由己則滯。 You must follow the other, and must not follow yourself. If you follow the other then you will be lively, if you follow yourself then you will be sluggish. 3) 尚氣者無力，養氣者純剛。 One who values ...

Hi All, The next two sentences. 須知：一動無有不動，一靜無有不靜。視動猶靜，視靜猶動。 You must know: As soon as there is movement there is no place that doesn't move, as soon as there is stillness there is no place that isn't still. Regard movement as stillness, regard stillness as movement. The first sentence is from the Me...

Hi Louis, I tried to avoid translating qi as "breath," but as the phrase seemed to involve duration, I just couldn't think of a way to get the job done in "one qi." But, if I understand you correctly, the phrase concerns not duration but the quality of the action: it should exhib...

Thanks for the info, Louis. I'll have a go at the next lines. 刻刻留意，方有所得。先在心，後在身。在身，則不知手之舞之，足之蹈之，所謂“一氣呵成”、“舍己從人”、“引進落空”、“四兩撥千斤”也。 Every moment keep this in mind: There is a method which gets results. First in the mind, afterward in the body. When in the body, then you are not conscious of the hand's ...

Thanks for the reply, Louis. I'm relieved that I'm not the only one who finds the text unexpectedly strange. Do you know anything about the provenance of the text? The way I heard the story, Wu, when practicing or teaching, would sometimes have insights which he jotted down and pinned to a wall, to ...

Hello everyone, I'd hate to see this thread die, so I'll ask some beginner's questions just to keep the conversation going. 1) In the Exposition and Insights , 氣為旗 is usually translated as "the qi is the flag." Since both the Exposition and the Explanation are attributed to Wu Yuxiang and ...

Hi all, Line 22: "Stand like a ping2 zhun3, move like a cart wheel." Ping2 zhun3 has been translated as "balance," "even level," and "balance scale," and although they are all, in some way, adequate, I'm not satisfied. "Balance" is not concrete enoug...