Understanding The Language of Taijiquan Nasser Butt

Photography by David Pratt; Concept and Design by Nasser Butt Copyright©2021

If Taijiquan is compared to a language then the Thirteen Dynamics1 are its alphabet! They are the ‘key’ — the ‘Rosetta Stone’ — with which to unlock its speak.

There are no ‘postures’ per se, there are only the ‘Dynamics’ threaded together by interim motions or transitions. These 13 ‘letters’ can produce thousands of ‘words’, just like the English alphabet with its 26 letters [the Oxford English Dictionary website states that they cover over 600,000 terms as of 2021, with 171,146 words currently in use in the English language and 47,156 obsolete words].

A typical native speaker knows around 15,000 to 20,000 word families — or lemmas.

A word family or lemma is simply a root word and all its inflections, where the word inflection represents a change in the form of a wording [typically the ending] to express a grammatical function or attribute — for example blue, bluer, bluest, etc.

Taijiquan is no different [and this applies to all martial arts] — it functions in exactly the same way!

According to Taiji Fa Shuo — attributed to Yang Ban-hou — circa 1875, we are told:

The positions of the eight gates are based on the principle of the passive and active aspects inverting each other, cycling round and round, following each other in their process. All of the four primary techniques [corresponding to the cardinal directions] and four secondary techniques [corresponding to the corner directions] must be understood.

The four primary Dynamics are:

P’eng — Ward Off Lu — Rolling Backwards Ji — Squeeze An — Press

As a general rule, P’eng jing is the major jing used in all of the above and is considered as ‘moving Qi’, while Lu is ‘collecting Qi’. Chee is ‘receiving Qi’, while Arn is ‘striking Qi’.

The four secondary Dynamics are:

Cai/Tsai — To Pluck/To Pick Lie/Lieh — To Split/Rend/Divide Zhou/Chou — Elbow K’ao — Shoulder Stroke/Bumping

The Five Directions are:

Move Forward (Fire) Move Backward (Water) Look Right (Metal) Gaze Left (Wood) Central Equilibrium (Earth)

1. For a full description of the 13 Dynamics please refer to my articles, Moving with Awareness: The 13 Dynamics, The Cornerstones and their Significance — Lift Hands Volume 1, and The Energies of Taijiquan Part 1 — Lift Hands Volume 13

It is not my aim to go through the detailed explanations and meanings behind these Dynamics [see footnote on previous page], rather the aim is to give a brief introduction to the practitioner in explaining the root and lemmas, nouns verbs etc, so that they are able to speak and understand the language. Also, it is not enough just being able to speak the language, one must be able to read and write the language too, and the more proficient you become, the more your vocabulary and word power improves, and the better you are able to express yourself — it is that simple!

Just like a child learns to speak first and only later goes to school to learn to read and write, and understand the rules of grammar along with other fundamentals of the language, such as the meaning of words, their synonyms etc, Taiji also follows a similar path — however, sadly in most instances, the practitioners remain ‘illiterate’ or are ‘poorly literate’! Some may consider this a bold statement, they may be upset by my suggestion, but ask yourself the question — why? I stand by my words and will clarify what I mean.

As already stated, P’eng is considered the major jing — the jing used to make up all of the primary Dynamics [and by default is also present in every other dynamic]. It can be considered the ‘root word’ of Taiji!

The root of a word is defined as ‘the core of a word that is irreducible into more meaningful elements.’

In Taiji, P’eng is irreducible!

Words are created from root words by simply adding prefixes or suffixes to the beginning or ending of a root, or both, ie:

Aud: to hear Auditory, audible, audiology, audiotape, audiovisual, audition, auditorium2

In the above example we have simply added suffixes to the Latin root Aud — to hear.

Or:

Dic or dict: to say, tell Dictate, dictator, predict, diction, dictation, contradict, contradictory, edict, indicate, indict, indictment3

In the above example, words have been created by either adding a suffix, a prefix or both to the Latin root Dic or Dict — to say, tell.

Another method used is referred to as the Greek Combining Forms4:

Beginning: auto, phono, photo, biblio, hydro, hyper, hypo, tele, chrom, arch, phys, psych, micro, peri, bi, semi, hemi, mono, metro, demo

Examples: automobile, phonograph, bibliography, hydroelectric, hyperactive, telephone, telegraphy, chromosome, physical, periodontal, semicircle, demonstration

Ending: *graph, gram, meter, *ology, sphere, scope, crat, cracy, polis

Examples: photograph, microscope, hemisphere, telegram, chronometer, physiology, metropolis, perimeter, archeology, bibliography, democracy, autocrat

Taiji also uses the concept of Combining Forms — P’eng to ‘create’ the other Dynamics [See next page. For further details see article; The Hand Patterns of Old Yang Style Taijiquan, Lift Hands Volume 19, September 2021].

P’eng jing is the key to understanding the Thirteen Dynamics and learning how to separate the subsequent energies. Without understanding that the so-called eight energies are all manifestations of p’eng and that we only call them by different names because of the ‘difference in appearance,’ students will fail to even grasp the basics of Taiji — p’eng jing is and always remains the root!

In all dynamics and in every transition, p’eng jing is the foundation to drawing out the internal power.

P’eng — The ‘Root’

Ji Lu

Arn

2,3,4 [from previous page] — Common Root Words; Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E., & Short, D. (2013). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP Model (4th Ed.). Boston: Pearson, pp. 72-73. Compiled by M.K. Henry, 1990. https://www.mville.edu

Now that we have established the root, let us examine creating words, lemmas and synonyms etc, using a few ‘postures’ from the Old Yang Style of Taijiquan as simple examples.

Ward Off [P’eng]

The primary dynamic of ‘Ward Off’ in the opening sequence of Long Boxing is made up of two basic components — the hands and the feet. Both components are roots in their own right [I am deliberately trying to keep things simple by referring to the irreducible element only!].

The roots are:

1. Hands — P’eng 2. Feet — Break Taiji Step [An entering forward step]

The Break Taiji Step is one of the main stepping methods of Taijiquan [there are 14 methods in total which are divided up amongst the five methods of stepping — Forward, Backward, Look Left, Gaze Right and Central equilibrium]. In fact, it is the most commonly used step consisting of the front foot being placed down on its heel, then as the body moves forward, the toes are placed down with the weight not going past the middle of the foot [See sequence above and front view left]. The thighs and knees are curved and collecting, with the rear thigh being less curved then the front. The rear foot controls the waist in yielding, we rely on it for both, power and evasiveness without moving backwards — in other words we never retreat, giving rise to the classic:

Photo 4 Photo 3 Photo 2 Photo 1

Photo 5 "To enter is to be born while to retreat is to die.”

From Block Right [Photo 1] in the Old Yang, as we step with the break step and our weight shifts forward [70%] to the left leg, the left hand rises with your wrist centred on the chest as your waist turns to the front [North] and the right hands moves downwards to just in front of the hip [I am not teaching how to do the form here, I’m simply trying to give a brief description of the transition]. Both arms are P’eng… with the left hand giving us the classic root P’eng — most commonly translated simply as ward off, however, its more fuller description would be to ward off slantingly upwards at an angle of 45º. The arm is held rounded like a crescent moon, slanting upwards, however, it is the angle of the wrist which is the key to its success — lifting the energy of the attacker and causing them to feel like they are ‘floating’! It is a Yin defence and is sometimes likened to the antennae of an insect — a sensor — which can rapidly be turned into a yang attack.

Remember, earlier we defined a word family or lemma as a root word and all its inflections [see above]. So, if we take the ‘posture’ of Ward off as the root word representing ‘blue’ in the earlier example, then the inflections are represented as follows:

Photo 6: Ward off = Root = ‘Blue’ Photo 7: Wild Horse Veers Its Mane = Inflection = ‘Bluer’ Photo 8: Slant Flying = Inflection = ‘Bluest’

It should be obvious to the practitioner that Slant Flying [SF] and Wild Horse Veers Its Mane [WHVIM] are themselves Ward off [however, martially speaking, each are different in application, since the dynamic involved is different — we have started to create nouns, verbs, adverbs, pronouns — giving us names, traits qualities, functions etc]. So, the three form a word family or lemma! Equally, we could say that both SF and WHVIM are also synonyms of Ward off [a word of caution, these are not the only inflections or synonyms of Ward off — I have used the above examples purely for visual simplicity].

Once we understand the base ideas of root words [created from the ‘alphabet’ of the 13 Dynamics], the practitioner will quickly discover that Taijiquan Long Boxing is simply made up of nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, anagrams, combining forms, synonyms etc, where the root is always P’eng [in the English language a mere 14 roots provide the clues to over 100,000 words]. Further, Long Boxing is usually split into 3 parts or ‘thirds’. It is the first third which contains all the critical ideas — the rules per se — such as ‘Seize The Sparrow By The Tail,’ the remaining two-thirds are simply a repetition of the same ideas showing understanding and command of the language of Taiji at higher levels, and the more one practices, the more fluent one becomes.

Returning back to our dynamic or posture of Ward off and Break Taiji Step, we understand that in this stepping method it makes it easier to revolve, as the toes slightly break connection with the ground, the revolving is done upon the heel, and contracting and issuing force happen as the toes are placed upon the ground. An example of this dynamic is the ‘posture’ of Brush Knee & Obstinate-Twist Step5 .

On the following page you can see both front and side views of Ward off and Brush Knee & Obstinate-Twist Step. It shouldn’t require rocket science to work out from the visual images alone that we are essentially looking at a variant of the same posture. The p’eng hand in ward-off is now on the opposite side to the lead leg with the palm turned away [Arn] giving the ‘posture’ a totally different dynamic and function — thus creating a new word!

The theme continues — still using Ward off and now Brush Knee & Obstinate-Twist Step as the base words we not only produce further ‘new’ words, we also change their form and function — yet, the root of P’eng remains regardless!

5. Brush Knee & Obstinate-Twist Step was originally practiced as a weighted turn in order to develop martial power in the leg and is still practiced in this way in the Old Yang Style as opposed to rocking back in the modern styles. For a full description see Lift Hands Volume 6, June 2018 — Peasant Talk

Photo 9: Ward off [Front View] Photo 10: Brush Knee Obstinate Twist Step [Front View] Photo 11: Ward off [Side View] Photo 12: Brush Knee Obstinate Twist Step [Side View]

In the Old Yang, the ‘posture’ or dynamic known as ‘Step Back & Repulse Monkey [Tripping],’ performed three times — is essentially the three Brush Knee Obstinate Twist Steps being done in reverse from the first third! The dynamic, its function and detail have, of course now changed in meaning, but it is born out of the Brush Knee

Photo 13: Starting from of Fist Under Elbow Photo 14 Photo 15

Photo 17: End Posture for Tripping Monkey [see from left to right photos 13—17 and compare photos 12 & 17] and once more, P’eng remains the irreducible core!

Continuing with the theme of the monkey, when we observe Natural Repulse Monkey [found in both Yang Cheng-fu’s Form and the Old Yang], we quickly realise that it is essentially the counterpart to Ward off and the Break Taiji Step called Backward Break Taiji Step! Natural Repulse Monkey is the only dynamic which uses this step where the toes settle first followed by the heel with the waist being controlled this time by the front leg [see photos 18 and 19]. This stepping should not be confused with the step back from the Tripping Monkey shown above, which is totally different since the foot there lands flat.

Photo 16

Photo 18: Natural Repulse Monkey

Photo 19: Natural repulse Monkey end posture Both Ward off and Repulse Monkey finish in the ‘natural’ position — ie same leg and hand forward. If you compare Photos 11 and 19, you’ll see that the posture has simply reversed for both the hands and the feet. Yet again, the dynamic leading you there is different, as is the resultant principle application.

So why is this all necessary to understand and know?

Taijiquan is not a set of techniques, nor fixed applications — it is an art based upon innateness and moving with awareness in order to understand and recognise the source of movement! If we are able to identify this in ourselves, then we will be able to identify it in others too, without this we will fail!

Yang Ban-hou leaves us in no doubt in the text attributed to him:

From birth, our eyes can see, ears can hear, nose can smell, mouth can taste. Sights and sounds, smells and tastes – all innate senses. Dance of hands, prance of feet – the abilities of our limbs are all innate forms of movement. Pondering upon this, we find it is our random experience – “Our natures make us the same, but our experiences make us unique.” [Lun Yu, 17.2] – that makes us lose touch with what is innate. If

we want to return to our innate qualities, there will be no martial aspect unless we seek the source of movement, and there will be no civil aspect unless we grasp the basis of awareness. With these things, then there will be moving with awareness.

If there is activation and perception, there will be action and realization. If there is no activation or perception, there will be no action or realization. When activation is at its height, action is initiated. When perception is fully lucid, there is realization. Action and realization are the easy part. Activation and perception are tricky.

First strive to move with awareness for yourself, grasping it within your own body, then naturally you will be able to spot it in the opponent. If on the other hand you try to find it in opponents first, you will probably never find it in yourself. You have to be able to understand this concept in order to be able to identify energies.

The purpose of understanding the language of Taijiquan, I repeat, is simple… to be able to identify the source of movement within ourselves. In order to do that we must understand the 13 Dynamics and through this Long Boxing. Taiji develops this concept through progressional principles — there is no fixed technique. There are only fixed principles! The fixed principles do not limit or hinder us — rather they give us unlimited possibilities. Again, Ban-hou is clear on the matter:

The Thirteen Dynamics solo set flows on and on ceaselessly, and hence is called Long Boxing. [“It is like a long river flowing into the wide ocean...”]

You may spread out and gather in as you will, but by no means allow yourself to stray from the taiji concept.

When folk talk about change and changing things in forms or ‘techniques’ — they have missed the point all together! The change happens in ourselves through study, it is we who expand, each to our own abilities and according to the effort we have put in to our practice and development.

Staying with our language analogy — the English language is the most commonly spoken language throughout the world. However, regardless of where you go, the general rules and function studied are always the same, yet each country, region and people have developed their own dialects, accents and mannerisms of speech! There still remain the same 26 letters in the alphabet regardless of whether you are reading a Shakespearean sonnet, an American Classic, or even using text speech! Further, the vocabulary of each individual will also be unique and of varying degrees. And just as no one person knows or uses the entire dictionary, so is true in the martial arts in general and Taiji specifically. The art was deliberately taught in abstract, so practitioners didn’t get hooked on a technique. What they were shown was the base template from where many techniques could emerge providing

the practitioner had understood the principle — the root of movement! Also, and I have mentioned this several times before in many of my previous articles, martial arts are based upon two fighting methods — the big man’s fighting method and the small man’s fighting method. Each uses its own ideas to engage the opponent depending upon the size of the practitioner and his opponent. Combat is no different to having a conversation with someone… we respond to what the other is saying with the appropriate words.

Above and overleaf — Variations of Natural Repulse Monkey I have deliberately kept the movements large and in keeping with the form for simplicity’s sake indicating only hand strikes and throws through destabilisation of the head and kinking of the brainstem. The possibilities, including kicks etc, are endless since no attack happens the same way twice!

Below: A few simple variations of Brush Knee & Obstinate-Twist Step including strikes, throws and smashing the head into the ground! Again, only a handful of variations are shown. The applications have been shown from static postures for illustrative purposes only.

Above: Step Back & Repulse Monkey [Tripping] from Old Yang — A reversal of Brush Knee & Obstinate-Twist Step!

Below: Classical P’eng variations from Small San-sau

Once we have started to understand the language and realise that P’eng sits at the root of Taiji and transmutes through the 13 Dynamics, allowing us to communicate within and without, then Ban-hou states:

A mere thirteen dynamics is not a lot.

But however many there might be, if their standard is not maintained and if the position of your waist and headtop is misplaced, you will end up sighing with woe.

The key to their being no division lies in but two words:

the “sovereign” and “subject” roles of the mind and body — ponder them carefully. Your skill should have no division between internal and external, and then there will be not any mistakes however many contenders you fight.

What comes out of you during a fight should be natural, coming from such interactions as between the realms of ground and sky. When you no longer have a problem with letting go of

yourself, there will never be hesitation as you go upward or

downward, forward or back.

And…

The body makes its steps according to the five elements, bracing in all directions. The five elements are: advance (fire), retreat (water), step to the left (wood), step to the right (metal), and stay in the center (earth). Advancing and retreating are the steppings of water and fire, left and right are the steppings of metal and wood, and the central earth is the axis for all of them.

Embrace the eight trigrams as you step through the five elements…

According to Wang T’sung-yeuh of Shanxi, once the source of movement and the role of passive and active aspects are understood, ‘This then is understanding power.’6

He continues:

Its root is to discard self and follow men: Many mistakenly discard the near and seek afar. This is known as being out by a hair’s breadth And going wrong by a thousand miles. Students cannot but carefully distinguish.

This is the theory...7

The lines above are a reminder and a rebuke by Wang... he lays it out in a most simple manner in that the most basic of ideas is to forget your own plans [assumptions/preemptions] and simply respond to what your opponent is doing! Don’t second guess or get ahead of yourself! Often folk make the mistake of ignoring what is right there in front of them by focusing on something which has nothing to do with their immediate circumstances [in other words — they fail to live and act in the present], thereby missing by an inch and loosing by a mile, and that students must study and understand this clearly, and this is why this has been written down for everyone!

Both, Wang and Ban-hou are in perfect harmony… once you understand the principles and the language then What comes out of you during a fight should be natural… bracing in all directions. However, Without long application of effort One cannot thoroughly penetrate it. 8

6,7,8 — The Treatise of Wang T’sung-yeuh of Shanxi, Great Pole Boxing: The Theory [Late 18th Century]