And There Was Light

追形逐影，光若彿彷

Chasing after shapes and pursuing shadows, a light as if resembling seemingly

追 chase (or run) after; pursue

形 form; shape

逐 pursue; chase; one by one

影 shadow; reflection; vague impression

光 light; ray; brightness; naked; nothing left

若 as if, like

彿 seemingly

彷 seemingly,: resembling

Definitely one of its hardest to understand statements, the second part meaning being obscure for the least. A first understanding coming to mind is, of course, the necessity to be fast. But the text is also about method, how to address the search of knowledge. Indeed one shall first find answers in the shape, then understand what is more and more hidden or obscure to finally reach real knowledge or Enlightenment.
Hence 形, 影 and 光, shape, shadows and light are a representation of such method. No wonder the last part is quite hard to understand, it symbolises the search of the unknown, the mysterious. 

Still 若, 彿 and 彷 having similar meanings, added to the fact 彿彷 is written in the reversed order of the word 彷彿, also meaning seemingly, certainly points to an enigma to be solved, an issue which needs to be dealt into a separate post.

At first sight dealing with speed, such sentence also points out an obvious but no longer applied method, training what is external, visible, first.

I. Lightning Speed

Chasing after shapes, pursuing shadows and like a light gives an immediate sense of speed. Indeed, as far as fighting with weapons, especially blades, speed seems to be a crucial point.

Talking about shapes, shadows and light, one cannot but make the link with another triptych 形, 氣, 神, shape, vapours and spirit*.

Speed has already been dealt with in this blog but it may be interesting to revisit through such quote.

Our body must be fast, which is the shape, and it is a question of body angles and fascia elasticity. Proper angles reduce one’s motion for the same intended move. Less motion hence faster. Furthermore the more elasticity, the more reactive it is, the faster it becomes.

Vapours are a question of vitality. The less vitality we have, the less we are able to respond to anything (think about waking up from a very late and tiring evening). Hence, the more we have the more reactive we will become. In the text vitality rightly becomes shadows because it deals with things that we can only guess through the eyes, dark circles, and the face, too thin, for example. It is then not that obvious but leaves marks, just like a shadow.

Spirit is also one question of reactivity, but which come from clarity, a clear mind. In this sense, the reference to the 光 is not only light as far as the eyes are concerned, but also naked and nothing left. Indeed, internal arts search for mind clarity through emptiness, having a naked or an empty mind.

If speed is the first obvious understanding, this statement from the Lady of Yue can also be understood as an indication of the method training shall follow.

II. Obvious, Obscure and Enlightenment

形, 影 and 光 describe a process in which one will first pay attention to the obvious, then solve mysteries to reach a possible Enlightenment. 影 and 光, shadows and light, can also be seen as another mention of the Feminine and Masculine principles which dictates one’s training.

Though 追形逐影 first meaning is  “chasing after shapes and pursuing shadows” describes the necessity to be faster than fast, a second translation “pursuing shapes, one by one shadows” may point to the fact that the study, which starts by understanding how shape works, goes on to solve, one issue at a time, what’s hidden.

A lot of schools start indeed with working on posture, the shape, the external. Once the correct angles are understood and can be taken automatically by the student, he can then proceed to more complex exercises including understanding how the organs, the internal, works.

Internal breathing follows the same logic, one has to start with normal breathing, hence external, since both are supposed to work in a similar way.

This is also the case when one uses the concept of vapours. It is said, indeed, that “vapours follow blood” or that “vapours nourish the spirit the way blood does the body”. Therefore one shall first understand what is visible, the blood, to try to decipher then the vapour enigma.

The request to start with a big move, to then reduce it and finally try to understand how to “move without moving” also follows the same logic.

And so on...

Looking at many practices, it becomes quite obvious that such method has been lost nowadays, as the few following examples show:

• Not training first what are called the “basic skills”.
• Starting with short moves instead of big.
• Working with weights before being able to fully use fascias elasticity.
• Working with weights before being able to keep automatically the butt tucked.
• Working with weights before being able to contain one’s chest.
• Working on internal breathing before being able to train without being out of breath.
• Working on internal breathing before being able to do the splits and having a flat stomach.
• Working on motions before one’s posture has become fixed, i.e. all the angles are taken and maintained automatically.
• And so on....

Whether a question of speed or the training basic method, the statement ending with three characters, 若, 彿 and 彷, all having the similar “seemingly” meaning, two of them in what would appear to be a reversed order, is an enigma to be solved.

*One may think about a phrase used in some schools “形正, 氣足, 神明” a straighten shape, full of vitality and a clear mind.