Roots Over Principles

 

歸根到底

Getting to the root of it.

沉肩墜肘氣到手

Sinking shoulders and dropping elbows, vapours reaching the hands.

含胸拔背

Containing the chest and pulling out the back

全身備五弓，以腰為大弓

The whole body is equipped with five arches, with the waist as the great arch.

It is common to mistakenly have people obey principles as if they were ironclad rules in modern-day leisurely practices. Old practices were about change and body transformation. Hence, they did not abide by strict rules or principles; they just followed opportunity. Furthermore, they were about self-discovery, not learning by heart. Therefore, most of the descriptions of ancient idioms about the practice do not explain rules or principles to heed but are riddles giving the end results, the ‘how to obtain those’ that the learner must solve. There were ways to solve them, and it never mattered whether something should count as good or bad. It was, for the least, about when, why, how, the inherent negative effects and how to offset them. For this, it may be interesting to go back to some known principles and rules of internal arts and show, without answering (to keep the self-discovery method alive), the appropriate method to try to solve those enigmas.

To do so, one often has to attempt to find the root of the issue. In other words, what shall I do to have the body naturally adopt the principles described in the saying? Therefore, the first process is to understand how to internalise instead of just externalise. Then one can use, for example, the Feminin and Masculine Theory or character polysemy to try to solve the riddles. 

I. Internalising

In nowadays leisurely practices, people tend to try to only reproduce principles externally, by forcing the body to adopt the angles dictated by principles their style observes. The second, third and final quotes serve as perfect examples. Because of this, a lot of martists are indeed literally compelling their shoulders and elbows down and the waist, chest, crotch and limbs to become rounded. Furthermore, they are inclined to confuse static posture training with motion one, both having different aims, thus following distinct rules.

Pushing the body to keep the same angles whatever the movement is often referred to as a ‘dead’ motion in old practices, as opposite, of course, to the need to find a lively one. In a way, it often leads to ending up moving like a robot, unnatural. But it also goes further, as the forced motions can harm the body in the long term (joints and backbone pains plaguing a lot of long-term martists for the least).

Therefore, it is essential to be clear about the when, why, how, the inherent negative effects and how to offset them. It is also important to look for the root of the issue, i.e. what internal body mechanics will allow the desired result(s). Indeed, the external reproduction of principles like those described in the last three quotes is just what can be called ‘entry training’. To fully comprehend the system, it is crucial to be reminded that it was mainly meant for teenagers’ training 24/7, allowing them to very quickly master the external part, having a fixed posture following the sought for principles. Because it would take only around six months, any side negative effects would not prove consequential. Once they had completed entry training, they could easily look for the higher principles, what causes the body to naturally adopt the posture requirements.

There lies, indeed, the big misunderstanding when adults apply a 24/7 practice intended for teenagers by just leisurely training three times a week for a few hours at most. What takes months for young people will hardly be achievable after years…

When searching for the roots, a basic application of the Feminine and Masculine Theory or eventually using a character polysemy would have helped.

II. Dark Side of the Moon

Using the Ying-Yang/Feminine and Masculine Theory in this search means first finding the opposite principles of the ones described in a saying, and solving the then created oxymoron by uncovering what higher principle(s) could make them both true. The second and third quotes are a perfect example. Sometimes, the paradox just lies in the saying itself, like for the final quote.

2.1 Opposites Attracts

To ‘sinking shoulders and dropping elbows, vapours reaching the hands’ echoes floating shoulders and soaring elbows, vapours reaching the feet (浮肩昂肘氣到腳); to ‘containing the chest and pulling out the back’, straightening the chest and pulling down the back (挺胸攀背). Well, actually, it does not; they are both describing the opposite. But, if one follows the Yin-Yang theory, opposites have to echo each other. 

For the first saying, this is just a simple application of the motion principles: sinking and floating. Hence, when moving, following what’s opportune, one will sink, including shoulders and elbows, or float. It is then up to the student to find out what body transformation and general state can lead to this floating and sinking motion and the seemingly opposite principles it implies.

The second also follows motion requirements and relates to a principle applied in some styles called rolling into a ball and straightening (團挺 or sometimes 團發). It is often used to divide a hit into two sequences, inspired by the motion some animals have when throwing themselves at their prey.

Implementing such a method is to avoid having a constricted body while in motion, and to partly understand the famous ‘No form, but having a form’ (無形而有形）and become really agile.

2.2 Convexe and Concave

The third quote is an oxymoron by itself. Indeed, does one arch frontwards or backwards?

Again, one has to do both, and five back arches echo the five front arches often described. Here, this is not restricted to motion. Indeed, if additional motion requirements may imply insisting more on one or the other type of arch, it is tensing the body that is, at first, sought for. Internal practices, because they don’t use muscle contraction, have to find other ways to tense the body. The favourite one is to stretch. Then comes the cross, quartering the body. To do so, one puts parts of his/her body in opposite directions, left arm to the left, right to the right, head to the sky and pelvis to the ground.

Convexe and concave at the same time does also the same job. Because this type of training is linked to the whip backbone, a practice that can cause harm if trained too early, it cannot be described in detail. Still, one example can be given: for the pelvis, the idea is to tuck in the butt while retaining the lower back arch.

Many intricate and complex requirements seem to need following in the old practices. Furthermore, because they are based on self-discovery, it makes them harder to grasp. This is, after all, the logical difference between a leisurely practice for an adult a few times a week away from work and family and a 24/7 one where a teenager has all the time he or she needs to train and ponder, and at an age when the body can transform at its fastest. That is why such a post is more of a reminder of how old practices strove than training help for nowadays hectic life.