Raging Waters

力如千斤壓頂，勁似利箭穿革

Power is like half a ton bearing down on the top, strength as a sharp arrow piercing leather.

On has to be heavy as well as penetrating.

Writing And Chaos

一層功，一層理

A  level of skill, a level of theory

沉肩墜肘

浮肩昂肘

Sinking shoulders and dropping elbows.

Floating shoulders and soaring elbows.

以氣為主，以力當先

以氣為主，以理當先

Vapours direct, strength must come first.

Vapours direct, theory must come first.

There is a fencing manual, the Sword of Chaos, which embodies the internal arts influenced by the Taoist theory. It has already been quoted in this blog but it may be interesting to develop parts of it as examples of themes often recurrent in internal practices. Still, before doing so, following the last post on the Lady of Yue, one has to further understand what kind of writing is mainly found as far as martial arts are concerned and the issues brought along. 

Opportune

一層功，一層理

A  level of skill, a level of theory.

Old Chinese practices are about chaos, not rule.

Walking Straight

步不活则拳乱，步不快则拳慢

Boxing is confused when one’s steps are not vivid, not fast when they are slow.

打人如走路

Hitting is like walking.

一步練錯百步歪

One step trained wrongly, a hundred wicked ones.

Posture and semi-static moves learned, one finally could walk. Walking knows a lot of different kinds of training some with tools, all meant to first provide the best balance and rooting while having one’s roots in motion and, of course, also power and precision.

Weeding

打人如走路，看人如蒿草

Hitting like walking, regarding people as weed.

To be linked with “Boxing knows no moral, morals are empty words”.

Voiding The Lady, Martial Arts Writing

彈歌
斷竹，續竹；
飛土，逐宍。
Song of the Pellet Bow
Cutting bamboos, joining bamboos;
Flying mud, chasing meat.*

性是功能之本，命是功能之基。
Nature** is the essence of capability, lot its foundation.

十里不同音。 
A different pronunciation every five kilometres. 

Voiding the interpretations of the Lady of Yue is actually quite simple, the text is coming from an historical novel. Furthermore, the method used, deciphering enigmas, is certainly not a way to translate Classical Chinese. Still, it had to be done because this text is used as a reference in book compilations and some television series about martial arts, often introduced as one of the first martial arts writing.

Still And Straight

腰不動，足不發 

The feet do not emit if the waist doesn't move. 

勁從足下起，還得丹田足

The strength rises from the feet on the prerequisite the cinnabar field is full. 

For internal practices, roots are an active relationship between the feet and the waist. Hence, moving the whole body while keeping the feet still is a way to work and enhance such relationship. Semi-static postures in the three-steps training were paying special attention to two things, keeping the feet as still as possible and the pelvis as straight as possible. 

Stretch It A Bit More

弹腿四只手，神鬼见了都发愁

Elastic legs are like four hands, gods and ghosts alike become anxious as they see them.

To be linked with 打拳不溜腿，必是冒失鬼.

Voiding

一步練錯百步歪。

One stage trained wrongly, a hundred wicked ones.

The more professional and elitist one’s training was, the more attention was paid to details. After all, the rule remains the same nowadays in the real martial world, commando training has nothing to do with regular troops instruction. Therefore, martial artists, in the old days, paid particular attention not to the benefits, but to the defects of their training. Quite the opposite of nowadays leisurely schools with their “if you do it correctly then it’s all good” motto.