Lean And Sinewy

寧練筋長一寸，不練肉厚三分

Rather train to lengthen the fascias by one inch than to thicken the flesh by one third.

To compare with 外練筋骨皮.

Resilient

夫氣足耐寒，血足耐暑，神足耐饑，精足力綿

One can endure cold when vapours are sufficient, heat when blood is sufficient, hunger when spirit is sufficient, the force is continuous when essential liquids are sufficient.

This passage belongs to the 精神氣息解, “Explaining essential liquids, spirit, vapours and breath¹” paragraph. To the usual trio essential liquids, spirit and vapours, breath has been added, probably to show that it is equally important. In the quote, it is blood which has been added. Internal practices use to pay more attention to what is happening inside the body, the organs and the liquids they produce, the blood… and what is not visible but has an impact on one’s performance, what we call vigour, vitality, which they theorised as vapours and spirit.

Shining Eyes, Light Hands & Nimble Body

内練精氣神，外練手眼身

Inside essential liquids, vapours  and spirit are trained; outside hands, eyes and body are trained.

The concept of internal and external is a basic of Chinese culture.

Posture With A Little Push

A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind¹.

把勢、把勢，全憑架式

Skill, bluster, it is all a question of posture².

理是功能之本，法是功能之機

Structure is the essence of capacity, method its crucial point².

Posture used to be one of the cornerstones of internal practices. It served many purposes, but deep body transformation and breathing training were amongst the most important. Nowadays, postures are limited, both in their range and diversity.

Fully Empty

虚則實之，實則虚之，虛實互用

Emptiness then towards fullness, fullness then towards emptiness, emptiness and fullness using each other alternatively.




Another translation would be “False then real, real then false, false and real used alternatively.”

Bamboo, Iron And Cotton, A New Realm

一层功，一层理

One level of skill, one level of intrinsic order¹.

古者謂是采真之遊

This is what the ancients called plucking the genuine wanderings².

Old practices were about constantly evolving, which meant changes, which meant to sometimes reach something totally new with very different rules or principles to be followed.

Genuine Chaos Or Fake Sword

許氏四人所臨摹的原本《渾元劍經》的原稿件，又是從何而來的呢？這對我們都是一個難解之迷。

Where did the original of The Sword of Chaos Classic copied by the four from the Xu family come from? This is a difficult puzzle for all of us¹.

In the realm of self-discovery, writings, because they set in stone, are not the favourite tool used in martial arts. As it has already been mentioned many times in this blog, solving oral enigmas used to be the way to pass on knowledge. Hence, when the first boxing manuals appeared, they were not too comprehensive. It seems a bit odd, for the least, when faced with a detailed internal Taoist martial arts manual dated before most of the others².

One Thought Too Many

能在一思进，莫在一思存

Able in one thought to move forward, not remaining in one thoughts.

This sentence is always seen as the description of the need to be decisive while fighting.

A New Stand

一而不可不易者，道也¹

One but (not un)mutating, such is the Way.

The more technology improves, the less relevant become the old practices. Catastrophic events set aside, humanity is on a verge of a new technological revolution that will not only surpass everything we have known, but may well redefine our own species as we know them.